Don't F**k with Cats: Un tueur trop viral

This is a gripping documentary that I have described to my friends as a real life Saw documentary. It begins with a group of people on Facebook trying to track down someone who is posting videos on Youtube of them murdering kittens. There are multiple horrific videos and some of them are explained in detail so if you're queasy (like me) then brace yourself. You don't actually see any more than the beginning of the videos but you can hear it and it's enough that I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. I will probably have nightmares tonight.

I've seen a few crime documentaries, they're fairly interesting to watch. I liked this one too, up until the very last minute, where they're basically JUDGING us, the viewers, for watching THEIR DOCUMENTARY. If you think it's a dangerous story to tell, don't tell it. But don't go and judge me for the kind of movies and documentaries I watch, and even imply I indirectly contributed to this whole story. That's just dumb, at this point you're just biting the hand that feeds.

Besides, they don't even explain crucial details, the biggest one being that third hand in the video. Who was it? Why isn't it a big deal? Cause it seems like a pretty big deal to me.

It's an overall 8/10 documentary, but for these reasons I'm going to rate it a 6/10 because it's just disrespectful towards the viewers. And that last episode deserves a 1/10 just for that last, dumb minute.

First I want to say, because I personally came here looking for the answer to this specific question: This IS a real documentary. For the first 10-15 min of this series, I was seriously thinking this was a mockumentary. It totally has that feel to it...at first. But I can tell you that after watching all three parts, it IS real. Without spoiling anything, I can confirm that they include actually archival news footage regarding elements of this case from CNN, various Canadian and European newscasts, as well as a brief interview with Justin Trudeau, who speaks directly about elements of the case. So yes, it's real.

But let me also say that the less you know about this story, the better. I somehow managed to live through the time period of the major events of this case (2010-2014) without ever hearing about this story. So what unfolds in this documentary is one of the most wild, insane, gruesome, and shocking series of events I've ever seen in a true crime doc.

I'm giving this doc 9 stars because the way the director chooses to tell and reveal the story is brilliant. Bits and pieces of info are given to you at precise moments that will lead you to believe you know what's happening, only for another piece of info to be revealed that will absolutely blow your mind and leave you questioning what you think you know. There is so much suspense and it never stops building. From the beginning to the end, I was absolutely gripped. It never failed to hold my attention.

This doc is not for the faint of heart. It is disturbing in unimaginable ways. But because of the way the story is told, I could not stop watching. It's hard to say I "loved" it because it is impossible to "love" a story like this. But I absolutely loved the craft of storytelling employed but the documentarians and the fact that you're kept guessing all the way to the end. One thing I think they could have improved was the way they delivered certain key pieces of information. There were moments when I wasn't sure of the facts that had been revealed, because they were presented in a confusing fashion. I had to rewind a few parts for clarity, to make sure I understood what was being revealed. Other than that, this doc far exceeded my expectations and I appreciated the philosophical question posed at the end.

It's really good, I binged the whole thing. But I wouldn't recommend it to anyone sensitive. Netflix issue a warning and they don't actually show any torture or killing, but watching the footage over and over, knowing what's going to happen to them is quite enough. Even seeing it once was too much for me, I'm not good right now.

I don't usually write reviews, this might be my only one. But I felt inclined to do so after seeing a lot of people critical about the ending. I don't actually think it's about the filmmakers judging you, for me it's about self reflection - is your behaviour online contributing to something bad? It is something to think about and I don't think a bit of self reflection is a bad thing.

Anyway...That's how I think about it. I'm going to go hug my cats now, because I need to.

I'm stupefied that all this happened a few years ago and I don't remember hearing anything about it. (Leading me to wonder how much is getting lost in the vortex of awful that are our daily digital lives.)

It's best to watch this knowing as little as possible, and then you too can sit there agog as I did, mouth agape, as the three hour-long episodes unfolded with so many WTF moments that kept me engrossed until the very last frame. It was sad, thought-provoking, shocking, infuriating, and the most interesting thing I watched over the long holiday period. I definitely recommend this if you haven't already seen it.