Movies Like John Wayne Gacy: Defending a Monster

If you liked John Wayne Gacy: Defending a Monster (2019), a documentary movie directed by Marc Menet and Scott Prestin, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
The Crash (2026)
★ 6.8/10Also documentary
A teen slams her car into a building, killing her boyfriend and his friend. What seems like a tragic accident becomes a murder case.
2
A Toxic Love Story (2026)
★ 6.4/10Also documentary
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
3
Voyeur (2017)
★ 5.9/10Also documentary
Legendary journalist Gay Talese unmasks a motel owner who spied on his guests for decades. But his bombshell story soon becomes a scandal of its own.
4
The Menendez Brothers (2024)
★ 7.2/10Also documentary
Serving life in prison for murdering their parents, Lyle and Erik Menendez speak out in this documentary explaining the shocking crime and ensuing trials.
5
Ted Bundy: Mind of a Monster (2019)
★ 7.6/10Also documentary
New exclusive access and never before heard testimony gives a unique insight into the mind of America's most notorious serial killer, Ted Bundy. Breathtaking archive from the time and the voice of Bundy himself…
6
Tales of the Grim Sleeper (2014)
★ 6.3/10Also documentary
When Lonnie Franklin Jr. was arrested in South Central Los Angeles in 2010 as the suspected murderer of a string of young black women, police hailed it as the culmination of 20 years of investigations. Four years later…
7
Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers (2025)
★ 7/10Also documentary
Aileen Wuornos remains a rarity: a female serial killer. From childhood abuse to death-row revelations, this documentary revisits her life and crimes.
8
Murder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story (2020)
★ 6.9/10Also documentary
After 16-year-old Cyntoia Brown is sentenced to life in prison, questions about her past, physiology and the law itself call her guilt into question.
9
Dawg Fight (2015)
★ 6.4/10Also documentary
In a crime-plagued neighborhood near Miami, brutal, bare-knuckled backyard fights give young men a chance to earn money -- and self-respect.
10
Nail Bomber: Manhunt (2021)
★ 6.5/10Also documentary
This documentary examines the 1999 London bombings that targeted Black, Bangladeshi and gay communities, and the race to find the far-right perpetrator. He terrorized a city, seeking to ignite a race war but justice…
11
The Pigeon Tunnel (2023)
★ 6.6/10Also documentary
Academy Award winner Errol Morris pulls back the curtain on the storied life and career of David Cornwell, the former spy known to the literary world as John le Carré.
12
Stolen: Heist of the Century (2025)
★ 7.1/10Also documentary
Antwerp, 2003. A gang of thieves rob the impenetrable Diamond Center. Who was behind one of the world's biggest heists - and how did they pull it off?
13
Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story (2025)
★ 6.2/10Also documentary
Unravel the case of Utah therapist Jodi Hildebrandt, whose child abuse arrest with parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke exposed a twisted tale of manipulation.
14
My Mom Jayne (2025)
★ 8/10Also documentary
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and…
15
Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press (2017)
★ 6/10Also documentary
The courtroom and publicity battles between the superstar wrestler and the notorious website explode in a sensational trial all about the limits of the First Amendment and the new no holds barred nature of celebrity…
16
Girl in the Picture (2022)
★ 7.1/10Also documentary
A young mother’s mysterious death and her son’s subsequent kidnapping blow open a decades-long mystery about the woman’s true identity, and the murderous federal fugitive at the center of it all.
17
The Mole: Undercover in North Korea (2020)
★ 7.1/10Also documentary
A real-life undercover thriller about two ordinary men who embark on an outrageously dangerous ten-year mission to penetrate the world's most secretive and brutal dictatorship: North Korea.
18
Maternal Instinct (2026)
★ 7.2/10Also documentary
Police pull over a woman who claims she just gave birth. But the baby — and the blood — aren't hers. Twisted lies unravel in this true-crime documentary.
19
My Father, the BTK Killer (2025)
★ 6.7/10Also documentary
Raised by a man leading a monstrous double life, the daughter of the BTK serial killer shares her chilling story.
20
The Mystery of D.B. Cooper (2020)
★ 6.3/10Also documentary
This documentary brings to life the stories of four people believed by their family and friends to be “DB Cooper,” a man who hijacked a 727 flying out of Seattle and jumped from the plane over the wilds of Washington…