We’ve all been there, eyes glued to our screens, watching the latest car chase through the streets of Los Angeles. Or maybe your vice is scrolling late-night TikToks of police body cam footage catching Target shoplifters. There is no denying that this type of voyeuristic content is entertaining, sometimes embarrassingly so. The question is, why are we so drawn to watching people at their worst, especially when it comes to true crime? In the documentary Predators, filmmaker David Osit explores the psychological fascination behind the popular TV show To Catch a Predator, and how the series continues to perpetuate the blurred lines between justice and entertainment.

Who is the Real Predator Here?

Since its inception in the early 2000s, Dateline NBC’s To Catch a Predator series became an instant cultural phenomenon. The show employed decoys, actors pretending to be young teenagers, to lure child predators to a sting house, which is actually a film set. The men arrive thinking that they are meeting up with their underage victim. What they don’t expect is for Chris Hansen to appear with a film crew and catch them in the act. Hansen typically asks the men, “What are you doing here?”, and there is never a reassuring answer. Famously, Hansen ends his interviews by saying, “You’re free to leave.” It is then that these men are apprehended by local law enforcement and taken to jail. Typically, the episode ends there, and those watching from home turn to another program. But for these offenders, their nightmare is just starting.

Watch the Predators trailer here.

There is no doubt that To Catch a Predator is a stunning candid-camera investigative series. However, the show has never been explored from the psychological standpoint of our obsession with watching people at their lowest. Director David Osit’s very personal motivation to explore the morally gray ethics of To Catch a Predator opens our eyes to points of view that offer incredibly thought-provoking testimony. Speaking with former decoys, law enforcement, and Chris Hansen himself, Osit crafts a delicate story of how good vs evil isn’t always so black and white.

Director’s Statement

Says Osit, “Ultimately, I couldn’t have imagined the depths of the journey I’d end up going on – how making this film would not only challenge the limits of my own empathy, but reflect the tenuous morality behind how we tell stories, report news, and make films. My frustration with true crime, I realized, came from the illusion that after watching a true crime story, the crime will be solved and we’ll get all the answers. But what if I made a film that was about what happens – and what are we capable of doing to each other – when answers can’t be found? In a sense, Predators became a true crime story. But the villain wasn’t who I thought it’d be.”

Takeaway

Predators is a tough watch, and you may not agree with some of the statements made on screen. But Osit doesn’t aim to change your mind about the show’s impact or importance. Instead, Predators is more of a vehicle for self-reflection. It leads us to question why we embrace this type of content so voraciously. Further, it challenges us to examine this uncomfortable topic in order to find humanity in its complexity.

Once the credits roll, we’re free to leave the theater. But the emotional impact of Predators will linger with you long after.