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The Perfect Neighbor - Netflix

181 replies

ohnonowwhat1 · 18/10/2025 12:23

Sorry if there is another thread, I couldn’t find it.

Ive just watched this documentary and can’t stop thinking about it.
Basically about a neighbourhood where kids are being kids and one neighbour takes huge exception to them and how it escalates.

A very interesting, very sad story which was well made. At times we probably saw a little too much but it was filmed and made entirely using police body cam and cctv.

At one point I was bawling my eyes out in one particular scene.

Although a harrowing watch it’s a good documentary.

OP posts:
Bladderpool · 20/10/2025 20:10

She rented.

Bambamhoohoo · 20/10/2025 20:49

no the landlord was referred to throughout. She didn’t own.

Searches your solicitor would do for conveyancing would bring up noise/ anti social behaviour orders etc from the council. They do not cover police reports. Imagine!

snemrose · 20/10/2025 20:51

Her landlord appeared in court too and testified that the land she moaned about the kids being on was not his land and was not private land.

Lauracrazygirl · 20/10/2025 21:28

Everyone has made great points about the situation/documentary.

I just want to add that the police officers performed their duties with compassion and professionalism especially when they had to break the news of the mother's death.
With all the negative news stories of cruel and indifferent cops it was good to see some cops really serve their community.

Also the moment in the interview room when she is finally arrested she started acting like the victim. 'I can't do this, I feel sick, I'm not going with you, just kill me, this is ridiculous'
That showed her true character, 'poor me, poor me' yes she probably was mentally unwell but that doesn't excuse her actions.

We are all responsible for our mental health as well as our physical health.

If she was mentally unwell then her or her family should have taken appropriate actions to support her before she lashed over others.

Frequency · 20/10/2025 21:28

It's also worth noting that unlike the UK, living rurually is often cheaper in the US. Susan worked from home and had her own transport, she was aware of her "PTSD" and aversion to noise and brown people No one forced her to move to, or stay in, a busy, family orientated suburb. She could have moved somewhere rural and had the peace and quiet she craved.

Unless, of course, it was actually the drama she craved.

LoveSundays · 20/10/2025 21:32

Also just remembered she referred to herself as Doctor on one of the police visits....🤔🙄😂

Bambamhoohoo · 20/10/2025 22:06

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/oct/06/perfect-neighbor-documentary-interview-ajike-owens-susan-lorincz

This is a brilliant article. The film maker worked with the victims mother, using footage and material she obtained under freedom of information act. They made the film to raise awareness but also to financially support the family.

JaquiRussell · 21/10/2025 00:30

I've seen online a part that wasn't made clear on the film unfortunately as I think it would have had even more impact.

In throwing the roller skate, Susan broke Isaac's tablet. Now whether he used it as a shield from the skate 🤷🏼‍♀️ but he had put it down and Susan told him to go get his Mother. Meantime Susan takes it inside and closes the door, knowing AJ would be coming to retrieve or discuss the tablet!!
Susan literally asked for AJ to be brought to the property!!

Makes it even more heartbreaking and for that poor little boy that wished he'd of just taken the tablet with him, so his Mum hadn't gone over there.

HappyFrith · 21/10/2025 07:23

Tricky watch for me as I’ve been in a situation where I’ve been targeted by kids. Not local druggy thugs—good kids (10 yrs old), the kind that don’t swear and were trusted by their parents. The layout of my flat is that it joins on to council land and there’s no boundary marked. The kids trespassed; I went out and told them so. They were pleasant, so was I. I thanked them before they left the area.
Then, for some reason I still can’t fathom, they and their friends began to target my flat. They’d stand just on the boundary trying to see in my windows. I could plainly hear them talking about me—“It’s that flat, she’s in there.” I decided the best course of action was to ignore them (basically sitting in the dark), sure they’d get bored and go away. They didn’t. They got bolder and bolder instead, starting to walk up to my windows trying to see in, then throwing things at the glass.
The police had been informed at this stage (was asked if I was single, elderly, and living alone, as this seems to be kids favourite victim). I had a camera running in one window at this stage—the window they learned to avoid.
To cut a long story short, this all ended in a confrontation with their parents, police present. During this, all the parents denied their kids would ever do such a horrible thing to anybody and weren’t liars. I then invited one mother in to view footage of her son right up against my window peering in. She went out and told the other parents that yes, it was their kids. As you can imagine, they were horrified.
No, I didn’t shoot anybody, nor would I, but the fact you all believed the kids (and the parents backed them wholeheartedly) is obviously the tricky part for me. Also, why didn’t the police mediate as in my case? The situation should never have gone so far.

emilyinrutshire · 21/10/2025 07:37

Bambamhoohoo · 20/10/2025 22:06

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/oct/06/perfect-neighbor-documentary-interview-ajike-owens-susan-lorincz

This is a brilliant article. The film maker worked with the victims mother, using footage and material she obtained under freedom of information act. They made the film to raise awareness but also to financially support the family.

