Don't F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer

2019

Original language: English

crime
documentary

The story

A twisted criminal's gruesome videos drive a group of amateur online sleuths to launch a risky manhunt that pulls them into a dark underworld.

What it’s like

Glowing monitors in dark rooms, screen recordings of chat windows and map overlays, and close-up talking-head interviews framed against cluttered home offices and dim apartments. The palette runs cold blue and sickly green, with flat, unglamorous light and a handheld, restless edit that cuts quickly between online sleuthing and real-world searching. The score is sparse and pulsing, with long stretches of tense quiet that make the next notification feel loud. Its vibe is unsettling and bleak, a late-night, lights-off watch for someone who wants to be gripped by a real hunt rather than soothed. The intensity is high: the case centres on a killer who filmed cruelty to animals and murder, and some of that footage and its aftermath is shown or described in graphic, upsetting detail, with dread and disgust doing more work than spectacle. Pacing is brisk and escalating, and the emotional register is anxious, morally uneasy and occasionally cynical about internet culture. The people at its centre move from curiosity into obsession and real danger. It suits viewers who enjoy true-crime investigations and do not need warmth or relief, and it is a poor fit for anyone seeking something gentle.

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