Genre: Documentary/ Crime
In America the tragic story about the Watts family was big news, but for the average non-American viewer this is a completely unknown story. Keep it that way for a while. Don’t look it up, because the less you know, the better. Although you can guess from the title that the story does not end well.
The documentary starts with Facebook videos that Shanann Watts made. They are everyday images of a proud mother filming her children and husband. Then you can see footage from their security camera that she comes home after a long weekend. They are the last images of the young mother. When Shanann misses an appointment, her friend is very worried and she calls the police.
U.S. police officers are required to wear a body cam, to prevent them from misbehaving, and this camera films how the story unfolds. Shanann seems to have disappeared without a trace and her husband Chris has no idea where she is. On the basis of new reports and images from the police investigation, the truth slowly comes to light.
It’s not a typical crime documentary that switches between archive footage and interviews with people who knew the family. Everything is seen through footage from the bodycam, security cameras, Facebook videos, text conversations between Shanann and Chris, home videos and old news footage. These unique images are brought together in a clear way and form an exciting story.
Like I stated before, there are no interviews with family members, friends or police officers working the case. As a result, you also miss certain information. For example, there is no expert to explain something or provide a little more context. And after the truth has surfaced, the documentary jumps to three months later.
However, the lack of this commentary is not a big problem. The tragic story is enough. And the way its told is very confronting. By only using archive footage, “American Murder: The Family Next Door” has become a documentary you won’t easily forget.
Rating: 3,5 / 5
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