Though the “troubled teen industry” is a worthwhile topic, this miniseries gives it the same indistinguishable treatment as the rest of the other true crime documentaries out there. There’s the sensationalist music and the reductive interviews, which equate survivors to their trauma and nothing more. It’s hard not to compare this Max miniseries with Netflix’s The Program, which also recently came out. The latter is more personal since the survivors reclaim their stories and find creative ways to tell them. Though Teen Torture has more history, context, and a variety of interviews from across the country to back it up, those elements ultimately make the series seem more scattered and less urgent than it should be.
Synopsis
Survivors, lawyers, lawmakers and whistleblowers join forces to take down America's Trouble Teen Industry.
Storyline
This three-part miniseries interviews survivors of abusive youth treatment centers, which are still rampant and unregulated to this day.
TLDR
Though it’s not the best one out there, it’s still a worthwhile documentary about a worthwhile topic.
What stands out
The horrifying truths the survivors share should’ve been treated with more urgency and care.