Netflix viewers have been left feeling infuriated by its “gut-wrenching” new documentary The Perfect Neighbor as it trends worldwide. Directed by Geeta Gandbhir, the new film uses police bodycam footage to follow the real case of the murder of a Black woman named Ajike Owens.
Owens was killed by her white neighbour Susan Lorincz when she fired a gun through the door of her house in Florida after Owens knocked amid an ongoing dispute over children playing outside in the neighbourhood.
The logline reads: “Police bodycam footage reveals how a long-running neighborhood dispute turned fatal in this documentary about fear, prejudice and Stand Your Ground laws.”
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The documentary, which shines a light on the controversial Stand Your Ground law, is currently the second most-watched movie on Netflix globally, and is the number one most-watched movie on the streamer in the UK right now.
Taking to IMDb, viewers have shared their reaction to the documentary, calling it “heartbreaking” and “infuriating”.
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One user called The Perfect Neighbor “one of the most infuriating and important documentaries in the recent events of America”.
They continued: “Infuriating is best described about this documentary. Because it succeeds with demonstrating how inhumane Florida’s stand your ground law has created on society and about violence and systemic racism in the United States.”
In a review titled “Absolutely gut-wrenching”, another user said: “My stomach dropped. It was raw and gripping.”
Another viewer praised the use of police bodycam footage, writing: “The interviews add to a frustrating sense of injustice that you hear in all of the neighbors being involved with each interview process. The perfect neighbor is [an] infuriating and heartbreaking look at the unjustified murder and what led to it.”
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“A very powerful documentary told from the POV of cameras and no personal opinion interviews after the fact. It is a truly heartbreaking story that is also very thought provoking. I found myself disappointed, disgusted, and sad, but in the end there is peace to be found, knowing justice has been served,” penned one viewer.
“One of the most chilling, thought provoking and hard hitting true crime films I have ever seen,” wrote one viewer. “My heart broke for all of the children, the trauma they will endure is just heartbreaking and unimaginable.”
The Perfect Neighbor is available to watch now on Netflix.
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Reporter, Digital Spy
Harriet is a freelance news writer specialising in TV and movies at Digital Spy.
A horror enthusiast, she joined Digital Spy after working on her own horror website, reviewing films and focusing largely on feminism in the genre.
In her spare time, Harriet paints and produces mixed-media art. She graduated from the University of Kingston with a BA in fine art, where she specialised in painting. She also has an MA in journalism from Birkbeck University.