I admit that I am morbidly fascinated by the darker side of humanity and this show definitely skews more in that direction, but I wasn't expecting the heart-rending emotions that it showcased as well. This is truly a sad show (in a good way) that often brings me close to tears while viewing it. It is definitely worth watching.
49 Reviews
Heart Wrenching
andrewrye-0653521 January 2020
This should almost be reclassified as a horror which makes it being a documentary even more harrowing.
Similar to a documentary, this starts off from a low level and slowly builds. There is a victim or witness who is usually a family member or close associate who lays all the back ground for what they are about to reveal. Like a good horror the build up is slow and deliberate. They take you into their world and show you how the situation slowly and almost casually started. There is a lot of reflection and this can only be done in hindsight with full knowledge of what was coming. I can imagine the subtle clues and signs were just that and certainly nothing to run to police or run away from. A lot of families have these types of characters and usually they grow out of it and go on to be normal family people. These stories are about the ones that did not.
I think the worst stories are where the person being interviewed had no knowledge of what was to come, weren't fully involved and when it did come felt guilty for not being a better parent, son, sister or what have you. The grief is real and the remorse, although unwarranted, is overwhelming.
Although there is an amount of recreation, I don't find it overly dramatic, more to put the viewer into the witnesses or victims situation. To see what they saw and went through. The people being interviewed genuinely seem to have been through hell, and are now almost devoid of emotion when they talk about it. It's a very eye opening look into how evil people can be and what effect that has on the innocent.
The reviewers who have attacked the people being interviewed for not seeing the signs and acting or just not getting out, accusing them of being weak and generally being laptop cowboys are the ones in need of help. The very lack of compassion and failure to understand that real life is not like the movies is concerning. That most of these stories involve innocent children shows me they haven't watched many of the episodes. Time to push the keyboard away and go out and see how the real world works.
The presentation and ability to tell a real story and sell the heart wrenching devastation that follows, earns an 8 from me.
Similar to a documentary, this starts off from a low level and slowly builds. There is a victim or witness who is usually a family member or close associate who lays all the back ground for what they are about to reveal. Like a good horror the build up is slow and deliberate. They take you into their world and show you how the situation slowly and almost casually started. There is a lot of reflection and this can only be done in hindsight with full knowledge of what was coming. I can imagine the subtle clues and signs were just that and certainly nothing to run to police or run away from. A lot of families have these types of characters and usually they grow out of it and go on to be normal family people. These stories are about the ones that did not.
I think the worst stories are where the person being interviewed had no knowledge of what was to come, weren't fully involved and when it did come felt guilty for not being a better parent, son, sister or what have you. The grief is real and the remorse, although unwarranted, is overwhelming.
Although there is an amount of recreation, I don't find it overly dramatic, more to put the viewer into the witnesses or victims situation. To see what they saw and went through. The people being interviewed genuinely seem to have been through hell, and are now almost devoid of emotion when they talk about it. It's a very eye opening look into how evil people can be and what effect that has on the innocent.
The reviewers who have attacked the people being interviewed for not seeing the signs and acting or just not getting out, accusing them of being weak and generally being laptop cowboys are the ones in need of help. The very lack of compassion and failure to understand that real life is not like the movies is concerning. That most of these stories involve innocent children shows me they haven't watched many of the episodes. Time to push the keyboard away and go out and see how the real world works.
The presentation and ability to tell a real story and sell the heart wrenching devastation that follows, earns an 8 from me.
Really engaging
lenace272 November 2018
100% addicted to the best crime documentary out there.
janetbingos20 June 2020
The first time I sat and watched this documentary I was completely addicted my favorite part of the show is where the family and friends tell the story holiday remember it some stories are better than other but the majority of them are awesome very heartfelt the stories that the victims tell are devastating I cannot imagine going through something like that and surviving I give a lot of respect to the victims of these monsters who are brave enough to share the stories of their nightmare it's us the viewers this show could definitely save someone's life if someone someone watching a episode they could be in same type or a similar situation that these victims were as they're watching the episode they could get the courage and the strength you need to do the right thing and the safe thing for them and their families to be saved and save someone else's life bi reporting what they know and getting out just in time before a tragedy happens and sad to say it's a very entertaining documentary but it is more of a changing someone's life or saving someone's life type of documentary I loved it theme song it's very catchy and addicting I want to thank all the victims family members and Friends who share their stories with us. Does anyone know if the homes that the victims are being interviewed at are those real homes or just a studio that looks like a home I've had that question nagging me for years I want to know if that's where do victims live now? Some of the homes are just so nice and beautifully decorated they just don't match the people that are supposed to live there that's why I'm not sure if those are the homes they live in it or like I said just a studio to make it look like a home at the time of the interview some of the people are on the show are a little rough on the edges and it doesn't look like the decorating in the house would be their taste do you know what I'm saying?
