American Murder: The Family Next Door (2020)

“I can’t tell you guys how much I am blessed.” – Shanann Watts

Number of Times Seen – 1 (6 Oct 2020)

Brief Synopsis – Documentary about the disappearance of a woman and her two daughters and the work by law enforcement agencies to find out what really happened.

My Take on it – This is a documentary that I came across by accident and was enthralled from start to finish.

This is a really amazing documentary that finds a way to stay so thrilling and gripping the entire way through.

The choice to solely use real footage to tell this story is ingenious.

They utilize both social media and police cameras to tell this story in such a fascinating way.

The fact that I knew nothing about this crime beforehand also helped enhance my experience because I never knew what to expect as the investigation moved along.

The story is quite shocking and really powerful in the way that things play out.

They are also able to show here how much of our lives are recorded and that in some cases that information can also be used for good and not just for evil in order to discovery things previously unknown.

The story unfolds in a great way and stays engaging from start to finish.

The movie is a tight 85 minutes and it was so gripping right from the start.

The story is quite draining to watch because of the amount of data we are given, yet it is truly captivating the entire way through and is among the best made true crime documentaries ever produced.

Bottom Line – Amazingly powerful documentary that is able to stay griping and thrilling throughout. The idea to solely use social media and police footage to tell such a story. Not having knowledge of the crime helps make things even more powerful and shocking due to the way that things play out. This film show show much of one’s life is available on line and how social media can be used for both good and evil if people aren’t careful. The way that this story unfolds works really well in keeping the story so engaging to watch. The film is a tight 85 minutes and is captivating from start to finish. Highly Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – It mostly recycles the archival footage used during the HLN special including social media posts, law enforcement recordings, text messages and home video footage to depict the events that occurred. (From Wikipedia)

Rating – Oscar Worthy (9/10)