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2015…what a year, amirite? During each of the final days of the year, the Decider staff will be counting down our favorite and most memorable moments of 2015. If you happen to miss an installment along the way, don’t fret! You can follow all the action on our official Best 15 Of 2015 hub page.
No offense to the Academy and their short list for Best Documentary, but we feel they left off a few must-see picks. There’s no rulebook for creating a riveting documentary; you just need to have a riveting idea to run with. The following fifteen thought-provoking accounts of 2015 represent a mix of political commentary, religious exposés, environmental activism, racial justice, media criticism, true crime, the war on drugs, and last but certainly not least, the volatile amateur porn industry. Take a look at the documentaries that aren’t only award-worthy but stuck with us all year long.
'The Nightmare'
An unnerving, scientific look at the causes of sleep paralysis: a widespread condition that makes shuteye a literal living nightmare. Sufferers typically experience sensations of terrifying thoughts and hallucinations during their REM cycles, causing them to technically wake though they are physically unable to move. And while you’ll surely learn something from this fascinating little doc, just try not to overthink it and scare yourself into sleeping with the lights on… or worse.
'Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck'
Seeking to demythologize the life and highly publicized death of the famed Nirvana frontman, director Brett Morgan blended archival home footage, intimate interviews, and Cobain’s own diary entries to paint a portrait of too much too soon. Despite only spending time with Cobain’s family, bandmates, and notorious wife, Courtney Love, Morgan achieved letting the late musician tell his own story whenever possible.
'Meru'
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 89%
Three of the world's best professional climbers scale the Shark's Fin on Mount Meru in the Himalayas. The climbers must wrestle with their inner fears, interpersonal differences, and a slippery, snowy slope in order to accomplish a feat that has never before been succesful.
[Stream Meru] Photo: Everett Collection
'Do I Sound Gay?'
Director David Thorpe takes to the streets of New York City in an attempt to figure out if gay men really have an accent or if “sounding gay” is just another homophobic stereotype. What unfolds, however, is a discovery of identity through analyzing elements of media and interpersonal communication that provoke us to code switch, or drastically change our way of speaking upon different interactions.
'What Happened, Miss Simone?'
A look at the life of “High Priestess of Soul,” Nina Simone, a musical marvel and civil rights activist who disappeared from the limelight at the peak of her fame. Exploring, quite literally, what happened to this understated but deeply influential jazz figure, director Liz Garbus turns the clock back to the ’50s and ’60s, highlighting the eerie similarities between The Civil Rights Movement noted in our history books and the fight for justice and equal opportunity occurring today.
'30 for 30: I Hate Christian Laettner'
Part of ESPN’s hit 30 for 30 documentary series, I Hate Christian Laettner is an exploration into the deep-seated malice towards Duke University’s “Blue Devil Himself.” Despite record-breaking statistics and two national victories, college basketball fans — especially Duke fans — outright despise the legendary Laettner to this day. But why? I Hate Christian Laettner is a compelling (even if you’re not into sports!) look at the consequences that follow putting the “I” in “Team” and how fandom can ultimately be manipulated.
'Best of Enemies'
Centered around the 1960’s political news debates between conservative William F. Buckley and liberal Gore Vidal, Best of Enemies suggests our contemporary news landscape was, in fact, influenced by these two infamous hotheads. Through archival footage, interviews, and recovered letters between Buckley and Vidal, directors Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville unveil the ancestry of the televised circus we know now as political news coverage.
'Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret'
An environmental documentary like no other, Cowspiracy — despite its goofy title — suggests the primary cause of our planet’s increasingly abysmal health is animal agriculture. The researched-heavy doc features jaw-dropping statistics regarding ocean dead zones, methane gas, and water consumption. According to directors Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn, however, the solution to saving the planet is simple: stop eating meat.
