best netflix original documentaries 2017 : casting jonbenet

Photo via Netflix US & Canada/YouTube

Eerie trailer for Netflix’s ‘Casting JonBenét’ gets meta

Exploring a murder that captured the nation.

 

Audra Schroeder

Streaming

Posted on Mar 24, 2017   Updated on May 24, 2021, 7:42 pm CDT

Since the 1996 death of JonBenét Ramsey, the mysterious case has continued being picked apart online, giving way to ethereal conspiracy theories like that she’s actually Katy Perry. Lifetime tried to tell the story, of course, but Netflix‘s Casting JonBenét finds a unique way in.

It’s a documentary, but as we see in the trailer, the casting is also being documented. There are auditions for JonBenét, her parents, and her brother, all shot in a subtly menacing light. Director Kitty Green follows a thread here; her last film, The Face of Ukraine: Casting Oksana Baiul, focused on girls’ auditions to play the Olympic figure skater.

The documentary debuts April 28.

Share this article
*First Published: Mar 24, 2017, 11:28 am CDT