Well put together
crimsonempire30 January 2021
These stories are so well put together that they really make the viewer feel the dread and heartache the 'evil person's' family lived with. The only thing I find kind of annoying is how every (at least all I've seen so far) family portrayed lives in a beautiful, large, craftsman style home. Seriously?! It takes me out of the story a little bit.
What would you do.....
pnkstr8 August 2018
What would you do if the person you loved most turned out to be a devil in disguise.... Most of us will never have to answer that question. The people in this series do. A harrowing insight into the people who have committed some of the most heinous unthinkable crimes as told by their immediate loved ones. Many of whom have never spoken before. A raw emotional series that look at the life leading up to these tragic events and how it affects everyone invoked. Very highly recommended.
Much more intense than other crime shows
tanya1-76-98669416 March 2019
The stories are told by the real victims, not actors, who visibly shake and cry while they tell their story, so you feel their fear and pain. It is very intense and emotional. The stories are true and scarier than any horror movie I have seen.
The most underated crime show on TV
marywoods82 March 2020
I'm absolutely addicted to crime shows but IM just not into those shows with crazy titles on ID. However, I stumbled upon this show one day and was super impressed at the layout of the show; the interviewer would hand the interviewee pictures and they would talk about it to tell their story. I don't like drama reenactments but this show uses them sparingly and when they do use it, it's to describe something that can't be described through words. It reminds me more of a 48 hours layout, besides you don't see or hear the interviewer, except an occasional faint voice. If your all out of datelines, 48hrs, and criminal justice this is definitely up your alley or if your into true crime at all check if out!!!!
Best show on Investigation Discovery!
kelslorraine19 May 2017
Warning: Spoilers
I've watched every show available on Investigation Discovery and "Evil Lives Here" is hands-down the best show! Every episode keeps you interested until the very end! Each story/episode is narrated by the actual people who were involved. Also, it doesn't include too many reenactments, which I like. I am (impatiently) waiting for Season 3! :)
Too Loud!
mikecorbett-1137811 July 2022
I'm a musician, and I love being heard, but I have to say that the music on this show is too loud. This makes it distracting and puts it in competitiion for the listener's ear, rather than being a complement and tool to establish the atmosphere. I hope this can change, as we like the show and want to continue watching it.
Sympathy wearing thin
elimen-9010617 March 2022
Just finished watching Evil Lives Here, "She was kept in a tree stump". I'm find myself angry with these people and their poor choices. I use to have sympathy and empathy but no longer! These men n women in the last couple of seasons are just as vial as their tormentors. Cowards whose self being is more important than making the moral decisions of what's right! They need to be judged and found as guilty as if murderers themselves! Every damn time they have the opportunity to do the RIGHT thing, they don't! I'm getting sick of them. The director n producer are finding people who aren't victims but are themselves perpetrators! I find I'm getting so angry with them I want to hurt them! These vial people continue and I'll have to move on. Y'all are promoting violence and saying it's ok, "because they were actually victims" Disgusting! Not caring enough to report a woman's DEATH is just sick! Going on with your life for years is Sick! And to expect apathy or empathy is Very SICK!! I wish I could say something to Sam and most of these people and it would be: SHAME on you! You had opportunity to do the right thing and you chose not to! You disgust me as much as your father and the tormentors y'all talk about! Two peas in a pod!
Riveting and binge-worthy
appleallen11 March 2021
A few episodes into season 1 made me rethink the wisdom of not locking my doors and windows at my rural home. And I have a pit bull mix who weighs in at 68 lbs of muscle. This series will snap anyone out of a false sense of security.
The recurring theme thru-out is family & friends who didn't see the impending doom headed their way. Some did, but were paralysed by fear. Either way you'll understand the answer to the question "Why didn't anyone do anything?" In quite a few episodes family spent years trying to get psychological help for their family member. Others repeatedly turn to law enforcement for help. Then there's the people who rationalized the evilness so that they didn't have to deal with it. Those are infuriating.
This series is compelling, the 1st person interviews heart-breaking, the actor reenactments well done, the occasional update at the end is fascinating.
I recommend binge-watching this...
during the day and with locked doors.
Guns and Religion. America at its finest...
boterhammetpindakaasenhagelslag26 July 2022
I have seen many episodes now and it baffles me how many people on this show still believe in God and rely on their religion. I left it in the hands of God. I prayed to God it would stop. I hoped God would protect him until he was with Christ". Also evil people using the naivety of their victims to use religion against them. Self proclaimed prophets leading cults. Parents praying on the fear of their children of going to hell if they don't obey. Now, as an atheist I'm aware that I'm biased, but did ever anything come good from religion? Watching this show it only makes me think not...
