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Parents' Guide to

Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel

By Melissa Camacho, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Lurid crime docu is sensational and disturbing.

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Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

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age 15+

Based on 3 parent reviews

KKH
KKH Adult
February 27, 2021
age 15+

Just So So

The first two episodes were good. However, in the third episode it goes downhill fast. 1.3 was all speculation and covers the obsessions of an internet sleuth and a of youtubers in the Elisa Lam case. All the speculation is slow/boring. As well, these web “sleuths” are creepy lowlifes. Ron Howard could have done better.
Ysb04
Ysb04 Adult
February 21, 2021
age 15+

Mysterious,Exciting

See all 3 parent reviews

What's the Story?

CRIME SCENE: THE VANISHING AT THE CECIL HOTEL is a documentary series about the disappearance and death of a Canadian woman, and its connection to an infamous Los Angeles hotel. Elisa Lam, a 21-year-old college student, checked into the Cecil Hotel, a historic, low-budget hotel on January 28, 2013, for a three-day stay. But when her family doesn't hear from her and she fails to check out, the Los Angeles police suspect that she's a victim of foul play. Former members of the LAPD associated with the case, including retired detective Tim Marcia, discuss details about the investigation into her sudden disappearance, while maintenance worker Santiago Lopez describes what the police searches were like, and what happened when he discovered her body in one of the hotel's rooftop water tanks three weeks later. Meanwhile, former hotel manager Amy Price talks about what life was like inside the hotel, and about some of the strange and often disturbing events that have taken place at the site. Throughout it all, archival media footage, and interviews with journalists, web sleuths, and others interested in the story, reveal how Lam's mysterious death is now part of the hotel's bizarre legacy. Brief reenactments of different moments in the story are also featured.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3 ):
Kids say (5 ):

This sensational four-part documentary series examines the highly publicized disappearance and death of Elisa Lam. However, much of the focus is on how her death relates to the Cecil Hotel's grim history, which is full of violent stories about multiple murders, suicides, and alleged ghost hauntings. The fact that some of California's most notorious deviants, like serial killer Richard Ramirez, are associated with the hotel adds to the hype. Also fueling the cult-like interest in Elisa Lam's death is security footage of what many believe are her final moments, the public release of which has led to endless speculation about what happened to her and why.

While amateur sleuths and conspiracy theorists use social media to investigate and share their opinions about the subject, some of which include accusations of police cover-ups and concerns about the hotel's supernatural forces, those directly affiliated with the case assert that there are more obvious and logical reasons that can explain what happened. But Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel creates the sense that no one has real answers, and that the hotel somehow played a role in Elisa Lam's demise. While this may feed some people's appetites for dark mysteries and conspiracy theories, die-hard crime investigation fans will find it lacking.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the reasons why the story of Elisa Lam's death is frequently discussed in popular media. What is it about her death, or about the way the investigation was handled at the time, that has fueled interest in this case? Are the TV and social media discussions about the case informative, given the amount of misinformation it distributes online?

  • When do shows like Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel risk going from being informative to being sensational? What impact do sensational media stories about crime victims have on how we understand and react to violence?

TV Details

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