The Lady of Silence: The Mataviejitas Murders (2023) User Reviews

A must see.

[tarascopablo · 7/10 · 3 August 2023]

This true crime documentary is well crafted and well investigated. The case of la mataviejitas was a big deal in Mexico in the early 2000s. Some reviewers complain about some of the investigative theories made by the authorities but: i) that has nothing to do with the documentary and ii) that is the way judicial and criminal procedures were handled -and still are in many cases-.

The documentary in itself is relevant and presents testimony from journalists, lawyers, the DA, the ADA, the family and friends of victims and experts in forensic medicine.

I believe this documentary manages to capture how it was living in Mexico in the early 2000s.

Quite an interesting true crime documentary. [+59%]

[arungeorge13 · 6/10 · 8 August 2023]

Netflix goes back to its documentary drawing board, venturing out of the United States in search of riveting serial killer cases. This time, the setting is Mexico, and several elderly women are being strangled to death between the period of 1998 - 2006. The case presents its interesting details - the killer could be a woman? There's also the timely bias in the perception of transvestites and homosexuals. Even with multiple officers assigned to the cases, multiple composites to go by, and even a 3D bust of the killer shown extensively in news media and public spaces, the incompetence of the local police force to connect the dots and capture the killer is clearly evident. The government came up with silly solutions like the additional door lock and so on.

A couple of suspects are interrogated and even sentenced for the killings with no conclusive evidence. The actual killer is revealed only in the final 45 minutes. The story then takes a decisive turn, diving into the reasonings and the methods of execution. The killer profiling was correct, and the composites did look quite similar to the real person, yet how she got away with so many murders over the years while living a regular life with her family is shocking, to say the least. The piece could have easily been a bit crisper; however, due time is given to the victims' acquaintances and kin. That's always an appreciable aspect when it comes to documentaries like these. A suspect wrongly accused of the murders is still in jail - another confusing aspect overall (even if she was a burglar). The crime scene recreation (and capture of the suspect) are done with finesse, though the soundtrack could've been better.

Mexico, makes you want to get old there.

[deloudelouvain · 7/10 · 27 January 2024]

La Dama Del Silencio. El Caso Mataviejitas (or The Lady Of Silence for the English title) is a Spanish spoken documentary about one of the most famous female serial killers in Mexico. It's well made and informative so I don't get the one star reviews and ratings but everybody is entitled to their opinion. Like always with serial killers cases it's astonishing what kind of mistakes the police forces and investigators made. When you see that innocent people (well at least they're not murderers) are still rotting in jail you can only be ashamed that something like this is still possible in this era. Well it's Mexico so nothing surprises me from a country known for its corruption. Funny (that's sarcastically said) to hear a police officer say that they were surprised to have a serial killer in their country. Let's not forget Mexico is ranked thirteenth in the world for murder rate per capita. So allow me to feel slightly amused to hear such nonsense from a government official. Anyway, I thought this documentary was easy to follow and entertaining if you like true crime documentaries about serial killers.

A very good one documentary

[locosmickey · 10/10 · 28 July 2023]

God this one was a very chilling and very well documented documentary, this case was a big thing in the late 90s and early-late 2000s in Mexico. I was not mentally aware at the time when this woman commited her crimes cause I was still a kid, but now watching her story and all the terrifying and evil things she did, my god she was a terrible human being. I learned more about this case with this documentary, it has comments from some of the police department people that were working at the time, and family members of some of the victims of this woman. I am not a fan of documentaries but this one really gave me the chills, I highly recommend watching it.

Background Music from Hell!

[Brit-32853 · 1/10 · 29 July 2023]

I don't know who thought it was a good idea to put cartoon sounding dramatic music in the background, but it was so distracting and annoying that I couldn't continue watching. The choice of music was in stark contrast to the somber tone of the storyline which made it feel completely disjointed and almost comedic.

It's a shame because I like these kinds of shows and I'm a very tolerate person. This would be the first one I've had to turn off because of how bad and annoying the background music was.

The only thing I can suggest is to watch it with subtitles and with the sound off. I'm going to have nightmares with this atrocious music as the background!

A pensive reflection on murder and society

[atleverton · 9/10 · 2 August 2023]

This true-crime documentary film starts off like any other. There's a series of sensationalistic murders and the film goes in depth to explain the investigation. The brief outline is that Mexico was shocked by a serial killer who was active in the late 1980s to Mid 1990s, and this serial killer prayed upon the elderly. Then it departs from that narrative to talk about three things that are very important. Firstly, it mentions that at the same time, in Juarez, nearly 300 women were killed, and this didn't attract any attention at all in the Mexican press due to the fact that these were poor women, and they were women. Second, it mentions the way the Killer was portrayed. She was a middle-aged woman who was killing elderly women for financial benefit. But because she was a fan of wrestling they said that she was super strong and super masculine, even though she was never actually a wrestler herself. The investigation went into a number of dead ends because of the conviction of the Mexican police that the culprit was a man pretending to be a woman. And the last thread it picks up is the fact that several people were tried and convicted of crimes that were probably done by this serial killer and yet they are still in prison, one even died in prison. If you like true Crime this documentary is a must-see.

