Movie review
September 29, 2020 · 83 min · R
Woke Score
Lower is better
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for American Murder: The Family Next Door.
Woke representation / casting
Real archival footage of actual people and events only; no casting or visible diversity signaling.
Woke political dialogue
No heavy scripted activist speeches, but concluding on-screen statistic on daily murders of women by partners adds explicit ideological framing.
Identity-driven story themes
Narrative centers on female victimhood and the male perpetrator’s toxic masculinity as the core driver of the family annihilation.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Direct framing of the crime through toxic masculinity, male entitlement, and systemic male violence against women, reinforced by director statements and the ending statistic.
Review
This 2020 Netflix documentary reconstructs the 2018 murders of pregnant Shanann Watts and her two daughters by husband Chris Watts. It builds the narrative entirely from raw archival footage including Shanann’s social media videos, family texts, police bodycam, and court material. The film frames the killings as an example of toxic masculinity and domestic violence against women, ending with an on-screen statistic that three women are killed daily by current or ex-partners in America.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Minimal to no prominent backlash claiming the film pushes woke identity politics; discussion stayed within true-crime ethics.
Creator track record context
Director’s prior LGBTQ+-focused and socially themed work provides supporting context that aligns with this film’s activist DV lens.
Production
