Dead in the Water (2023) review: Touching tale of a decades-long murder-mystery

When you consider how much the world has changed since 1978, not least within the field of crime detection, it seems unfathomable that it takes years to crack some cases. Some don’t get solved at all, but that year was when a particularly harrowing one took place: two backpackers, murdered, and doomed to a watery grave off the coast of Guatemala. Dead in the Water follows the story, in turn taking us on a gripping journey around the world.

It’s not too clichéd to say that crime documentaries are close to becoming a cliché, particularly on streaming services. But this Raw TV production, brought to you by Amazon Prime, bucks the trend, leaving no stone unturned in its bid to deliver us as detailed a story as possible. With three parts clocking in at around three-quarters of an hour each, every minute bristles with intrigue.

This is the story of Chris Farmer and Peta Frampton, a young couple from Manchester who decided to take off on a backpacking trip to the Americas. Sadly, of course, they never returned from this short-lived trip which also took in Belize, and so we’re swept into a family’s quest for the truth followed by a battle for justice. Based on the book of the same name by Farmer’s sister, Penny, Dead in the Water, gets as much audience empathy as it can. No, you can’t walk in the shoes of friends, family members and the various law enforcement figures involved, but you can’t help being almost fully immersed in their world.

For these are lives that have been irrevocably changed, not least Penny herself and Audrey, her and Chris’s mother. Along with Vince Boston, who is the main talking head Stateside, they’re the ones for whom grief was just the beginning. The background details, whether it be about the lives Chris and Peta had led beforehand, or focused on the zeitgeist that was 1970s hippy culture, are just enough and never show any sign of drifting too far from the main storyline. For audiences of many age groups it’s a stark reminder that this was a time when a lot of people didn’t even know where exotic destinations like Belize were on the map, let alone visited them.

The tragic couple were definitely venturing out of their comfort zone, which seems to be an underlying theme. This is coupled with an illustration of how even paradise, no matter how idyllic it may seem, isn’t immune to its charms being compromised. It’s another mark of how well this whole thing is put together, and it’s made as vivid as possible by footage and photos of the most intimate family moments, not to mention quotes from those interviewed that are natural yet powerful; almost as if they’d been written into a screenplay, they’re that profound. Speaking of screenplays, this documentary plays out more like a movie in a way, beats and all.

It’s a sorrowful account with no real winners, but one you just have to see and is a series that doesn’t require too much investment of your time. Dead in the Water is now available on Amazon Prime Video.