Accused: The Hampstead Paedophile Hoax

Accused: The Hampstead Paedophile Hoax

Before QAnon, before Pizzagate, a lurid story about a primary school in Hampstead, North London, galvanized conspiracy theorists around the world.

2024 · 67 min · ★ 5.5 · Documentary, Crime

Two children accused parents and teachers of leading a paedophilic satanic cult, supposedly headquartered in secret rooms on the school premises. The story was not true. But once the fire was lit, it was hard to put out. Emily Turner’s film considers the real-world impact of an outrageous online conspiracy theory, exploring the importance of truth and the cost of lies.

Directed by Emily Turner

Your Rating

Cast

Trailers & Videos

Make it a double feature

2h 51m together

Accused: The Hampstead Paedophile Hoax

Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers

Both from Emily Turner.

More from Emily TurnerSee all →

Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers

Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers · 2025

Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers

MovieDocumentaryCrime

Aileen Wuornos remains a rarity: a female serial killer. From childhood abuse to death-row revelations, this documentary revisits her life and crimes.

More Like This

Bluebeard

Bluebeard · 1963

MovieDramaCrime

Paris, France, during the First World War. While thousands of soldiers die every day on the battlefields, Henri Landru, a seemingly respectable furniture dealer, married and father of four children, relentlessly feeds his own sinister factory of death.

Oliver Twist

Oliver Twist · 2005

MovieCrimeDrama

An orphan endures a harsh life in a workhouse before fleeing to London, where he falls in with a gang of juvenile pickpockets led by the criminal Fagin, and eventually finds a better life, exposing the cruelties of poverty and child labor in Victorian England.

Primal Fear

Primal Fear · 1996

MovieCrimeDrama

Defense attorney Martin Vail takes on jobs for money and prestige rather than any sense of the greater good. His latest case involves an altar boy, accused of brutally murdering the archbishop of Chicago. Vail finds himself up against his ex-pupil and ex-lover, but as the case progresses and the Church's dark secrets are revealed, Vail finds that what appeared a simple case takes on a darker, more dangerous aspect.

Cape Fear

Cape Fear · 1991

MovieDramaCrime

Sam Bowden is a small-town corporate attorney. Max Cady is a tattooed, cigar-smoking, Bible-quoting, psychotic rapist. What do they have in common? 14 years ago, Sam was a public defender assigned to Max Cady's rape trial, and he made a serious error: he hid a document from his illiterate client that could have gotten him acquitted. Now, the cagey Cady has been released, and he intends to teach Sam Bowden and his family a thing or two about loss.

Murder by the Coast

Murder by the Coast · 2021

Murder by the Coast

MovieDocumentaryCrime

In 1999, teen Rocío Wanninkhof is murdered. Her mother's ex-partner, Dolores Vázquez, is suspected. Did she do it? A second victim reveals the truth.

Sleepers

Sleepers · 1996

MovieCrimeDrama

Two gangsters seek revenge on the state jail worker who during their stay at a youth prison sexually abused them. A sensational court hearing takes place to charge him for the crimes.

Zodiac

MovieCrimeMystery

Police conduct a manhunt for the Zodiac Killer, a serial killer who terrorized the San Francisco Bay Area during the late 1960s and early 1970s, taunting police with letters, bloodstained clothing, and ciphers mailed to newspapers.

Mystic River

Mystic River · 2003

MovieThrillerDrama

The lives of three men who were childhood friends are shattered when one of them suffers a family tragedy.

Square One

Square One · 2019

MovieDocumentaryCrime

An investigation into the original 1993 Michael Jackson allegations brought by the Chandler family.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter