A Friend A Murderer Review
Director: Christian Dyekjær
Date Created: 2026-03-06 03:12
2.5
A Friend A Murderer Review: Directed by Christian Dyekjær, the Netflix documentary series is a true-crime documentary that explores one of the most disturbing crimes of the past decade in Denmark. Rather than interviewing investigators or experts, the documentary focuses on the perspectives of those who were once associated with the perpetrator of the crime, which is a unique, albeit unsettling, perspective on the events that transpired. By interviewing friends who unwittingly lived among the killer for years, the documentary seeks to explore how ordinary people can become associated with something evil.
A Friend A Murderer Review
Netflix’s A Friend A Murderer centres around a particularly chilling case, a teenage girl who went missing in 2016 in the quiet Danish town of Korsør after a night out with friends. What initially appeared to be a possible case of a runaway soon escalated into a murder case. The girl’s last known location was near the train station in the early hours of the morning, and no definite leads were found after a thorough scan by the police and other volunteers.
Months later, human remains were found near a lake, and the worst fears of the townspeople were confirmed: the missing girl had been murdered. The case remained unsolved for a number of years, and the people of Korsør remained with a lot of unanswered questions and a general sense of unease.
Years later, the case takes a dramatic turn when Philip Patrick Westh, an ordinary-looking man who has spent most of his life in the quiet Danish town, is arrested in connection with the murder case. What is particularly shocking is that Westh is friends with a number of people in the town and is completely normal-looking and acting around them.
What is particularly unique and interesting in the A Friend A Murderer documentary is that, rather than focusing on the murder and how it was solved, the documentary focuses on the killer and his friends, rather than the detective and how he solved the case. The documentary focuses on the emotional turmoil that Westh’s friends, Amanda, Kiri, and Nichlas, are going through, and how they are forced to confront the reality that they may have been around a murderer all along.
This is, without a doubt, an angle that is used to greatest effect throughout the documentary A Friend A Murderer. Listening to these individuals recall their experiences and moments with Westh, which were seemingly normal at the time but now feel somewhat off, adds an additional level of depth to the documentary series. The emotions and shock that these individuals experience are palpable, and it is these moments that really make the documentary series feel impactful.
The fact that an individual such as Westh is able to go about his life as if nothing has occurred, hanging out with his friends and neighbours after committing such heinous acts, is a powerful theme that stays with the viewer. The documentary series does an excellent job of portraying how well Westh is able to blend into everyday life.
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Despite having a somewhat fascinating topic, the A Friend A Murderer docuseries does not feel as though it has been explored to the greatest extent possible. One of the greatest issues with this documentary series is that it does not go into great enough depth on certain investigative aspects.
For example, during the initial disappearance of the missing person, there are a few moments wherein it is implied that there were some investigative mishaps and a certain degree of confusion. However, these moments are never explored to a great degree.
The exploration of Westh’s psychology is surprisingly superficial. Generally, true crime documentaries make a concerted effort to understand the psychology behind the actions of the criminal, if only to identify the signs and signals that might lead a person down that road. Here, the documentary is content to simply outline the crimes and the reactions of those around him, without ever really getting into the motivations and factors that led him there.
Another issue is that the Netflix A Friend A Murderer documentary can feel a bit too slow at times, with stretches of emotional exploration that repeat similar feelings and ideas. While the interviews are important in understanding the human cost, there are times where it feels like they are taking priority over a deeper exploration.
While there is no denying that the crimes that are explored in the Danish documentary series A Friend A Murderer are horrific, the documentary itself is content to simply explore the surface-level themes that are touched upon, rather than ever really diving deeper into them in a meaningful way.
Netflix A Friend A Murderer Review: Summing Up
A Friend, A Murderer delves into an actual, chilling case and retells it from an unusual perspective. The emotional scenes with the murderer’s friends provide an uncommon POV that is not often portrayed in murder documentaries, and these scenes are the strongest moments of the documentary. However, the documentary does not delve enough into the investigative aspects of the case, nor does it delve too deeply into the analysis of the case. It is an unsettling tale, but it remains on the surface of the case.
