‘Murder Among the Mormons’ Trailer: ‘Napoleon Dynamite’ Director Gets Serious with a Crime Documentary

Murder Among the Mormons Trailer

After breaking out with the Sundance sensation Napoleon Dynamite, director Jared Hess tackled a series of equally quirky comedies with Nacho Libre, Gentlemen Broncos, and Don Verdean. But none of those follow-ups measured up to the success or quality of his feature directorial debut. Now it looks like Hess is changing up the trajectory of his career a bit by directing a new true crime documentary at Netflix about one of the most shocking crimes to hit the Mormon community in Salt Lake City. Watch the trailer for Murder Among the Mormons below.

Murder Among the Mormons Trailer

Back in 1985, Salt Lake City was shaken by a series of pipe bombs explosions that killed two people and severely injured another. At the center of these explosions was a collection of early Mormon letters and diaries that were found destroyed in one of the explosions, creating plenty of intrigue about this heinous crime. Futhermore, one of the victims was a collector of rare documents, and had in his possession an artifact that threatened to shake up the pillars of the Mormon church.

With an opening featuring a Godfather-esque figure, the trailer really sets the tone for an ominous true crime documentary with plenty to expose. And with only three episodes, hopefully it won’t overstay its welcome like some of the other popular true crime stories that have been arriving recently.

In case you didn’t know, Jared Hess is actually a Mormon himself, so telling this story was likely a passion project for him. Plus, true crime documentaries are all the rage right now, so why not break into a thriving genre and open up some new doors as a filmmaker?

Here’s the official synopsis for Murder Among the Mormons, coming to Netflix on March 3, 2021.

Murder Among the Mormons is the first comprehensive look at one of the most shocking crimes to have ever taken place among the Mormon community and the criminal mastermind behind it all.The three-part documentary series directed by Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite) and Tyler Measom (An Honest Liar), examines a trio of bombings in 1985 that killed two people and shocked Salt Lake City. The murders send further shockwaves through the community when a trove of early Mormon letters and diaries are found destroyed in the vehicle of the third victim, a renowned collector of rare documents, including the infamous White Salamander Letter — an artifact whose contents threatened to shake the very foundations of Mormonism. As he fights for his life, investigators race to uncover the truth.

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