The Oklahoma City Bombing,the worst act of domestic terrorism in American history, has recently re-entered the public consciousness in a big way. Not only does this year mark the 30th anniversary of the attack, but a feature film named after the bomber, Timothy McVeigh, has been released in theaters and digital platforms on March 21, starring BritishGame of Thronesactor Alfie Allen as the eponymous far-right and anti-government terrorist.McVeighoffers a disturbingly intimate look into the days leading up to the bombing, focusing on McVeigh and his co-conspirators as they plan to blow up the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City. The bombing killed 168 people (including 19 children who attended a daycare in the building) and injured hundreds of others.
But people who either didn’t like or don’t want to watchMcVeighhave another option if they want to learn more about the horrific atrocity:Netflix’snew documentary,Oklahoma City Bombing: American Terror(2025). In contrast toMcVeigh’sdramatized depiction of the bombing and its perpetrators, this documentary is strictly fact-based, providing a harrowing but tender recounting of the bombing and its effect on the community of Oklahoma City.
This Documentary Focuses More on the Victims Than the Perpetrator
Oklahoma City Bombing: American Terror
Some viewers ofMcVeighmight object to the film for being toldfrom the perspective of the bombing’s perpetratorat the expense of commemorating his hundreds of victims. Netflix’s documentary, fortunately, takes the opposite approach, devoting most of its runtime to interviews with survivors, first responders, and loved ones of the victims who didn’t survive. These heart-wrenching testimonies include a woman who lost her young son — who was attending daycare in the Murrah Building — and an employee in the building who was buried alive under the rubble for several hours before being finally pulled free by rescuers.
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Furthermore, the documentary goes out of its way to highlight how the Oklahoma City community came together in the immediate aftermath of the bombing. News footage is shown of volunteers bringing food to buildings acting as temporary shelters for rescuers and survivors, as well as footage of a massive line of willing blood donors outside a makeshift medical center. Most poignantly, the film plays a brief soundbite of a young woman in the line of blood donors preaching the importance of putting each other’s differences aside to help the larger community in times of crisis and tragedy. Indeed, several of the doc’s interviewees refer to these numerous heartwarming displays of collective goodwill as an embodiment of the “Oklahoma Standard.”
Apprehending the Terrorist(s)
While the documentary’s first half focuses primarily on the immediate aftermath of the bombing, the second half focuses on the subsequent investigation into the attack by local and federal law enforcement. What stands out about the interviewees' description of the investigation ishow much luck was involvedin federal authorities apprehending McVeigh as quickly as they did. McVeigh was arrested less than two hours after the bombing when an Oklahoma highway patrolman noticed that his car had no plates — something the officer could have easily missed.
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Furthermore, when the officer took McVeigh to the police station, the local courts were too busy with other defendants to arraign McVeigh, forcing them to keep him in jail rather than release him. In fact, when McVeigh was finally taken into custody by the FBI on April 21 (two days after the bombing), the hearing relating to his gun charges had just concluded. Had federal officers taken just an hour longer to reach the courthouse, or if the courts had been less busy the night of April 19, McVeigh would have been free - and possibly on the lam.
Although the documentary doesn’t go into nearly as much detail about McVeigh’s personal life and far-right radicalization as the film, it nevertheless provides just enough information to convey McVeigh and his accomplices' ideological motivations for the bombing. This includes his admiration for white supremacist William Pierce’s 1978 novelThe Turner Diaries,his military service in Iraq (where he met his two accomplices), his lifelong love of guns, and, most importantly, his outrage at the federal government’s actions during the 1993 Waco Siege. (In fact, McVeigh deliberately based his decision to bomb the Murrah building on April 19 on the fact that it fell on the two-year anniversary of Waco.)
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An Emotionally Moving and Technically Well-Crafted Tribute
Overall, despite Netflix’s reputation forsensationalizing and exploiting the real-life horrorsbehind much of its true crime programming,American Terrorshows the streaming giant bucking its own trend. Instead, it takes the more humanistic and hopeful approach of letting the people who were there tell their own stories. The documentary leaves the viewer with the impression that, despite the sheer death, destruction, and lasting trauma caused by the bombing, it is nevertheless possible to heal and obtain justice from even the worst tragedies.
Oklahoma City Bombing: American Terroris available on Netflix. Watch it through the link below:
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