Secondly, I'm astounded how many times guns play a roll in these tragedies. Apparantly everyone in America has one. Teenagers collecting them. Children using rifles to hunt. And they wonder why there are so many families dramas and mass shootings. I realise bad things happen in other countries too, but America is a sick country if you ask me. On top of that police and child protection services fail to act and protect the innocent. Turning a blind eye until it's too late. I am shocked.
It used to be a good show
mls418210 October 2021
Compelling, revealing & raw
rachelflowers-0346729 October 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I don't understand why some of the others that have left reviews want to be upset or blame the people who are telling their stories. Unless you have been in the same situation you don't know what you are talking about!! A lot of serial killers act completely different around their own families. A lot of people who do violent things had violent things happen to them. A lot of abusers and bullies were abused and bullied by others. You need to focus on your own lives instead of judge others. It takes a huge amount of courage to tell your story. Your test becomes your testimony. Its not about common sense or letting things get too far. Some people are stripped of choice. Some don't say or do anything out of fear and a lot of people stay in their situation because of other people they are protecting, like their siblings or their own kids. You don't know. And when you are ignorant about something then you should educate yourself and if you can't empathize with anyone then don't say anything at all. Violence and unspeakable horror is out there- everywhere!! How you deal with it is your business but if you choose to share then you are helping others become educated and help them understand that they are not alone!! I was abused and used from very early childhood until late in my twenties. It started at home and then it happened in my relationships. You don't recognize toxic people when violence and abuse are all you know. You think that when somebody hits you or hurts you that its love, but you don't know that at the time!! I learned the hard way and i never call myself a victim, i am a survivor!! Thats exactly what these people are on this show!! They are survivors and their courage and bravery is very inspiring. I believe if i had the ID channel when i was growing up then i could have learned not to be naive, i could have recognized those "signs" and avoided a lot of the bad that happened to me. These survivors should be praised for what they have been through because they at least had the courage to make it out and pass on what they learned!! Awesome series. Incredible stories, raw emotions and reality about what is out there in the world all around us!! Definitely worth watching!!
I can't stop watching, but...
meesh100922 January 2023
I can't stop watching, but it's so frustrating to see the absolute blindness of these people who "didn't see this coming" when they should have been bowled over with red flags YEARS before the other person stated killing people. It's really hard to watch and not yell at the tv. An endless parade of oblivious enablers and naive doormats. It's really hard to feel for them when they just made (and MAKE) excuse after excuse for the killers' early behaviors that would have been obvious to any normal person that the criminal was trouble and would eventually kill someone. Production - wise, it's also very monotonous to listen to just one person talk for a whole hour. They really need some sort of narration or something to break up that monotony.
What you guys are doing matters SO MUCH!
julsels20 February 2022
I Love your program. I feel you showing these stories are GREAT and educational to people watching it will help someone in trouble. Someone in desperate help and afraid!!!! Please don't stop airing this! You are helping by showing people in need, that there is something beyond being trapped and tortured. God bless you all. The people making this program are angels in disguise.👍😇 Don't ever stop, you are saving lives!!!! YOU ROCK!!! J. S.
The Wedding Knife
toonf86 May 2024
Warning: Spoilers
I just watched Season 14 episode 8 of Evil Lives Here... "Three-and-a-half Hours of Hell... Let me start by saying that I am not a person of faith so I'm not sure what these folks are thinking. The victim/survivor of this marriage claims repeatedly to be a believer but she certainly didn't recognize any heads up that any God may have tried to give her. After being literally warned by a premarriage counselor, his own mother told her to run (after he cut himself with a box opener during an argument) I have the utmost compassion for this woman but when she found that he had written her name, Sara, on his heavy punching bag I think I would have gotten the message. Finally, after finding his attempts to date other women on line she starts to get it. Eventually he stalks her to Arizona and attempts to kill her ...(If I can't have you, etc....) I'm so glad she has survived but if I were to meet her I would have to ask her WTF was she thinking when she gave him a knife that says Hubby Shawn engraved on the handle on their wedding night?! It's the weapon he chose to end her life. Now I thought when they talked about the knife initially that it was one of those big, dull knives used for cutting cake... but oh no, it looks like a weapon, a hunting knife, black engraved handle and all. She is a strong woman to have survived everything he did to her but it seems to me he was broadcasting the breakdown long in advance but she just wasn't picking up what he was laying down. I love this show though, the very worst people at their very worst..... I am amazed at the horrors that people are capable of and how long some people are just not capable of seeing someone for who they are, even when it's right in your face.....
