10 True Crime Stories That NEED A Netflix Documentary

Leaving aside the truly terrifying nature of this incident, the Tokyo subway sarin attack of 1995 contains many aspects that would make for an engrossing documentary. There’s cult action, horror, terrorism, a fascinating aftermath. It’s a story that still looms large in Japan, but one that isn’t discussed so often in the west.

On March 20th 1995, members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult released toxic sarin gas on three lines of the Tokyo subway. The effects were immediate and catastrophic: 14 people lost their lives, either at the time or in the aftermath, and a further 5,500 were injured, many permanently.

This was a seismic incident for the Japanese people, who maintain the world’s lowest murder rate and haven’t experienced a terrorist attack on this scale before or since. The aftermath was one of great soul searching and reckoning, including a fascinating book by Haruki Murakami.

13 members of the cult were executed in July 2018, but the organisation, now under the name Adelph, still functions, albeit without having attempted anything nearly as audacious since. It’s a wild and terrifying story that deserves to be kept alive.