True-crime documentaries have been on a rise ranging from investment fraud to truly tragic events. HBO in particular, has been increasing their selection of documentaries recently adding Evan Rachel Wood’s upcoming Phoenix Rising, a piece on domestic violence survivors, and Alex Gibney’s The Crime of the Century, which focuses on the opioid crisis and premiered last year. Now the streamer has released a trailer for its newest title, Undercurrent: The Disappearance of Kim Wall, a two-part documentary set to premiere on March 8th.
Undercurrent: The Disappearance of Kim Wall will center on the titular journalist, Kim Wall, who went missing in 2017. Known in Denmark as “The Submarine Trial”, Wall was last seen boarding a submarine with entrepreneur Peter Madsen, under the guise of interviewing him about his business. However, the vessel never resurfaced at the dock, and was later found broken in Køge Bay. Wall’s body was discovered shortly after, and Madsen was charged and convicted for her murder. Throughout the trial, Madsen would change his story three times before ultimately admitting guilt in 2020. “She was just doing her job,” states a close friend of Wall in the trailer, “then she ran into a psychopath.”
The documentary is split into two parts titled The Crime and The Punishment. The first part will detail Wall’s disappearance featuring last texts sent by the journalist and efforts made by friends, family, and the general public to find her. Wall was fairly popular amongst her colleagues, and was notable for her articles featured in The New York Times, Vice, and The Guardian amongst several other publications. “Kim was naturally included for journalism.” Another friend shares. “The stories she sought out were not mainstream.” Shortly after her disappearance, many took to social media to raise awareness regarding the situation.
The second part will feature details of Madsen’s trial, including the media’s coverage. Snippets of news coverage in the trailer likened Madsen to a ‘Danish Elon Musk’ prior to the attack, giving way to the man’s narcissistic personality. Part Two of Undercurrent: The Disappearance of Kim Wall will delve into mindset of Madsen who long denied his involvement. Part Two also features critiques of the media which used victim-blaming tactics in their coverage, resulting in heavy criticisms from family and the general public for their sexist implications. One woman featured in the trailer stated, “I wouldn’t have thought twice about getting on that submarine, because that was the job she was going to do.”
Undercurrent: The Disappearance of Kim Wall features trial testimonies, expert opinions, new interviews from colleagues of both Wall and Madsen, and new audio from Madsen. Commentators in the documentary are made up of several Navy commanders, police officers, journalists, oceanographers, and others related to Wall as they unravel this tragic tale. The two-part documentary is directed by Emmy-nominated Erin Lee Carr who previously directed HBO’s At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal.
Undercurrent: The Disappearance of Kim Wall will premiere both halves back-to-back on Tuesday, March 8 at 9pm ET/PT on HBO. The documentary will be available to stream on HBO Max. You can watch the trailer for Undercurrent: The Disappearance of Kim Wall below:
via Collider