Netflix has recently released the trailer for its newest true crime documentary which is set to air on 10th February, following the disappearance of college student, Elisa Lam, from one of Downtown LA’s deadliest spots, The Cecil Hotel.
The trailer is incredibly tense and offers a dark and harrowing insight into the workings of the Cecil Hotel, which is described as “the place where serial killers let their hair down”. The trailer included interviews with the hotel manager and with the Los Angeles Police Department questioning the last seen elevator footage that showed Elisa Lam still alive.
The documentary is set to debunk the baffling disappearance of Elisa Lam in 2013. Her body was found two weeks later in a water tank on the roof of the hotel, in response to guest complaints of insufficient water pressure. Final elevator footage showing Lam still alive was also found around this time and shows Lam in an elevator, gesturing wildly with her hands. The doors of the elevator also appeared to remain open for longer than expected which encouraged officials to question “if someone was keeping her [there]”, as stated in the documentary.
The documentary is directed by Joe Berlinger who also directed Netflix’s The Ted Bundy Tapes. This particular documentary appears to be part of a new season of documentaries, Crime Scene, which attempt to clear the uncertainty surrounding contemporary crime.
A troubling quote from the trailer sees an official questioning if “there was a room where somebody hadn’t died in”, offering a glimpse into the veracity of this particular location in LA.
Berlinger has since stated that he was fascinated by the events of Lam’s death but particularly by the role of the location in the events of disappearance that occurred. Berlinger himself claimed that this particular case inspired the series of documentaries that will “look into a particular location’s role in encouraging or abetting crime”.
This project was inspired by journalist, Josh Dean, a producer on the documentary, who provided his research of the Elisa Lam case to create Berlinger’s fascination with the role of location in crime.
The trailer offers a sharp insight into the documentary of the story of Elisa Lam at a hotel which has, as quoted by Berlinger himself, “a multi-decade history in crime” – a must-watch indeed.
For further information on Netflix documentaries, check out this article!
