Film Forum

In the mid-aughts, Dateline NBC’s To Catch a Predator drew millions of weekly viewers to watch sting operations: men planning to meet minors for sex would instead be confronted by polished host Chris Hansen, then by the police — all on hidden camera. Filmmaker David Osit (MAYOR) was one of those viewers, glued to watching potential sexual predators get caught — but disturbed by the implications of viewing this as entertainment. In PREDATORS, he examines the legacy of the show, revealing raw footage, interviewing Hansen and the adult actors who played the teenage decoys, and exposing the copycats who morphed the show’s conceit into outright vigilantism. Osit asks uncomfortable, multilayered questions about the real-world consequences of these public humiliations and how survivors, perpetrators, and viewers have been impacted by this influential program.

2025     96 MIN.     USA     MTV DOCUMENTARY FILMS

Reviews

CRITIC'S PICK
– The New York Times
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“★★★★½ EXTRAORDINARY. A clinic in documentary ethics… [A] rich, multi-layered documentary, which is about so much more than an exploitative TV show from 20 years ago.”
– Scott Tobias, The Reveal

“A thorough immersion that seeks to entertain and enlighten audiences, rather than offer ephemeral 45-minute thrills. PREDATORS grasps that visual storytelling has consequences whereas such reality shows don’t.”
– Pat Mullen, POV Magazine

“Probes the ethics and ramifications of the show’s crowdsourced punishment with delicacy and grace.”
– Sam Adams, Slate

“A clear-eyed analysis of the cultural phenomenon.”
– Dan Mecca, The Film Stage

“Measured, nuanced and finally gut-punching…smartly and sensitively executed…Osit’s brilliant, subtly needling film leaves us unnerved and alert, but not certain of our convictions.”
– Guy Lodge, Variety

“A raw and riveting documentary that skeptically re-examines [To Catch a Predator]’s appeal, legacy, and ethicality. Split into three parts that reflect an infinite pattern of crime, punishment, and cultural recidivism, PREDATORS fixates on our shared complicity in continuing that cycle with every click.”
– David Ehrlich, IndieWire

“Stunning. Much more than another attempt to interrogate our international obsession with true crime culture. It’s also an act of courage, confronting an increasingly vigilante-driven mindset that never pauses to understand that which is correctly considered vile, choosing instead to turn it into entertainment.”
– Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com