Netflix viewers sating their appetite for true crime have come across a documentary on the streaming service which is giving them sleepless nights.
As much as we may love crime dramas and compelling fiction, there are plenty of true crime fans who want to learn about the real stories.
However, some came away with more than they bargained for as a Netflix true crime documentary series which released on the streaming service in the UK yesterday (7 January) has left some 'too scared to sleep'.
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The show is I Am a Stalker, a true crime documentary that released on Netflix in the US in 2022 but has taken longer to make it to the UK.
It did show in the UK on Crime + Investigation but the documentary is a Netflix production.
You can probably guess the show is about real life stalkers and features their own accounts of their actions, which many have found off-putting.
As Netflix puts it: "Convicted stalkers tell the programme, in their own chilling words, how love turned into a deadly obsession in face first, captivating in-depth interviews."
Viewers are warned that what they'll see if they watch the documentary includes 'harrowing accounts of harassment, abuse and other crimes'.
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Some of the stalkers in the true crime series are an annoyance, pestering their victims with endless letters and messages, while others secretly follow their targets or even go as far as kidnapping or murder.
When it released in the US, I Am a Stalker became one of the most watched crime shows in the country, and now Brits are getting a clearer look at what the fuss is all about.
Plenty who are new to the show have been utterly flabbergasted by what they've seen in it, especially the story of Daniel Thompson, who is serving a life sentence in prison after murdering his ex's new partner.
Thompson was dumped by his girlfriend after they were together for three months and he started showing up at her house and threatening her with a knife.
Reported to the police on multiple occasions, on the night of 2 August, 2010 Thompson broke into his girlfriend's home and found her in bed with her new partner James Vail.
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Thompson told the documentary he didn't know Vail would be there and said he tried to kill his ex, but claims that in the darkness he 'misjudged [his] distance' and instead killed Vail.
One who'd seen the show shared a message on social media calling it 'some next level bulls**t', while another wrote that Thompson 'never needs to see outside of jail'.
A third said the show was 'bats**t crazy' and so many more posted to say how insane what they were watching was.
Something many Netflix viewers found particularly disturbing was the lack of awareness or apology from some of the stalkers in the documentary.
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"These people have no idea they are doing anything wrong," one viewer said of the 'super scary' Netflix show, while another could scarcely believe 'how delusional these stalkers are despite their actions landing them behind bars'.
Someone else said the men on I Am a Stalker were 'so deluded and have zero accountability'.
I Am a Stalker is available to stream now on Netflix.
Topics: Netflix, True Crime, TV and Film
Joe Harker