Murder Mountain

Yes it was a little slow... but the beauty and disparity shown in Northern California make for an interesting backdrop and amazing film. Add in a true crisis (the black market history of pot) and some shady deep woods people and you have yourself an intriguing series that captures something I have never seen before.

A story of murder, guns, drugs, corruption, vigilantism, poverty, greed and idealism. As unsatisfying the results of the main case in this documentary are, the future gets an equally bleak outlook for the county from the film makers. A bad look for the cannabis industry too. I'm glad I watched the whole thing because the first 2 or so episodes had me asking if this was a Reefer Madness 2.0 type of thing. It isn't but it really doesn't take a positive view. But one of the things that really stood out was the incompetent and overwhelmed police. The enforcement at the end highlights how broken everything is.

Murder Mountain is, ultimately, an in-depth look at a family trying to seek justice for a murdered loved one in an area that has been defined by its "lawlessness" for generations due to the large amount of illegal cannabis grows once found there. Humboldt County, California is known for its "Emerald Triangle", where most of the illegal cannabis in the U.S.A. used to be grown and has gone through intense upheaval due to the legalization of cannabis in California (everybody wants a piece of the monetary pie). Lurking behind the cannabis industry, legal or illegal, are the sobering statistics regarding the amount of missing people in the region, the number of unsolved murders, and other crime stats this documentary didn't delve into, and a Sheriff's Office that's more intent on the cannabis industry than anything else (they'll say it's because illegal grows are the root of all evil, however, taxation and money appear to have a lot more influence on their actions than the causation of crime). The documentary, also, exposes what happens when a way of life is obliterated in the name of progress.

I was drawn into this show right away during the opening narrative. I had just turned it on, on a whim, and was only prepared to give it a few minutes. I thought it was going to be a marijuana show, and I didn't think that beyond sensationalism that it would have substance. But I give it really high points because it was paced wonderfully. The weaving of the father's story, the history of the town and the marijuana farmers were all laid out so thoughtfully, that my interest was kept the entire time and I ended up binge watching it. I really hope they do a second season! I want to revisit the farmers, and maybe investigate another missing persons.

This doc captures not only the true crime facet, but also the problems with black and white market marijuana farming in California, which is proving to be the testing ground for the rest of the country. Ten stars all the way- was hooked from the opening scene.