Rotten Tomatoes
Submit search Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

The Perfect Neighbor

Play trailer Poster for The Perfect Neighbor R 2025 1h 36m Documentary Crime Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
99% Tomatometer 99 Reviews 81% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
A seemingly minor neighborhood dispute in Florida escalates into deadly violence. Police bodycam footage and investigative interviews expose the consequences of Florida's "stand your ground" laws.
Watch on Netflix Stream Now

Where to Watch

The Perfect Neighbor

The Perfect Neighbor

What to Know

Critics Consensus

As gripping as it is deeply unsettling, The Perfect Neighbor lays bare the systemic failures and the quiet terror embedded in American legal systems with surgical precision.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View More
Tim Cogshell FilmWeek (LAist) Nov 11
Extremely powerful and extremely important documentary filmmaking. Go to Full Review
Sam Adams Slate Nov 4
A chilling and provocative look at the limits of policing, particularly when the laws the police are called to enforce present more of a problem than a solution. Go to Full Review
Peter Travers The Travers Take Oct 31
3.5/4
Captured entirely from police cam footage, this Oscar-buzzed documentary about a white Florida woman who murders her Black neighbor indicts an entire society. It's also the scariest movie you’ll see this Halloween season. Go to Full Review
Lee Zumpe Tampa Bay Newspapers Mar 22
It is an upsetting 97 minutes that needs to be seen. Go to Full Review
Sarah Vincent Sarah G Vincent Views Mar 22
the film’s point is not to center the victim or individuate the neighbors, but to say, "See, this lady who claims to be scared is actually terrorizing a neighborhood. Recognize her true face so you don’t become complicit now or in the future." Go to Full Review
Ruth Maramis FlixChatter Film Blog Mar 12
3.5/5
A gut-wrenching documentary that feels like a real-life horror movie. The editing keeps the film engaging throughout, though the shaky-cam shots can be a bit dizzying for those prone to motion sickness. Go to Full Review
Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
KingKongUn Y. @KingKongUn 2d I don't normally like documentaries. But this is definitely worth the watch! See more VITALII H @freakynickison 3d Wow, I’ve heard about this documentary but I didn’t know what it was about. Susan is a neighbor you won’t wish to your worst enemy. That woman was taking zero accountability after what she did. She had no regrets, you can tell by the way she was behaving. All she was trying to do is to prove her point. Susan got what she deserved. If we focus more on the documentary itself, not on the story, it’s hard to judge the way in which it was made/executed. The footage that was used for this documentary is 100% real and legit. This story shines a light on the broader issue that ppl need to talk about more. Because I’m sure if Susan was black, she would’ve been immediately sent to jail the night of the incident. See more K W @RT67536271 Jun 15 I'm going to be nicer to my neighbors after watching this... See more Jessica M. @RT93857828 Jun 15 Hard watch, but would definitely recommend. It’s frustrating seeing how this was all handled. But shows that this could have been completely preventable. See more Vixo S @vixo_six Jun 11 The Perfect Neighbor is a devastating documentary about preventable tragedy, institutional hesitation and the violence of warning signs ignored. Geeta Gandbhir builds the film from real recordings and body cam footage, removing narration so the evidence unfolds with cold clarity. Its power lies in repetition. Calls, minor conflicts and attempts to calm the situation accumulate until what once seemed manageable reveals itself as dangerous. The film shows how tragedy can grow not from invisibility, but from a failure to treat visible escalation with urgency. What remains is not only grief, but frustration at everything that was not done when intervention was still possible. The documentary offers no comfort. Justice may arrive, but it cannot repair the life already lost or erase the systems that allowed danger to become normal. See more Jordan P @JPVQueen Jun 7 Really troubling documentary to watch. Not a feelgood time by any stretch but man as you watch the story unfold you just get more tense (and frustrated) by the second. See more Read all reviews
The Perfect Neighbor

My Rating

Read More Read Less WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW POST RATING
Scout's Honor: The Secret Files of the Boy Scouts of America 94% 80% Scout's Honor: The Secret Files of the Boy Scouts of America Watchlist Missing from Fire Trail Road 100% % Missing from Fire Trail Road Watchlist Stolen: Heist of the Century % % Stolen: Heist of the Century Watchlist TRAILER for Stolen: Heist of the Century Victim/Suspect 79% 76% Victim/Suspect Watchlist Missing: The Lucie Blackman Case 86% 78% Missing: The Lucie Blackman Case Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis A seemingly minor neighborhood dispute in Florida escalates into deadly violence. Police bodycam footage and investigative interviews expose the consequences of Florida's "stand your ground" laws.
Director
Geeta Gandbhir
Producer
Nikon Kwantu, Geeta Gandbhir, Alisa Payne, Sam Bisbee
Distributor
Netflix
Production Co
Message Pictures
Rating
R (Language)
Genre
Documentary, Crime
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 10, 2025, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 17, 2025
Runtime
1h 36m