Common Sense Media Review
By Melissa Camacho
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Tales about strange events feature violence, have cursing.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Files of the Unexplained
What's the Story?
FILES OF THE UNEXPLAINED is a reality docuseries that examines strange or tragic events that have yet to be solved, such as hauntings, U.F.O. sightings, or the disappearance of individuals. Journalists, law enforcement agents, scientists, and other experts talk about the details of each "file" and offer theories about what happened. Meanwhile, witnesses, as well as the families and friends of missing or deceased loved ones, also share their thoughts. Archive images and brief recreations help round out each narrative.
Is It Any Good?
The uneven docuseries calls attention to some odd phenomena that have yet to be completely explained. Many episodes take on a sensational vibe, associating aliens, hauntings, and mythical creatures with tales about historic racism, violent situations, and the disappearance or death of loved ones. However, Files of the Unexplained also manages to highlight specific prejudices that affected the way some of these cases were investigated. It also points to the different ways media made it harder to take witness stories seriously. Nonetheless, the overall series offers enough entertaining speculation to mull over.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the lengths to which U.S. media outlets can legally go to in order to make a story more interesting than it really is. At what point do speculations about an event become problematic?
Is Files of the Unexplained produced to help people solve cases or to be entertaining? Why? Does its approach to each "file" make it easier or harder to take seriously?
TV Details
- Premiere date : April 3, 2024
- Network : Netflix
- Genre : Reality TV
- Topics : History , Fantasy
- TV rating :
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
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