This year's Oscar race for documentaries included The Perfect Neighbor, and fans thought it had a chance of winning.
The true-crime film from Netflix was released at a time when these kind of docs are becoming all the more popular — though the genre was also red-hot three decades ago, courtesy of HBO.
On June 10, 1996, Paradise Lost premiered on the premium cable channel and would ultimately win an Emmy Award. The real-life courtroom drama immersed viewers in the actual trial that convicted three teenagers (who claim their innocence to this day) of horrifically murdering three 8-year-old boys.
The 2 1/2-hour small-screen event shocked the television world, paving the way to two Paradise Lost sequels that would come in 2000 and 2011. The late, great Roger Ebert even offered a review of the original documentary, giving it an impressive four out of four stars. He wrote in part at the time:
"Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills is unique among courtroom documentaries in that the filmmakers, Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, seem to have had complete access to both sides of the trial process, including private family meetings, conferences with lawyers, even sessions in the judge’s chambers. The film opens with sad police video footage from the crime scene, showing the bodies as they were first discovered, and then reports how wild rumors swept the area about satanic rituals, animal sacrifice and blood drinking."
The true crime case is still discussed well into the 21st century as other groundbreaking documentaries continue to spotlight similarly controversial cases (looking at you, Making a Murderer). In a Reddit thread started three years ago, users sang endless praises for 1996 TV movie. "This is SUCH AN IMPORTANT piece of modern history. And I really feel that right now it is especially relevant," wrote one user, while another Redditor wrote, "This is one of those movies that likely shaped who I am and what I feel today."
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