Really good. but.....
gakimab4 February 2023
Love this. Really well presented but a lot of the time, you really can't side with the victim due to their ridiculous lack of awareness. Awful what has happened to these folk but some of the episodes the parents/relatives may as well have shone a torch on the maniacs.
I really cannot understand why some of these people continue with their relationships. For example; why would a lady with 4 girls stay with their new man when she finds out he has been convicted of molesting a 6month old.
In the end I think that she has basically cost herself and her kids a real decent life clear of the awfulness.
I really cannot understand why some of these people continue with their relationships. For example; why would a lady with 4 girls stay with their new man when she finds out he has been convicted of molesting a 6month old.
In the end I think that she has basically cost herself and her kids a real decent life clear of the awfulness.
Gut Wrenching!
ReviewerAnon26 December 2019
The format of this show elevates all crime series! The narrative being told from the family members' point of view is unbelievably harrowing and in most cases horrific. You are captured by the emotions of the real photos, graphics, stories, and experiences they share. Just incredible, shocking, on another level!
Something to watch !!!
bachelor-1216016 January 2021
Every episode is unreal..
JBerg81671223 April 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Without question I would love to be able to use some more graphic words to describe this entire series, but obviously I want my review to stay online. So here it goes, I can honestly say without a doubt after watching all of the seasons available 1-9, that I had a normal childhood even go as far as saying not a bad one compared to the atrocities that I had to see in all those episodes on this show, there are a ton of really awful episodes as far as what the people did to their loved ones, and am I the only one that thinks that as the episodes went on it got even more evil than the last one? Because that seems to be the trend there they're going to have something in season 9 That would have to be extremely unthinkable and incomprehensible because I've already seen enough to make my head spin, because there's a lot of freaking messed up people out there, seriously a psycho wards would be a good place for 99% of the parents in the show & some of the kids too, there were a few that were psychotic. When I was growing up in my house I didn't have a perfect childhood but I could at least say that I was able to grow up and not be beaten on a regular basis or psychologically tortured or anything like that we just had rather normal sibling rivalry stuff and whatever else that was about it. Nothing on the scale of what the show has displayed.. I can definitely say this this, that this show is definitely not for the faint of heart and if you don't have a good strong stomach to be able to put up with some really horrific things then please don't watch this show. I have to give the directors and the actors in the recreations props for really putting on a good show even in the most despicable moments they made it really realistic.. there are a few shows that were kind of cringe worthy.. But for the most part I was pretty well hooked to the show and thankfully they have it on discovery plus where you can just watch it ad free.
CPS pay attention
dresmiles29 March 2022
Warning: Spoilers
At the end of the episode we learn that this bad mother adopted the son of her psycho son. When the mom talks about her grandson (Gabe) you can see she is mentally and emotionally unwell. She even says her son's name referring to Gabe and she has a little breakdown. How is this lady the best option for raising that little boy? Was there really NO ONE on Maisie's side that was better for the child?
Even during the episode when she talked about her grandson in any context as far as well-being or anything she kept saying "the baby". It's like she refused to voice any attachment to the child and say his name or even "my grandson".
There was definitely something wrong with Derek for sure but this mom seems like she put in zero effort to curb any bad behavior.
At this point, I feel so bad for Gabe and hope he finds healthy people to be around because that lady ain't it.
Even during the episode when she talked about her grandson in any context as far as well-being or anything she kept saying "the baby". It's like she refused to voice any attachment to the child and say his name or even "my grandson".
There was definitely something wrong with Derek for sure but this mom seems like she put in zero effort to curb any bad behavior.
At this point, I feel so bad for Gabe and hope he finds healthy people to be around because that lady ain't it.
I love trying to watch these shows, but the music is so loud, you can't hear the people talking! The music needs to be turned way down!!!
mimihopkins-2419825 April 2022
I love to watch these shows, but the music is so loud we can't hear the people talking because of the blaring music!!! So irritating! Surely someone has noticed this when they tried to watch this show and all you can hear is that blaring music!!! Please, try to do something about that, so irritating!!!!
Hard to be sympathetic
crystalwrites25 September 2023
It's really hard to find sympathy for a lot of these people. Especially the Christian ones who say that leaving abusive situations was against god's will, divorce is breaking a covenant, etc. They learned that manipulation is ok. Could it be because they were taugh to obey their husbands, and that divorce is against his will? Wonder where they learned THAT from? And then after all is said and done, they've dug up all the bodies, or the burns and the scars have healed, or the wife and children have escaped, they go running back to the same institution that had them thinking they needed to tolerate this madness in the first place. If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck. Aflac!
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