This is a great article - it's great that the family is recfilmeiving the proceeds from the film.

Original poster
ohnonowwhat1 · 21/10/2025 18:27

HappyFrith · 21/10/2025 07:23

Tricky watch for me as I’ve been in a situation where I’ve been targeted by kids. Not local druggy thugs—good kids (10 yrs old), the kind that don’t swear and were trusted by their parents. The layout of my flat is that it joins on to council land and there’s no boundary marked. The kids trespassed; I went out and told them so. They were pleasant, so was I. I thanked them before they left the area.
Then, for some reason I still can’t fathom, they and their friends began to target my flat. They’d stand just on the boundary trying to see in my windows. I could plainly hear them talking about me—“It’s that flat, she’s in there.” I decided the best course of action was to ignore them (basically sitting in the dark), sure they’d get bored and go away. They didn’t. They got bolder and bolder instead, starting to walk up to my windows trying to see in, then throwing things at the glass.
The police had been informed at this stage (was asked if I was single, elderly, and living alone, as this seems to be kids favourite victim). I had a camera running in one window at this stage—the window they learned to avoid.
To cut a long story short, this all ended in a confrontation with their parents, police present. During this, all the parents denied their kids would ever do such a horrible thing to anybody and weren’t liars. I then invited one mother in to view footage of her son right up against my window peering in. She went out and told the other parents that yes, it was their kids. As you can imagine, they were horrified.
No, I didn’t shoot anybody, nor would I, but the fact you all believed the kids (and the parents backed them wholeheartedly) is obviously the tricky part for me. Also, why didn’t the police mediate as in my case? The situation should never have gone so far.

I’m sorry you went through that. That sounds horrible.

in this case I definitely believe the kids wound her up, I also think she wound them up too with lying and filming them just in the grass but they were allowed playing a ball game. Lying that the kid put a dog bigger than him in her truck. Taking belongings. I agree it didn’t need to get this far and should have been some better intervention.
She was also racist.

a lot of the dispute seemed to be that she didn’t think they were allowed in the grass that the other neighbour had given permission for. I think she genuinely thought she was being harassed and thought she was right. But what she did with the gun, it’s hard to defend that.

It’s just a very sad story.

OP posts:
AhBiscuits · 21/10/2025 19:06

I'm not a crier, but I did shed a tear when those poor kids were being told that their mum was gone. She deserved the sentence she got IMHO.

XelaM · 22/10/2025 00:14

HappyFrith · 21/10/2025 07:23

Tricky watch for me as I’ve been in a situation where I’ve been targeted by kids. Not local druggy thugs—good kids (10 yrs old), the kind that don’t swear and were trusted by their parents. The layout of my flat is that it joins on to council land and there’s no boundary marked. The kids trespassed; I went out and told them so. They were pleasant, so was I. I thanked them before they left the area.
Then, for some reason I still can’t fathom, they and their friends began to target my flat. They’d stand just on the boundary trying to see in my windows. I could plainly hear them talking about me—“It’s that flat, she’s in there.” I decided the best course of action was to ignore them (basically sitting in the dark), sure they’d get bored and go away. They didn’t. They got bolder and bolder instead, starting to walk up to my windows trying to see in, then throwing things at the glass.
The police had been informed at this stage (was asked if I was single, elderly, and living alone, as this seems to be kids favourite victim). I had a camera running in one window at this stage—the window they learned to avoid.
To cut a long story short, this all ended in a confrontation with their parents, police present. During this, all the parents denied their kids would ever do such a horrible thing to anybody and weren’t liars. I then invited one mother in to view footage of her son right up against my window peering in. She went out and told the other parents that yes, it was their kids. As you can imagine, they were horrified.
No, I didn’t shoot anybody, nor would I, but the fact you all believed the kids (and the parents backed them wholeheartedly) is obviously the tricky part for me. Also, why didn’t the police mediate as in my case? The situation should never have gone so far.

I watched it with my parents and they felt very sorry for the neighbour who had to deal with these kids trespassing. Of course she shouldn't have fired s gun, but the kids probably targeted her and made her life miserable. US gun laws make it easy for any neighbour disputes to escalate to murder.

