American Murder: Gabby Petito Review
Director: Julia Willoughby Nason and Michael Gasparro
Date Created: 2025-02-17 23:32
4.5
American Murder: Gabby Petito Review: Netflix’s American Murder: Gabby Petito is the streaming giant’s newest entry into its ongoing true-crime docuseries franchise. Directed by Julia Willoughby Nason and Michael Gasparro, the three-part series delves deep into one of the most highly publicised cases in recent memory—the disappearance and murder of 22-year-old Gabby Petito by her fiancé, Brian Laundrie.
The docu-series takes us back to the last days the two spent together, breaking down what led to Gabby’s untimely death, the country-wide hunt that ensued, and the evil truth behind the seemingly perfect picture the couple presented on social media.
American Murder: Gabby Petito Review
This series was definitely landing hard. Watching this docuseries was like opening up an old wound that never really healed. The case was already haunting when it happened in real-time, and watching it all compiled like this? It’s heavy. There’s this crushing sense of sadness that hangs over the entire series. And by the time the credits finish rolling, you’re left with a combination of grief, frustration, and anger.
The worst of it? The knowledge of how avoidable this tragedy was. Gabby was so vibrant, so young, with dreams of seeing the world. And yet, she became just another statistic in the grim reality of domestic violence. That alone makes this documentary more than a true crime documentary—it’s a painful reminder of how many live in silence.
One of the things this series does best is to capture the disconnect between what people project on the internet and what’s really happening behind the scenes. Gabby and Brian’s Instagram and YouTube captured their romance as a fairytale that came true—two young lovers driving across the country in a road trip adventure, living that ultimate free-spirited dream life. But IRL? Toxic. Fatal. And steadily escalating towards something monstrous.
It’s chilling to consider how many couples are out there who might be just as bad off—smiling, laughing in front of everyone while hiding something much uglier behind the curtain. It makes you wonder how much of what we see on the internet is even real to start with.
If you’ve watched the bodycam video of when Gabby and Brian got stopped by police in Utah, you know how maddening it is. To see it all again in this documentary? Better. Gabby is obviously distraught—she’s sobbing, she’s apologizing, she’s explaining herself as best she can as Brian just sits there being chill. And he’s the one they take off and put into a hotel room for the night?
I get it, cops aren’t psychologists, but come on. The warning signs were waving. Gabby was the one who needed to be protected, and nothing came of it. It breaks your heart because that’s where somebody would have been able to step in and redirect all of this. But all of this went down how it did, and we all know how this ended.
The interviews with Gabby’s friends and family are just devastating. You can sense their frustration, their grief, their helplessness. And quite frankly, that is what makes this series so good—it places you in their shoes. It makes you feel the weight of their loss.
There’s just something so visceral about how this documentary is constructed. It doesn’t present at you timelines and facts; it makes you sit with the feelings, makes you actually think through what happened. That’s why it stays with you long after it’s over.
As much as I believe this was a good and well-crafted docuseries, I do have a few complaints. To start with, I wish they’d done more with the legal ramifications. Brian’s parents were extremely shady throughout the whole case, and although the docuseries does mention it, I believe it could have been pushed further. The lawsuits, the controversies, the way they did (or didn’t do) things—it all deserved more coverage.
Oh, and another thing: how the missing white women receive so much more coverage in the media compared to missing people of colour. They mention it in passing, and I do appreciate that, but I would have liked to hear them elaborate on it more. It is such a pertinent issue that really needs to be talked about further, and I felt like it was just skated over in this one.
Summing Up
Finally, American Murder: Gabby Petito is not another true crime documentary, it’s a sad, infuriating, and deeply affecting experience. It’s difficult to watch, but it has to be watched. It forces you to face the reality of domestic violence, to see the signs, and to ask yourself how we, as human beings, can do better. It’s not a novel; it’s a tragedy that instructs us in the need to stand, listen, and never blind ourselves to the red flags.
American Murder: Gabby Petito 2025 is now streaming on Netflix.
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