'The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst'
HBO’s six-part docu-series sparked national conversation about the enigmatic Robert Durst: estranged heir to the Durst real estate fortune and the man at the center of three bizarre murders, two of which remain unsolved. An eerie example of what happens when incriminating evidence is caught on camera, The Jinx blurs the lines between character exposé and homicide investigation, resulting in Durst’s arrest just one month after the show’s premiere.
'The Wolfpack'
Being forced into lockdown with a vast movie collection as your only vice is likely any film buff’s dream. For the Angulo brothers, however, it’s very much their reality and it isn’t as blissful as one might think. Raised by anti-establishment, hyper-protective parents who forbid them to leave their cramped Manhattan apartment no more than a few times a year, the Angulos turned to the work of Quentin Tarantino, David O. Russell, and Christopher Nolan, among others, for their education about the outside world. Between reenacting their favorite films, the Angulos invite director Crystal Moselle into their father’s agoraphobic fold to capture the power of cinema has on this atypical band of brothers.
'Making a Murderer'
Filmed over the course of ten years, Netflix’s Making a Murderer follows the engrossing cases of Steven Avery, a Wisconsin man who spent 18 years in jail for a crime he didn’t commit. After DNA evidence exonerated him from his sentence, however, Avery was released in 2003, a local and national hero representing the Everyman. But just two years later, Avery finds himself as the prime suspect in the brutal murder of a young female photographer, his reputation destroyed and his future, grim. Through archival police footage and sit downs with Avery’s family and defense lawyers, Making a Murderer exposes one corrupt legal system’s attack on the poor and uneducated, but also brings to light the detrimental influence media has on high-profile court cases.
'Hot Girls Wanted'
Netflix always claims that HBO is not their competitor, but their decision to release this controversial doc about online porn in 2015 shows that they've paid close attention to the formula that made HBO successful. How popular was this show? The sequel to HGW is not a movie, but rather, a 6-part docu-series.
[Watch Hot Girls Wanted on Netflix] Photo: Netflix
With the amateur porn industry as its bleak backdrop, Rashida Jones-produced Hot Girls Wanted explores the lives of five aspiring adult film actresses as they struggle to remain relevant in a “world where you’re just processed meat,” according to one of the more successful subjects interviewed. Despite “porn-am” and “teen” being not only the most profitable, but also the most searched types of porn on the Internet, the life cycle of a female amateur porn star is no more than a few months, which, in these five scenarios results in some dire consequences.
'Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief'
Inspired by the Pulitzer-winning account by Lawrence Wright, acclaimed documentarian Alex Gibney aims to uncover the dark side of Hollywood’s most secretive religion. A ground-breaking, controversial take on faith, fame, and fortune; Going Clear is a must-see account of the intriguing history of Scientology as told by those who escaped the religion’s cult-like imprisonment.
[Where to stream Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief]
'Thought Crimes: The Case of the Cannibal Cop'
What if you could be arrested for your most private thoughts? That’s exactly what happened to Gilberto Valle, a NYPD officer who was arrested and charged for having potentially dangerous thoughts regarding a twisted, cannibalistic fantasy. But rather than focus primarily on the tabloid notoriety of Valle — dubbed “The Cannibal Cop” — and his unusual case, director Erin Lee Carr explores the unsettling idea that a man with a taboo fetish was jailed for having the potential to be dangerous: a patient zero in this new technological world order.
'Cartel Land'
A stunning account of the war on drugs, director Matthew Heineman puts himself in the line of fire between Mexican vigilante activists and two prominent drug cartels permeating the U.S. border. Arguably the most important documentary of the year, Cartel Land brings to light the fact that in drugs there lies opportunity and introducing an industry with financial stability to poverty-stricken areas is too good a deal to turn down, even if the risk is as big as the reward. Yet, as crystal meth cooks before our very eyes and bullets whiz past Heineman’s camera, it becomes painfully clear that unless government corruption ceases in both Mexico and the United States, this deadly war will continue to rack up bodies.