TheMixedGirl · 22/10/2025 00:18

There was an important bit left out of this apparantly. Susan in fact told AJs children to "go get their mother" when she got into the altercation with them. She knew what she was doing. Number 1 c u next tuesday. I hope she rots. Those poor kids

TheMixedGirl · 22/10/2025 00:22

HappyFrith · 21/10/2025 07:23

Tricky watch for me as I’ve been in a situation where I’ve been targeted by kids. Not local druggy thugs—good kids (10 yrs old), the kind that don’t swear and were trusted by their parents. The layout of my flat is that it joins on to council land and there’s no boundary marked. The kids trespassed; I went out and told them so. They were pleasant, so was I. I thanked them before they left the area.
Then, for some reason I still can’t fathom, they and their friends began to target my flat. They’d stand just on the boundary trying to see in my windows. I could plainly hear them talking about me—“It’s that flat, she’s in there.” I decided the best course of action was to ignore them (basically sitting in the dark), sure they’d get bored and go away. They didn’t. They got bolder and bolder instead, starting to walk up to my windows trying to see in, then throwing things at the glass.
The police had been informed at this stage (was asked if I was single, elderly, and living alone, as this seems to be kids favourite victim). I had a camera running in one window at this stage—the window they learned to avoid.
To cut a long story short, this all ended in a confrontation with their parents, police present. During this, all the parents denied their kids would ever do such a horrible thing to anybody and weren’t liars. I then invited one mother in to view footage of her son right up against my window peering in. She went out and told the other parents that yes, it was their kids. As you can imagine, they were horrified.
No, I didn’t shoot anybody, nor would I, but the fact you all believed the kids (and the parents backed them wholeheartedly) is obviously the tricky part for me. Also, why didn’t the police mediate as in my case? The situation should never have gone so far.

Totally different. They weren't trespassing in this instance. She said some horrendous racist things to the children, lied and all sorts. The kids couldn't even see in, she had the front of the property fenced off. She was not a nice lady. Even lied in the police interviews then would change the answer when she knew she was getting caught. To be honest, the beauty of renting is that you can move.

supercalifragilistic123 · 22/10/2025 09:53

I noticed that the paramedics did not automatically attend the shooting. The police came, gave 'first-aid' and then said 'call the medics'. Surely this would have wasted valuable time. Is this the way things are usually done in the US?

Bambamhoohoo · 22/10/2025 13:02

supercalifragilistic123 · 22/10/2025 09:53

I noticed that the paramedics did not automatically attend the shooting. The police came, gave 'first-aid' and then said 'call the medics'. Surely this would have wasted valuable time. Is this the way things are usually done in the US?

There was a fire truck there. For reasons I don’t quite understand, the fire brigade often attend in place of ambulances (do they have public use ambulances?!) in America.

snemrose · 22/10/2025 13:04

To be fair in this country a fire engine will attend if they can get there quicker than an ambulance - they carry first aid kits/defibs etc. Happened to my boss when her mum collapsed and the fire engine got there first.

fatphalange · 22/10/2025 14:33

I cannot fathom, and wouldn’t want to fathom the type of mindset which construes any sympathy or understanding whatsoever for this disgusting woman.

alldressedupinblue · 22/10/2025 14:40

Was AJ (may she rest in peace) the lady whom police interviewed in the first ten minutes of the film?

Irenesortof · 22/10/2025 14:41

What, these were real children being filmed and put on television for entertainment? How is this legal?

Loloblue · 22/10/2025 15:34

alldressedupinblue · 22/10/2025 14:40

Was AJ (may she rest in peace) the lady whom police interviewed in the first ten minutes of the film?

yes - I wasn't sure either but someone above thinks it's the case.

Bambamhoohoo · 22/10/2025 18:06

Irenesortof · 22/10/2025 14:41

What, these were real children being filmed and put on television for entertainment? How is this legal?

Did you really think children appearing on documentaries was illegal?!

Irenesortof · 22/10/2025 18:19

Bambamhoohoo · 22/10/2025 18:06

Did you really think children appearing on documentaries was illegal?!

Show quote history

If they are being shown hearing the news of their mother's murder, then definitely it should. Especially if they didn't know they were being filmed. How will they feel knowing that their teachers, friends and enemies would have seen them at those times?

AhBiscuits · 22/10/2025 18:22

It was made using police body cam footage, it wasn't filmed as a documentary. The documentary contains content about their campaign for justice. I imagine the family wanted it to be used.