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The Perfect Neighbor’ Tops Netflix as Documentary Reignites Focus on AJ Owens Killing

Told through FOIA-sourced police footage, the film revisits the 2023 shooting as the shooter serves a 25-year sentence.

Overview

  • Released October 17 after a Sundance debut, the Geeta Gandbhir–directed film has surged to No. 1 on Netflix’s global chart and holds strong review scores reported at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and 85 on Metacritic.
  • The documentary is constructed almost entirely from police bodycam, 911 recordings, and security videos obtained through public records requests by the Owens family’s legal team.
  • Viewer response has been intense, with many describing the film as distressing and issuing content cautions, and online discussion has criticized remarks by Susan Lorincz captured in police interviews.
  • Susan Lorincz was found guilty of manslaughter in August 2024, received a 25-year sentence that November, and is incarcerated at Homestead Correctional Institution; she has continued to claim she was terrified before the shooting.
  • The Owens family filed a wrongful-death lawsuit in July 2025 and established the Standing in the Gap Fund to support affected families and advocate changes to Florida’s Stand Your Ground law.