Summary
Staying a little too “on the fence” Murder Mountain captures a broken community that is battling with a high number of missing people in the marijuana business.
I always become fascinated by stories involving obscure counties in the USA. For some reason, due to living in the UK, I always imagine that we do not have these little bubbles of community where weird shit happens. Netflix docuseries Murder Mountain takes us to Humboldt County, California, where its geographical location is ideal for marijuana farmers to shelve thousands of pounds of weed, legally and illegally.
And you are probably wondering why the Netflix series is called Murder Mountain, and how weed is intricately linked. Well, this county is a community shrouded with tragedy on a daily basis; a place known for people to go missing in a heartbeat. The opening episode opens up the story of Garret Rodriguez, a young aspiring surfer, with a promised location on the beach, who decides he wants to make a quick buck by working on Murder Mountain; a place where young adults visit in the hope of making their life savings by becoming a trimmer.
They’re the opening curtains of Netflix’s Murder Mountain, and Garret’s father discusses the heartache of the ongoing investigation of his missing son for the subsequent episodes. The docuseries puts in a lot of time building the picture of Humboldt County, California; the thoughts of the community, the sheriff department, the family of the missing and tourists. Murder Mountain does not force a conclusion, and rather it attempts to relay to the viewer what the area feels like to those who live in it.
One of the downfalls of Netflix documentary series Murder Mountain is the creator’s resistance to follow a lead that ultimately leads to a conclusion. The series makes a strong effort to remain on the fence while tackling the subject matter. In summary, the mountains are a mix of legal and illegal operations, and the number of people that go missing cannot be a coincidence. One of the people interviewed believe young adults arrive in the mountains to disappear, and make their problems dissipate, but others have theories that there is a serial killer on the loose.
But at the same time, Murder Mountain provides evidence that some incidents and explanations are purely incidental of gang crime and trafficking. Even those who are trimmers can be found trimming for months in the same cabin, paid a decent amount of money but miles away from any road to gauge a phone signal. It could be said that Humboldt County, California is a unique place.
Murder Mountain will draw up many theories, and the story of Garret Rodriguez will entice you to keep watching the 6-episode series. However, I do not feel it reaches the heights of other Netflix true crime documentaries like The Innocent Man or Making a Murderer – maybe keep it on the back burner ready to watch at leisure.
