Verschwunden: Tatort Cecil Hotel

I think this is a fairly smartly put together true crime documentary that at the end of each episode has the viewer exactly where it wants them. It guides us through the stupid internet conspiracy theories spawned by this case and, in the light of all those weird coincidences and mysteries, it makes you wonder whether there actually isn’t something supernatural or an insane conspiracy behind it. The youtubers and other influencers are fair game, of course, and fortunately, in the fourth episode the documentary uses them to make a point: that the real problem is that today every uneducated moron has an opinion about everything and is not afraid to use the internet to share it. Poor Death Metal fan. (11.02.2021)

A new documentary series from Netflix touting the infamous Hotel Cecil, known as a hotbed of violence and death. The hotel has been the stage of several suicides and murders here, and drugs, prostitution, and even the Night Stalker lived there. It is very disappointing that the series focuses on the disappearance of Elisa Lam the whole time. I found it relatively entertaining in the first two episodes, but after four episodes, it begins to repeat itself and becomes a bit boring. The case is interesting as long as you know nothing about it, but in the end, when you find out the truth, you realise that it's not as interesting and creepy as you hoped. I would much rather see the various murders and suicides that took place in the hotel, or even the Skid Row next to it, with homeless people and crime being a daily occurrence, which I found more interesting than the whole Elisa Lam case. It's a shame, the series touts something different than it actually is. It would definitely benefit from being shortened by one episode. 6/10. (11.02.2021)

Netflix beweist einmal mehr sein gutes Gespür für "True Crime"-Stoffe, die eine Adaption wert sind. Das Thema des Verschwunden: Tatort Cecil Hotel ist stark und größtenteils sehr beklemmend. Allerdings zeigt sich dieses Mal deutlich das große Manko moderner Serien, wenn der Inhalt kaum für die Hälfte der gewählten Laufzeit ausreicht und daher die restliche Zeit mit künstlicher Füllung und künstlichem Strecken gefüllt wird. Während des Zuschauens fühlte ich mich eine Stunde voraus - wann immer mir eine logische Frage einfiel, die sofort beantwortet werden sollte, ließ sich die Miniserie Zeit und präsentierte sie erst in der nächsten Folge. Mit anderen Worten, das gesamte Mysterium hätte auf der Fläche einer abendfüllenden Doku oder maximal einer zweiteiligen Serie gelöst werden können, ohne dass der Zuschauer etwas verpasst hätte. Leider muss Netflix weiterhin Inhalte in großen Mengen produzieren, und so haben wir jetzt ein überdehntes Dokument, was schade ist. (14.02.2021)