The True Crime Doc About One Of The Most Prolific Serial Killers, Stream Without Netflix
True crime fans will often point to Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, The Zodiac Killer, and Charles Manson as the “heavy hitters.” If the intent of the genre is to examine the monsters that live among us so we can be better equipped to prevent such atrocities from happening in the future, then I feel comfortable saying that everybody needs to take a closer look at the heinous crimes against humanity committed by Robert “Willie” Pickton. The Pig Farm, which can be streamed for free on Tubi, aims to unpack what exactly transpired during his decades-long reign of terror while living on his family’s Port Coquitlam pig farm.
One Of Canada’s Most Notorious Killers
The Pig Farm highlights how law enforcement officials failed to bring Pickton to justice for the grisly murders of dozens of sex workers who mysteriously vanished from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Though Pickton confessed to 49 murders, he was only convicted of second-degree murder in the deaths of six women due to a lack of evidence and the sloppy police work that was carried out across all involved departments. Given that most of Pickton’s victims were transients living in a densely populated area known for its high crime rate, their disappearances were mostly written off until it was too late to collect the evidence needed to secure more convictions through the Supreme Court of British Columbia.
Bungled Investigation
Constable Dave Dickson, who is prominently featured in The Pig Farm, cites a lack of cooperation from both the Vancouver Police Department and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) while he was trying to locate the dozens of missing women under his jurisdiction. Though his efforts were commendable, his inability to get a proper search warrant points to the systemic issues that allowed Pickton to be a free man for so long.
On numerous occasions throughout The Pig Farm’s run, Robert Pickton’s voice takes over the narration through the use of archived tape recordings. Trying to paint himself as a sympathetic character, Pickton talks at length about his hard upbringing, but never once expresses remorse for his crimes. His gravelly voice is enough to make your skin crawl as he calmly talks about his life, his work, and the events that led up to his incarceration and subsequent trial.
Life And Times Of Robert Pickton
Though The Pig Farm provides an alarming amount of insight into the life and times of Robert Pickton, I felt that only a portion of his story was being told. At best, this documentary covers how authorities repeatedly dropped the ball in bringing one of Canada’s most prolific serial killers to justice. While I think The Pig Farm does a great job pointing out the problematic investigation that spanned years, it plays out more like a supplemental piece of investigative journalism than a complete analysis of what exactly went wrong.
Supplemental Podcast Listening
REVIEW SCORE
In other words, The Pig Farm feels like an incomplete true crime documentary. If Robert Pickton’s case is of interest to you, I’d suggest listening to the four-part series that Last Podcast on the Left put out in 2017 to get a more exhaustive analysis of not just Pickton’s crimes but also the lives of his victims, their families, and the various law enforcement officials that were glossed over in this documentary. The Pig Farm functions as an excellent companion piece but will leave you with more questions than answers after streaming it on Tubi if you take it at face-value.
Rating: 3 stars
