**SPOILERS AHEAD // TW: SUICIDE, DEATH, DISAPPEARANCE**
This 4 episode Netflix documentary series released on February 10th, Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel, goes into detail about the strange disappearance of Elisa Lam. She stayed at the hotel and went missing. The first episode of the series sets up the story and tells you the history of the hotel. This Famous Los Angeles hotel is known for having a haunted past that has been brought to life in another show, Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story: Hotel (season 5). American Horror Story takes the mystery of the “Hotel Cortez” to a whole new level by adding more suspenseful events. It’s Ryan Murphy, so it has to be over the top!
THE CASE:
Unlike American Horror Story, which focuses on the hotel’s overall ambiance, this docu series focuses on one of the most tragic cases this hotel has had: the disappearance of the 23-year old Canadian Elisa Lam. On January 31st, 2013, Elisa disappeared, which sparked an obsession with people online trying to figure out where she went. The last time that she was spotted was in the elevator of the hotel. The Los Angeles Police Department released video footage from the hotel of her messing around with the elevator buttons and talking to people who weren’t in the video frame. Elisa’s body was found floating three weeks later in the hotel’s water tanks.
WHAT WAS COVERED:
Producer Joe Berlinger wanted to help those obsessed with the case figure out more about Lam’s strange disappearance. He wanted to answer questions such as: Who was she talking to? Why didn’t the elevator doors close? Was the video timestamp changed and manipulated by the hotel? Did the hotel try to cover up what happened to her? These were all factors that played a part in why Netflix created the docuseries. Joe and those who were in charge wanted to cover all of the conspiracies regarding her death. The deeper Joe got into the research, the deeper the rabbit hole got as there is a lot of dark history from this hotel.
OTHER CONNECTIONS:
Prior to Elisa’s case, the hotel was known for being a crime landmark. This hotel is known for hosting people such as Elizabeth Short, The Black Dahlia, another infamous criminal of Los Angeles and Los Angeles’ serial killer, The Night Stalker, Richard Ramirez. From 1927, the year the Cecil Hotel opened, to now, more than a dozen deaths- suicides, overdoses, and murders have occurred on the hotel premises.
Joe mentions how the location of the hotel might have influenced what led to Lam’s death. The hotel is located near Skid Row, which is one of the most dangerous LA neighborhoods due to its high homeless rates and its high drug rate in Los Angeles.
While doing some research, something that I found interesting when looking up some photos of the hotel was the lobby’s architecture. The architecture of the hotel’s lobby is nice. You can see what era this hotel was constructed in just by seeing the details. You can see the art deco style and stained glass, which was very popular during this time period.
CONCLUSION:
This docu series was very interesting, especially if you enjoy watching crime-related shows. I felt that the series was too spanned too long for what it was. I enjoyed it, but if it were a 2-hour documentary, it would have been better. The documentary touched on many aspects of the case, such as conspiracy theories, what influence the hotel had on her, and Skid Row’s impact on the hotel itself. There is so much more about the series and what happened to her. I personally enjoy crime-related shows and movies, so this show gets a 7/10. If you enjoy watching other crime case related shows I suggest The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez, Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer, and Conversations with a Killer: the Ted Bundy Tapes. American Horror Story (Hotel) by Ryan Murphy was based off this hotel. American Horror Story is gorey and is not recommended for people under 17.
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