David Osit’s probing, troubling documentary “Predators” demonstrates the sociological implications of the television show “To Catch a Predator” were (and are) anything but simple. Where did law enforcement stop and the production of TV entertainment begin?

The director meets with actors who played the decoys and are still disturbed by what they saw and facilitated. What was shown onscreen was only part of a bigger picture. Greg Stumbo, a former Kentucky attorney general who looked at the series as an effective solution to a difficult investigative problem — “Law enforcement is not equipped to conduct these types of operations at this point,” he is shown saying in an old news clip — adopts a more measured tone when Osit shows him video of a suspect breaking down in a subsequent police interrogation.

Where did law enforcement stop and the production of TV entertainment begin? Was reporter Chris Hansen acting as a journalist, or was he deputizing himself in a role more properly played by the police? Were cops present to support the production or was the production there to support crime-fighting? Osit also explores the phenomenon of copycat programs that have sprung up since the show’s end.

An absolutely fascinating watch. One of the most talked-about entries at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. -Rolling Stone

A raw and riveting documentary that skeptically re-examines the program’s appeal, legacy, and ethicality. -Indiewire

It’s an act of courage, confronting an increasingly vigilante-driven mindset that never pauses to understand that which is correctly considered vile, choosing instead to turn it into entertainment. -Rogerebert.com

Apart from anything else, Predators is a clinic in documentary ethics, but Osit’s intellect doesn’t mute his pain, sensitivity and outrage. It’s a film for the heart and the head. -The Reveal

Osit’s brilliant, subtly needling film leaves us unnerved and alert, but not certain of our convictions — an outcome, perhaps, that more true-crime programming should pursue. -Variety

Initially teasing a condemnation, only to come away with something less certain and more fascinating, it straddles various lines, and perspectives, with impressive confidence. -The Daily Beast

NR, 96min