There is no gentle way into The Scream Murder. The title is doing half the work before you even press play: it is the sound of a case that became known for its cruelty rather than its mystery.

The documentary works best when it resists the temptation to sensationalise. It lets the silence between interviews do the talking, and the result is far more chilling than any reenactment could be. You are not watching a puzzle to be solved; you are watching the slow, awful aftermath of a moment that should never have happened.

What makes it heartbreaking is the ordinariness of the people left behind. Parents, siblings, and friends who cannot square the violence they have been handed with the person they knew. The film never tries to make sense of it, because there is no sense to be made. The word “pointless” keeps coming up, and it is the only word that fits.

A solid watch, yet not spectacular. It is chilling and it is sad, and it treats its subject with the respect that many louder docs forget. Worth watching if you want a sober, no-frills take on a tragedy that should never have been lived.