‘So damn heartbreaking’: Viewers weigh in on award-winning ‘The Perfect Neighbor’ documentary

The documentary centered around the shooting death of Ajike Owens and the events leading up to it has been No. 1 on the platform since its release.

Netflix has another hit on its hands.

The streaming platform’s latest documentary, The Perfect Neighbor, doesn’t have talking heads or experts to help tell the story of what happened to Ajike Owens, a Black mother of four who was gunned down by her neighbor, Susan Lorincz. 

Instead, director Geeta Gandbhir relied on two years of body cam, ring cam and cell phone footage to tell the story of how the lives of Owens and Lorincz, a white woman, intertwined leading up to the moments when Lorincz shot and killed Owens as Owens stood outside Lorincz’s door with her son. Lorincz was later convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

The film has been No. 1 on Netflix since its release.

The Perfect Neighbor joins a list of recent documentaries that rely primarily on body cam footage to tell a story, a shift in filmmaking that, according to Gandbhir, won’t be going away anytime soon.

“I feel like it’s not just a trend in documentary, it’s a trend in the world,” Gandbhir told Variety. “We now live in a world where making media is in the hands of anyone.”

Almost instantly, since the film’s Oct. 17 release, fans have become captivated by the storytelling and what amounts to a “horror movie” in Gandbhir’s eyes. Several users on Twitter pointed toward the film not having any biases and letting the evidence play out, while others have openly detailed how the film is emotional on several levels.

“The Perfect Neighbor is one of those documentaries you can only watch once, because it’s so damn heartbreaking,” Duaine Carma Roberts wrote. 

Police: “Are you hurt?”
Child: “No, but my heart is broken”

The Perfect Neighbor is one of those documentaries you can only watch once, because it's so damn heartbreaking.— Duaine Carma Roberts (@CarmaChords) October 18, 2025

Another user echoed those sentiments: “THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR is blood boiling and heartbreaking. This is the documentary of the year.”

THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR is blood boiling and heartbreaking. This is the documentary of the year. pic.twitter.com/Yz4kWvdmsK— Nadia (@nadreviews) October 18, 2025

The response to The Perfect Neighbor is similar to the initial reaction from audiences when Ava DuVernay’s When They See Us, a docudrama about the Exonerated Five, was released in 2019. See more responses to the visceral film below.

See how none of us are being persuaded? How we’re all in agreement that Susan was the problem. I like how they dropped this documentary. No talking, no ppl in a room being asked questions, no reenactments. Just real visuals and facts. This is how it should be #ThePerfectNeighbor pic.twitter.com/Ug95ryK28s— Daily Dose of WTF (@CreatingTea) October 18, 2025

bawled my eyes out#ThePerfectNeighbor pic.twitter.com/i63ZHEQWLz— floyd (@ericfloyd_) October 17, 2025

These kids had an amazing childhood with a sense of community + harmony. Bike riding, skipping around, walking dog, playing sports together – boys, girls, black + white. In one moment, Susan robbed them of their innocence. Heartbreaking. #theperfectneighbor pic.twitter.com/XhPKFjBOfT— Lilah (@Lilah6) October 18, 2025

Watching the Perfect Neighbor on Netflix crying my eyes out 😭 pic.twitter.com/7E6ckl13RN— AMBER (@ForeverAKay_) October 17, 2025