Michigan-Made True-Crime Documentary Finally Comes To West Michigan

Earlier this year, the true-crime documentary "Unknown Number: The High School Catfish" took the world by storm when it dropped in August, quickly hitting number 1 on Netflix for several weeks. After that came out, I wrote an article highlighting other crazy, true-crime documentaries set in Michigan available to stream.

Get our free mobile app

There was one documentary I found very intriguing that was generating a lot of buzz on the festival circuit, but was not available to watch. The documentary "1969: Killers, Freaks, and Radicals" was created by a local Ann Arbor filmmaker who had never made a film before. 

After making its way around the country, winning many accolades along the way, Andrew Templeton's documentary is finally coming to West Michigan for two showings to kick off the new year.

From 1969 to 2025: The Ann Arbor Murders

"1969: Killers, Freaks, and Radicals" follows the story of the murders of six young girls that took place in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti between 1967 and 1969. Templeton stumbled across the story while reading the book The Michigan Murders by Edward Keyes, and according to Hour Detroit, that was when Templeton realized there was no documentary ever made about the killings.

So, he embarked on a six-year journey of "researching and independently producing" the documentary that, while highlighting the victim's stories, tells the larger story of the social norms of counterculture that influenced this investigation. This unique approach to the tale earned over seven awards from film festivals across the country.

READ MORE: The Craziest Michigan True Crime Stories Streaming Today

Coming to Theaters In Holland Next Year

Earlier this month, the documentary premiered in Detroit, Templeton's hometown, and is now heading to the west side of the state. On Friday, January 2nd @ 6:30 PM and Saturday, January 3rd @ 2:30 PM, the Park Theatre will be showing this unique documentary, six years in the making. 

Learn about the documentary on the website here, read an interview with the director here, and purchase tickets in Holland here.