THOUGHT-PROVOKING: Lighthouse International Film Society will show ‘The Perfect Neighbor’ documentary at the Surf City Firehouse. (Supplied Photo)
The Lighthouse International Film Society will screen the documentary “The Perfect Neighbor” from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 11 at the Surf City Firehouse.
Admission is free, but online preregistration at lighthousefilmsociety.eventive.org is required.
With a perfect neighbor like Susan Louise Lorincz who needs enemies?
Here’s how the LIFS describes the film:
“A middle-aged woman is annoyed by the sound of her neighbor’s children at play in the common green space adjacent to her home. Known in the community for her obsessive, antisocial outbursts she repeatedly calls the police, who when responding, attempt to reason with her and those she claims offend.
“But after more than a year of persistent antagonism, tensions escalate and a gunshot rings out, ending the life of the children’s mother (Ajike “AJ” Shantrell Owens).”
Director Geeta Gandbhir used mostly preexisting police footage such as those taken by bodycams – and there are plenty because Lorincz called police to her home many times – to tell the story in chronological order. Her film follows the lead-up to the fatal event, the incident itself, and the aftermath including the trial.
“The Perfect Neighbor” was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize in the U.S. Documentary Competition at February’s Sundance Film Festival and Gandbhir won the U.S. Documentary Directing Award. When Netflix started streaming the film in October it quickly shot to the No. 1 streaming hit in the nation.
“This is an important, thought-provoking film that strives for balance in its storytelling, offering the viewer a sense of transparency to weigh the evidence and be the judge,” said the folks from the LIFS.
Susan Lorincz was charged with killing her neighbor, Ajike ‘AJ’ Owens, just last year. Credit: Netflix
The story is told almost exclusively through police body-cam footage, and begins with police responding to call after call by Lorincz, then 58.
Some have branded it the ‘documentary of the year,’ despite being left completely sickened by one particularly ‘disturbing’ scene.
One said: “This is blood boiling and heartbreaking, the documentary of the year.”
As another added: “Beyond disturbing. Humans turned life into something it could never possibly have meant to be.”
A third wrote: “This doc destroyed me. I hope that lady never knows peace.”
My heart breaks for this family. I cried for the last half of the film,” somebody else commented.
“What a world we live in, that someone so evil can live among us freely, and take a precious, beautiful, and needed life in an instant.”
A fifth penned: “It made me absolutely sick to my stomach. I had to stop watching for a while, but it’s compulsory viewing.”
The true crime documentary has been branded ‘the documentary of the year’ by some viewers. Credit: Alamy
Addressing the particularly dark scene, one added: “When the police asked the little boy if he was hurt and he said, ‘No but my heart is broken!’ I LOST IT.”
After Owen’s death, Lorincz was not immediately arrested, despite admitting to shooting Owens through the front door of her apartment, claiming that it was an act of ‘self-defence.’
An investigation was then carried out into whether her actions were justified, under Florida’s Stand-Your-Ground law.
She was formally arrested on June 7, 2023, and was charged with manslaughter with a firearm, culpable negligence, battery, and two counts of assault.
In November 2024, she was sentenced to 25 years in prison, and is serving her sentence in Florida state prison.
CNN has since reported that following the death of the mother, Lorincz has apologized for killing her.
“I am so sorry I took AJ’s life,” she allegedly said.
“I never intended to kill her.
“I could not understand why she was so angry… I so wish I could go back and change things so she was still here. I would trade my life.”
Watch the trailer for The Perfect Neighbor below…
The Perfect Neighbor is available to stream now on Netflix.
