Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Alcasser Murders’ on Netflix, a Compulsively Watchable Docuseries Recounting One of Spain’s Most Gruesome Cases

The Alcasser Murders is the latest Netflix Original true-crime documentary series, a five-part chronicle of the disappearance and deaths of three teenage girls from a small town in Spain. Director Elias Leon pieces the story together from archival footage and new interviews, similar to other docuseries on the streaming service, including Making a Murderer and The Keepers. But it may be more in line with Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes and HBO’s O.J.: Made in America, considering how the tragedy became infamous in Spain for devolving into a media-exploitation circus.

THE ALCASSER MURDERS: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: Luisa Gomez, older sister of Antonia Gomez, sits center-frame for a present-day interview.

The Gist: In 1992, Miriam Garcia, Antonia Gomez and Desiree Hernandez hitchhiked from their hometown of Alcasser, Spain to a nightclub in nearby Picassent. They never arrived. Running away would be out of character for these girls, and their families immediately expected the worst. Miriam’s father, Fernando Garcia, stirred up local authorities and media outlets for a tireless search.

Over the next several weeks, the story went national, then international. Thousands wrote letters and sent money to help fund the search. Five million flyers and posters were printed. Seventy-five days after the girls disappeared, Fernando and Luisa were in London meeting with Scotland Yard when the bodies were found 150 kilometers away in La Romana.

Fernando and Luisa flew back home, landing in a media frenzy. Talk-show host Nieves Herrero, one of the many TV reporters who covered the story from the beginning, scooped them up from the airport. She deposited them on a stage along with many friends and family of the victims for a live broadcast in front of a studio audience. In shock and despair, they wept in front of the cameras as onlookers brazenly called for the death penalty for the perpetrators of the crime.

Our Take: Old news footage shows a grandmother of one of the victims in the throes of grief, saying the murderers should be burned alive. Shockingly, the network ran it. TV journalist Paco Lobaton — essentially Herrero’s rival — looks back and admits that such footage never should have aired. The Alcasser Murders also highlights how Herrero’s now-infamous live show forced its grieving guests to sit awkwardly while the broadcast crassly cut to commercial breaks.

This is when Leon’s documentary transcends retrospection and shows how media coverage can quickly cross the line to insensitive profiteering. He interviews other journalists, who say how easily they were swept into the frenzy, and how following a story too intently leads to the kind of footage that should remain private. Unwitting or not, they took advantage of their subjects’ vulnerability, and captured wrenching moments of family members’ intense grief — some of which Leon shares.

And that’s just in the first episode. The case of the Alcasser girls is one of the most gruesome and depraved crimes in the country’s history, the details of which Leon likely will explore in subsequent installments. As the better documentaries do, the director maintains a visual dynamic beyond piecing together talking-head commentary and archival footage; he retraces the girls’ steps the night of their kidnapping like a true-crime tour guide, and uses animated maps to give us a clear, concise perspective. This attention to detail works in harmony with the broader, human elements of the story. The documentary is in Spanish, so English speakers may be overwhelmed by a flurry of subtitles, so be thankful for the ability to pause and rewind.

Sex and Skin: None.

Parting Shot: In archival footage of Herrero’s broadcast, a producer takes the stage to announce that two suspects have been arrested. The audience cheers.

Sleeper Star: Journalist Patricia Murray offers a valuable point-of-view, giving Leon’s narrative some necessary objective commentary to balance the story’s subjective, emotional components.

Most Pilot-y Line: “How can you look away?” asks Murray, somewhat rhetorically, while recalling the ethically questionable media coverage at the time.

Our Call: STREAM IT. So far, Leon shows himself to be a creative and thorough filmmaker, unafraid to shine a bright light on the darker components of the human condition. Like other excellent docuseries, The Alcasser Murders is well-paced, crisply edited and compulsively watchable.

John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Read more of his work at johnserbaatlarge.com or follow him on Twitter: @johnserba.

Stream The Alcasser Murders on Netflix