Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

54% Tomatometer 28 Reviews 28% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings

Los Angeles' notorious Cecil Hotel grows in infamy after the disappearance of guest Elisa Lam.

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Crime Scene — The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel

Crime Scene — The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel

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Critics Consensus

A sad story poorly told, Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel buries the heart of its tragic case under unsavory conspiracy theories and tasteless reenactments.

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Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel | Rotten Tomatoes (1) Olivia B. Waxman TIME Magazine The program—with its deep dive into Lam’s social media presence—raises a larger issue of whether these web sleuths help or hurt these kinds of investigations. Sep 19, 2024 Full Review Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel | Rotten Tomatoes (2) Alessa Dominguez BuzzFeed News The third episode of the series is titled “Down the Rabbit Hole.” It could have been the subtitle for the entire series — and not in a good way. Apr 6, 2022 Full Review Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel | Rotten Tomatoes (3) Graeme Blundell The Australian Berlinger takes us into the actual experiences of those on the internet trying to solve the mystery on their own, turning the series into more than simply a mystery but a kind of cautionary tale... Feb 27, 2021 Full Review Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel | Rotten Tomatoes (4) James McMahon NME (New Musical Express) While The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel is the story of a bright, adventurous young woman going on holiday and never coming home, it's also a mediation on the true crime genre itself. Rated: 5/5 Jul 2, 2021 Full Review Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel | Rotten Tomatoes (5) Nicolás Delgadillo Knotfest Certainly interesting, but there are moments when it feels like the series is dangerously close to giving into sensationalism. Rated: 3 / 5 Jun 26, 2021 Full Review Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel | Rotten Tomatoes (6) Carolyn Mauricette View From The Dark I hope people who watch Crime Scene: The Vanishing at The Cecil Hotel look past the drawn-out run time and the garbage the internet facilitates to see the loss of humanity this world constantly glosses over. Rated: 2/5 Apr 24, 2021 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Gareth v What a poor doco-series this is.Adds nothing new on the subject and could of been an 1 hour production at best.The only takeaway from this is what a bunch of losers amateur/web sleuths are. Rated 1.5/5 Stars • Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 06/24/23 Full Review Lukas K "Crime Scene: The Vanishing at The Cecil Hotel" is a Netflix documentary series directed by Joe Berlinger. The documentary follows the case of Elisa Lam, who disappeared in 2013 while staying at the Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles."Crime Scene: The Vanishing at The Cecil Hotel" really didn't turn out well.I have to say that after the documentary the case is now clear to me and it is now also obvious what happened back then.But in this documentary the focus is less on the real case and more on the resulting conspiracy theories, which I didn't like at all, because I was really interested in getting to know details of the case. Rated 2/5 Stars • Rated 2 out of 5 stars 04/10/23 Full Review Farzana I Really irritated by this one - seems like they used conspiracy theories to hook you into watching Episodes 3-4, which were wholly unnecessary. You realize quickly that this really wasn't much of a mystery at all. Rated 1/5 Stars • Rated 1 out of 5 stars 11/25/22 Full Review Chris L I do not agree with the low ratings. Sure, the storytelling was manipulative, but it was coherent and engaging for the viewer without "burying" anyone. If you appreciate a well-documented series of events, and good cliffhangers at the ends of each episode (that are actually addressed in succeeding ones), this is a must-watch. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/12/22 Full Review Audience Member My biggest criticism of this documentary about the disappearance of a woman at the Cecil Hotel was that it did not need to be told in four episodes. True they managed to cover a lot about the history and lore of the hotel as a background to the women in the elevator's disappearance. It was good but could have been half the length. Rated 2.5/5 Stars • Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/09/23 Full Review Audience Member They should have gotten more into the "there's dark energy in the upper part of the building." Why not bring sensitives and clarivoyants there? All energy is recorded in space (akashic records). There must be more detective working with clairvoyants. They should do many shows about it's effectiveness. Rated 1/5 Stars • Rated 1 out of 5 stars 01/09/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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Cast & Crew

Joe Berlinger Director
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Episodes

Episode 1 Aired Feb 10, 2021 Lost in Los Angeles Los Angeles' once-grand Cecil Hotel provides a nightmarish backdrop for the disappearance of Canadian student Elisa Lam; footage of Lam in a hotel elevator triggers a viral hunt. Details Episode 2 Aired Feb 10, 2021 Secrets of the Cecil Web sleuths dissect Elisa Lam's social media posts; a grisly discovery changes everything at the hotel where the Night Stalker once resided. Details Episode 3 Aired Feb 10, 2021 Down the Rabbit Hole The mystery deepens as obsessed individuals descend on the Cecil Hotel hoping to solve the case and tumble down the rabbit hole of conspiracy. Details Episode 4 Aired Feb 10, 2021 The Hard Truth An autopsy report arrives, but suspicions remain; an unlikely target speaks his mind as experts weigh in on enduring mysteries. Details

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Crime Scene — The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel

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Crime Scene — The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel

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Director
Joe Berlinger

Network
Netflix

Rating
TV-MA

Genre
Documentary, Crime, Mystery & Thriller

Original Language
English

Release Date
Feb 10, 2021
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