Farcical, Disrespectful Handling of Materials

[MeadtheMan · 3/10 · 28 July 2023]

It's definitely a string of serious and captivating cases.

But there are elements in this documentary that just take away from its seriousness. First of all, some of the officers, seriously, "no serial killer in this country before this (since 1940's)?" Give me an effing break, most countries do, let alone Mexico, the problem is just the failures of many police officers in connecting the dots. It's not the fault of the producers that such inane comments were made, but no pushbacks?

Then the soundtrack, what's up with that? Strange application of a theme. I get it, it could instil a sense of irony and suspense, but there's a balance to strike here. The soundtrack at hand is just stupidly, comically farcical, as if being intentionally disrespectful to the victims. It's real life, not Dick Tracy. It can be funny when mocking politicians and police officers, not when victims are being shown. Also, it's perfectly ok to not have extraneous music for a few moments, the incessantly running music shows a lack of discipline and vision.

Then the pictures of victims being strangled being shown like some kind of visual technique. And a myriad of other visual techniques, they're not just distracting, but take away from the gravitas of the situation.

"Oh she has a robe... must be a healthcare personnel" (is dressing up impossible in the country?). Also this happened between 1999 and 2004, there's no more concrete method to verify DNA or whatnots before each suspect is being showcased in a glass cage like some kind of zoo animal? And the cute lock solution? As if that's going to stop a determined killer? "A man crossdresses as a woman," only for one of the officers to go "oh a homosexual" *face melts away emoji*. "Serial killers don't act near where they live or near their workplaces," says one officer (the same officer who claims it's the first time this is happening in the country, yet he has no qualms dispensing generalizations like a master). Seriously? Says who, which study? Because I can easily name some cases that contradict his assertion. What should a professional conduct be like, you ask? I know, getting the serial killer's signature as a sign of fan-girling.

So. Much. Stupidity.

Idk why anyone would give it less than 7 stars tbh

[javier_andrade_8 · 9/10 · 24 November 2023]

Not bad very straight forward! Crazy on the motive tho she probly had it tough growing up wish they had more details about her younger years

Very sad for the loss of their grandmothers the years and amount of people that were killed were crazy.

Mexico had never seen a serial killer before, that topic was new to the authorities at the time made it very challenging to them to capture her.

Conclusion very good doc kept me very interested from the get go never was I drifted attention from it kept on getting more and more interested, I don't get the bad reviews this doc is better than 80% of the garbage that is shown on net !

Awful background music

[mikalrkayn · 1/10 · 8 December 2023]

I really enjoy Netflix documentaries, they are regularly well made and researched. However as others have said the background music for this documentary is absolutely awful and makes the very serious subject matter seem farcical. If I was the family members featured in the show I would find it an insulting and disrespectful. I managed to watch fifteen minutes of it and had to give up , what makes it even worse is that the soundtrack is loud and also drowns out some of the speech. I don't understand how this gets past any checks, I really hope in the future we can have an option to turn off background music on documentaries.

Nice true crime. Bad justice system.

[bnhbnpqc · 10/10 · 1 April 2024]

Very interesting and well produced documentary. Although I agree that the background music can be annoying at times, this does not affect the final quality. The reproductions of the crime scenes and especially the capture of the killer were done with great finesse. Finally, I have seen other documentaries that deal with real crimes in Mexico and what stands out is the completely flawed justice system, it is not a Democratic State of Law, with respect to fundamental guarantees, which is regrettable. The duration is also a positive point, as there were no uninteresting parallel narratives, really focusing on what mattered, including in a very artistic way.

The music killed it terrible decision

[axgoodman · 2/10 · 22 January 2024]

I'm a documentary buff, crime and otherwise. I don't know who made the executive decision to put all of the cartoon music in the back ground...but it was a terrible decision. It took away from the quality of the documentary. A little would have been okay maybe but it was CONSTANT. If this was not my first time hearing of these crimes, I would have turned it off.

The story was covered from law enforcement, witnesses, and victims impacted. The music was so terrible I am writing this review and I haven't even finished the whole thing. I wish Netflix had an edited version without the crazy music smh.

Horrible music

[ankskanojia · 1/10 · 23 April 2024]

Sorry I couldn't watch it beyond 15 mins only because of the music. The background music was a comedy music on a serial killer movie. Like seriously???

Makers should learn some basics of filmmaking.

The case seemed interesting but unfortunately it couldn't create a connecting because of terrible music choice. I love watching serial killers documentaries, I have watched so many of them on Netflix itself and loved also, for me to get disappointed is very hard. I was so annoyed by the music, hard work of so many people in making the movie and so much money got spoiled just because of the wrong choice made in music.