22 Family Movies Not To Watch With Your Family On Thanksgiving

Courtesy HBO Documentary Films.

There’s Something Wrong With Aunt Diane

In this disturbing documentary, we get an inside look into the 2009 incident in which an otherwise responsible and loving New York mother drove her minivan carrying her daughter and three nieces into oncoming traffic for 1.7 miles, eventually hitting an SUV carrying three more people. The accident killed all involved. Featuring interviews with her surviving family members, the film seeks to understand not only what happened that day, but why it happened, and most heartbreakingly, if it could have been prevented. With an objectively fascinating mix of forensic evidence, eyewitness testimony, and personal anecdotes, we’re walked through the day leading up to the event, and end up feeling just as conflicted as the people who actually knew her. The horror of the event will shock you, but the intimacy of the stories of both perpetrator and victims will break you down. It’s a true-crime doc, intriguing in its mystery, but more importantly, it’s an incredibly raw portrait of loss, confusion, heartache, and both the human animal’s capacity to endure and our inability to cope. Watch alone for the ugly sobs, but be ready for tons of pillow squeezing and audible “WHAT? WHY?!?”-ing.

Especially avoid if: The reality of this film is too heavy for you. It deals with drug and alcohol abuse, the real-life, inconceivably horrific deaths of young children and adults alike, and the unending agony of not knowing why bad things happen to good people.