Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel

I remembered hearing about this story a while ago, but never knew all the details. I think this documentary does a good job of laying out all the facts and portraying why people were so obsessed with this case in the first place. I felt very uneasy while watching, especially during the elevator video. It was very interesting and gave enough information to form your own opinion of what happened.

A gripping true crime documentary series that is expertly crafted, with a focus on meticulous research and interviews with key players in the case, including law enforcement officials, journalists, and witnesses. It also provides a fascinating look at the history of the Cecil Hotel, which has long been associated with crime and death. One of the strengths of the series is the way it handles the complexities and contradictions of the case. Rather than trying to provide easy answers or sensationalize the story, the filmmakers delve into the many unanswered questions and conflicting accounts, leaving you with a sense of doubt. The series also provides a fascinating look at the way social media and internet detectives have become involved in true crime investigations, contributing to the search for answers in the case.

Mostly okay, but too much airtime given to egocentric youtubers and their conspiracies that are only interested on themselves and being the ones finding the truth to be the hero, instead of honoring the memory of the victim.
Those people haven't done any good and caused harm. Why giving them this exposure ?

Beside that, there are interesting and caring people giving great inputs.

I don't know, this could have been a good work about mental health but instead it's wasted trying to be a thriller show.

I absolutely love True Crime docs but this series was way too long and just feels disrespectful at times.

I get that they are trying to discredit these web sleuths but then why would you give so much airtime to these idiotic conspiracy nuts with a hero complex? This entire story could have been told in a 90 minute movie. The reveal/pointing out the insanity and exploitativeness of these YouTubers comes waaaay too late. Episode 3 and the beginning of episode 4 were just straight up disgusting to watch.

The tension of an unexplained case that is well-built at the beginning is spoiled by unprofessional YouTubers speculating and seeking sensation. All this lacks empathy towards the victim.

An interesting and tragic case. The show definitely goes on too long but is interesting enough.
I liked the history of the hotel, the area and other criminals involved with the hotel but these are often thrown in without much context. They should probably have just done a series on the hotel and done an episode about each notable crime / criminals relating to it.
I feel very sorry for Pablo Vergara and hope it serves as a warning to the damage internet conspiracies can do.

There is one moment where a key piece of information is just withheld as the rest of the story is told to keep it mysterious. Felt like a cheap move.
Definitely too much time given to internet conspiracy theorists. I guess they try and tell the story of how easy it is to get drawn in and how damaging it can be but doesn’t feel well executed.

Probably an episode or 2 too long. 6/10

2 hours of skeevy youtubers showing you how smart they think they are could have been cut...really is a documentary about how scummy some youtubers are.

If you feel like this was exploitative af like me, be sure you give it a thumbs down on Netflix. Otherwise they’ll never learn.

A terribly sad story. Instead of spending 4 hours letting YouTube conspiracy theorists blow this out of proportion, they should’ve discussed mental health a little bit more.

Though I feel like this docuseries did a good job exploring the mystery, the coincidences, and the theories behind this case, I can't help but feel like it did a disservice to Elisa Lam. 3 episodes on mysteries and theories, but only 1 episode on her mental state and it wasn't even covered in-depth? The documentary would be much more helpful if they focused just as much on her mental state (which, imo, is what put her in a situation she couldn't survive) as they did on the mysteries.

Elisa Lam was acting erratically since she arrived at the hotel and her bizarre behavior was ignored or brushed off. Perhaps using the docuseries to provide a better understanding of her mental state and illness would be a lot more helpful to other people out there. Perhaps it could save a life somewhere, by making the public more aware of this kind of behavior and the reasons behind it.

Just because true crime YouTubers, web sleuths, and the public opinion say her mental state had nothing to do with her death because there are too many things that don't add up doesn't mean that's a fact. And yet, that's the foundation of the entire documentary. I don't think that's fair. Elisa Lam was more than a mystery that went viral.