American Murder: The Family Next Door is the latest addition to Netflix’s extensive true crime line-up. But while it is one of many, it mixes up the tried and true genre formula into something unique. The documentary – directed by Jenny Popplewell – focuses on the horrific 2018 Watts family murders. For those unfamiliar with the case, Chris Watts strangled his pregnant wife Shan’ann before smothering their two children – four-year-old Bella and three-year old Celeste.
American Murder is almost certain to garner significant interest given the worldwide publicity the murders received. And much of the film’s content will be familiar to anyone who followed the story at the time. It’s made up almost entirely of archival footage captured before, during and immediately after the incident, taken mostly from surveillance cameras, police bodycams and social media.
This makes the film feel somewhat redundant at first, especially as this footage has (for the most part) been broadcast widely on TV and shared repeatedly on YouTube. But as each short clip is pieced together into a more cohesive narrative, the bewildering confusion and unmitigated grimness of it all becomes clear. And it’s important that this story is told, if only to prevent such tragedies happening again.
The complete exclusion of interviews and narrators is jarring initially, but their absence is ultimately a welcome one. There is no need for them – we know how things play out and Popplewell anticipates this foreknowledge. Instead, the footage described above is bound tightly to Shan’ann’s various text conversations with Chris and her friends.
As we watch a succession of heartbreaking family videos play, we are given an intrusive look into Chris and Shan’ann’s lives together. Chris has lost interest. Their sex life is non-existent, and rejection is constant. Familial disputes are boiling over and they are spending an increasing amount of time apart. Despite this, Shan’ann is desperate for things to work for the sake of their family. It’s difficult to understand why this level of invasiveness was necessary for American Murder, but perhaps it was deliberate. To fully realise what happened, these details are important – and the facts must be presented as facts, no matter what online conspiracy nuts say.
Albeit reservedly, the film also gives stark warnings about social media and the false realities it presents. Shan’ann is shown to have been highly active on Facebook, acting as a sort-of influencer. Quite how large her following was is never addressed, but she provided frequent updates detailing her family’s seemingly perfect life. With such an archetypal American existence, many would surely have been envious. But the disintegrating marriage and crushing anxieties weren’t showcased to the world like everything else.
Above all, this film provides an up-close-and-personal look at a monstrous man who betrayed the trust of his family. He slaughtered and disposed of them as if they meant nothing so he could start a new life with a new woman. After denying any involvement, failing a polygraph test and slowly working his way up to a full confession, Chris attempted to express remorse for his actions. He acted as if his children’s murders were preventable accidents, despite their short lives being destroyed at his hands. It makes for unbelievable viewing – and he can’t possibly believe these lies himself.
American Murder is a shocking yet eerily straightforward story, and there isn’t much to delve into or investigate because of this. How could the elimination of an entire family be so uncomplicated? Yes – there were cracks under the surface and festering resentments. But how did it end like this? It was as simple as one man’s capacity for evil, despite all else.
American Murder: The Family Next Door is now streaming on Netflix.
Final score: 7/10
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Featured Image Credit: Netflix (fair use)
