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American Murder: The Family Next Door

Play trailer 1:54 Poster for American Murder: The Family Next Door 2020 Crime Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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87% Tomatometer 23 Reviews 78% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
American Murder: The Family Next Door

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Critics Consensus

American Murder: The Family Next Door chillingly unravels a brutal true crime story using the near-constant connectedness of the digital era.

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Critics Reviews

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Linda Marric NME (New Musical Express) 06/17/2021
3/5
Popplewell has done a great job of highlighting how deceptive we can all be when crafting our digital profiles. Go to Full Review
Nick Schager The Daily Beast 10/07/2020
American Murder lays out its saga clearly and poignantly... Go to Full Review
Aja Romano Vox 10/07/2020
Crucially, the documentary doesn't concern itself with digging deeper into Chris Watts's persona, with mythologizing him or probing for underlying motives in his behavior. Go to Full Review
Akos Peterbencze Vulnerable Man (Medium) 07/20/2023
The film tightly focuses on the narrative of telling a young woman’s tragic story without being sensational. Go to Full Review
Keith Garlington Keith & the Movies 08/19/2022
4/5
The film tells the entire story through social media videos, text messages, phone call audio, original television newscasts, police body cameras and security camera footage. No narrator, no interviews, no dramatizations. Go to Full Review
James Kendrick Q Network Film Desk 10/16/2020
3/4
as much a portrait of how incredibly well documented our lives are in the digital age as it is a true crime story about familial murder and failed cover-up Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Rebecca S. @Becca01 Oct 28 This documentary truly left me speechless. It perfectly captures how a single whim can destroy everything and how a carefully planned lie can spiral completely out of control. Out of all the mystery and true crime documentaries I’ve seen — including those about serial killers — this one stands out the most. It’s shocking, unpredictable, and filled with moments that make you question how far people are willing to go to protect a secret. By the end, I was left with my mouth wide open and more questions than answers. See more Timothy B. @SlimTim0707 Oct 24 While devoid of the kind of twists and turns that can make a murder documentary into a classic such as Paradise Lost, American Murder is quite effective, especially in its latter sequences, revealing, at the liberty of your disgust, an American monster. See more Stewart F Dec 31 Powerful and heart wrenching story with first hand footage and a story that makes you want to go back and watch again to see the telltale signs. Sad, but gripping. See more Rizwan A 11/05/2024 This documentary is extremely entertaining whilst also being shocking, mysterious and suspenseful. It shows a story of a family who seem quite happy on social media but as the detectives go through the hidden facts and details the true horrific tale is unfolded. As you see the confessions, in tension filled rooms, it truly puts the mind of a murderer into perspective. The way they start with made up stories and lies, then end with a true confession as they crumble under the intense amount of pressure, is really interesting. See more David H 01/26/2024 As the father of three daughters myself this movie tells the story of the most profoundly unthinkable things I could ever imagine See more David F 04/10/2023 This is a great, up-to-the-minute true crime documentary about a family annihilator who killed his wife and two children, briefly lied about it, then finally gave what would appear to be a nearly full confession. The narration is 100 percent told through police documentation and evidence consisting of letters, texts, and social media posts. It presents a portrait of a deteriorating marriage followed by a disappearance followed by a confession. Getting to know these people through their texts and videos is eerie and riveting. This is a fascinating film. See more Read all reviews
American Murder: The Family Next Door

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American Murder: The Family Next Door

American Murder: The Family Next Door: Clip - The Letter American Murder: The Family Next Door: Clip - The Letter 0:57 View more videos
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Movie Info

Director
Jenny Popplewell
Genre
Crime, Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 30, 2020