Netflix's Brand New Movie Has An A+ Critics Score (But The Audience Feels Differently)

While October is typically all about horror, it’s actually been an incredible month for intense thrillers, as The Woman in Cabin 10 (October 10) and The Perfect Neighbor (October 17) both hit the Netflix release schedule. The former is fictional, but the latter has attracted attention for walking fans through a real-life crime using a lot of body cam footage. Critics love it, but I was surprised to see the audiences is less enamored.

The Perfect Neighbor had landed a rare accolade on Rotten Tomatoes: for days and days, it had sat at a 100% perfect rating on the review aggregator site, marking it as one of Netflix's best right now. This isn’t the first time a project received this sort of accolade, but it is rare when it happens, as typically there are at least a few negative reviews even on acclaimed projects that knock the score down a peg or two.

On Tuesday, October 28th, that's what happened, with one new negative review for The Perfect Neighbor bumping it to 99%. Still that's an extremely high rating for critics and mirrors the attention the project got earlier this year when it landed the Directing Award at the 2025 Sundance Festival and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize.

Not All Netflix Users Are On The Same Page As Critics, However.

[Spoilers in the next couple of paragraphs.]

However, while the critics are all over The Perfect Neighbor, it’s the type of project that is not hitting quite as hard with audiences. One reason this may hold true: The Perfect Neighbor follows a topic that is a bit more polarizing than a lot of what Netflix has been rolling out in recent weeks. The true crime doc follows the shooting of Ajike "A.J." Owens, whose children would play on a property adjacent to her neighbor, Susan Louise Lorincz. Lorincz would frequently call the police on her kids for trespassing and other complaints, footage of which was documented via body cams.

Eventually, one night things came to a head and Owens knocked on Lorincz's door, whereupon Lorincz shot her neighbor. The documentary follows the crime through body cam footage that was recorded when Lorincz made multiple calls. The aftermath of the shooting ultimately led to renewed scrutiny regarding Florida's "Stand-Your-Ground Law."

In addition, complaints from those who reviewed the series often did not like the body cam footage that was used throughout the documentary. They also called the project more of a "slow burn" than they expected. A smattering of negative comments from fans shows some trends (edited for punctuation):

• I didn’t realize “slow burn” could be used to describe a documentary — but if that means painfully dull and meandering, then The Perfect Neighbor fits the bill. "
• "The editing of the episode was so bad. It was so difficult to sit through."
• "How is this even a 'documentary?' There was NOTHING about the rehashing of footage that was remotely artistic or cinematic."
• "Seems more like a homemade video than a movie, and not all that gripping."

To be clear, both the critics and the audience like The Perfect Neighbor well enough that the project is certified fresh. It also debuted earlier this month to the top slot on Netflix’s Top 10 list, and is still currently hanging in there at No. 2 globally. So, it’s certainly popular, even if streaming users overall are less bullish on it than the critics were.

Regardless, I'm always interested in the differences between the critical and audience takes. Critics used words like "stirring" to describe the footage, and said The Perfect Neighbor "compels reflection." Positives were even made to the footage and the editing, with one critic from the Daily Telegraph noting, "the spareness of the film-making is powerful." CinemaBlend's own Philip Sledge thought the body cam footage made the doc even more "gut-wrenching." Interestingly, it's much more well-liked by the critics, seemingly for some of the same reasons some audience members are not so hot on it.

All in all though, no matter the take, the project is one that is garnering attention on Netflix, and may ultimately land on our best true crime list. It will likely continue to be a popular part of the 2025 TV schedule over the next couple of weeks, as well, so whether you loved it or not, prepare to hear people talking about it.