TV and movies today are arguably better than at any other point in history. The entertainment industry is one of the largest in the world, worth several billion dollars in the United States alone. Thanks to advanced filming techniques, better equipment, and improved CGI capability, it seems there is no limit to what can be portrayed on screen. Fiction captures our hearts and minds, which is why so many people continue to keep subscribing to cable TV services like Spectrum internet packages. But in many cases, truth is often stranger than fiction. Some things have taken place in real life that wouldn’t be out of place in a top-tier horror, slasher, crime, or thriller film/show.

If this piques your interest, keep reading for some of the best documentaries to check out some mind-blowing but real-life events.

Fear City – New York vs The Mafia

New York City is arguably one of the most famous cityscapes on the planet. On par with London and Paris, although much younger in age, the city is a marvel of urban development. The concrete and glass jungle of skyscrapers and massive construction projects that is NYC is a big part of American culture. So it is downright shocking as Fear City unveils what lurks in the shadows cast by these massive buildings and constant construction frenzy in the city. Following an extensive FBI investigation that saw many big Mafia names in NYC incarcerated, Fear City exposes the brutal reality and the shadowy underworld figures that essentially get a piece of every real estate in the city. No wonder square-footage is so expensive in the Big Apple!

WWII In Color

War has become nearly commonplace these days, mainly because it takes place so far away from home. Most Americans still live the same lives following the War on Terror, simply because they aren’t really living through it except what they see on the news every now and then. But, in the middle of the last century, World War II was a conflict on a global scale. WWII is still one of the most costly conflicts in modern history, with the mobilization of forces and devastating casualty rates never seen before or since. WWII In Color beats the hell out of any boring history classroom. The carefully remastered and color-rendered documentary derives from actual footage shot during the period. Learn about the key events that led up to the War, and the important decisions during the conflict that reshaped the world forever.

The Devil and Father Amorth

Whether you’re religious, spiritual, or simply a horror fanatic, The Devil and Father Amorth is bound to leave an impression on you. The documentary film follows the real-life Father Gabrielle Amorth, an Italian Catholic priest and the chief exorcist for the Vatican. Without giving away too many spoilers, Father Amorth is not the grizzled or hardened man of God stereotyped by films and comics like Constantine. In fact, he appears to be a genuinely compassionate and kind soul, dedicated to what he believes is his part in saving people from suffering and despair. The allegedly real exorcism filled in the documentary will still scare the pants off most people. But the docu-film is well worth at least one watch for an interesting perspective into theology, the occult, and the power of faith.

The Great Hack

Unless you were living under a rock during the Trump Era, you probably heard of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. In a nutshell, the Trump campaign made use of the services of research firm Cambridge Analytica to identify and target swing voters with potentially misleading or even falsified advertising. The scandal threw glaring light on the most problematic issues related to social media platforms: how they acquire data and who they allow access to this data.

The scandal itself brought about landmark changes in outdated data privacy and protection laws. The Great Hack follows several disturbing facts and an effort to pervert the course of democracy during what is often called the ugliest election campaign in United States history. If nothing else, you will end up reconsidering how freely you allow social media and other websites access to this data, and how it can be used against you.

Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal

The list of scandals was anything but short the past couple of years. Hot on the heels of the Cambridge Analytica scandal followed outrage over what turned out to be the biggest college admission scam in history. Operation Varsity Blues unmasks a spider web of deceit, bribery, betrayal, and at its center, an unassuming admissions adviser calling all the shots. The brazen nature with which Rick Singer exploited college sports scholarships and loopholes in university funding oversight cast a very unflattering image of how some of the best universities in the country operate. To use Singer’s own term he discovered he could get privileged students into top colleges through “side doors” as long as they were willing to pay his asking price. And it seems many were, along with their parents.