| Director | Sam Hobkinson |
| Genre | True Crime Documentary |
| Runtime | 90 minutes |
True crime obsessors, this week we get a twisted tale of obsession taking place on Plenty of Fish where a man, newly single, decides to get into online dating and finds out the hard way that not all partners have the best of intentions. Unfortunately, Dave Kroupa’s strong relationship with two different women, Liz and Cari, becomes a love triangle of obsessions and desires.
This documentary film is mostly all re-enactment, with real-life victim Dave becoming a big part of the entire deal. Actually, we follow him (literally) throughout the runtime as he reenacts his own life for the documentary. The documentary showcases a twisted story that is entertaining to watch. I feel like shows that get the actual people involved in the case to play themselves are a little weird and that feeling doesn’t go away with this documentary which is mostly a story told through reenactments. That being said, there are also some interviews with law enforcement and people close to Kroupa who were in this ordeal together with him.
The way the documentary is made feels a little gimmicky and exploitative and also feels like it’s trying too hard to create an impact. But the thing is, the story is quite thrilling and engaging. The second half, especially, takes quite the turn and becomes sensational, to say the least. The high stakes, especially when heard from the mouths of the investigators who gave it their all to solve the case, become really interesting and thrilling.
In spite of the thrilling premise and enough twists and turns to make anyone’s head spin, the documentary fails to really make an impact because the movie’s execution is wonky and too cheesy to make it anything other than dramatic. The way people talk about the case, the way we follow Dave and Amy, and the way we pan over people’s shadowy faces in a slow-motion manner is a deliberate attempt to make watching the experience more dramatic than just making it a little cringy.
This might be a very harsh way to put it, but with a dramatic story like this, you’d expect the execution to chill out a bit and let the bonkers story take the front seat but that’s not the case with the documentary. However, in spite of the cheesy recreations, I would say that you’re in for a hell of a ride with the documentary. If you love dramatic true crime shows, then you’re going to be entertained like no other in this documentary. The way that the investigators put together the different insignificant factors to make something significant and earth-shattering is something extraordinary that will suck in even the biggest sceptics.
I think, after the documentary film ended, I was left with a few questions that the documentary didn’t answer in-depth. There are some small things that it could have delved a bit deeper to explain but at 90 minutes flat and considering how complex the case gets after a while, it’s understandable that not everything got its fair share of time. The question remains whether you want a short or long format and with this story, it’s probably best to keep it short. That being, said, 15 more minutes to know a little more about Cari’s fate wouldn’t have been the worst decision ever. But then that might just be me.
Lover Stalker Killer Review: Conclusion
In the end, this cheesy watch is entertaining thanks to the insanity of the story itself. The documentary really pushes to make the story as dramatic as possible to sensationalise certain aspects of it. That being said, true crime thrill seekers are going to find still one a good addition, at least from an entertainment standpoint.
Lover Stalker Killer is streaming on Netflix.
Also Read: Constellation Review: Noomi Rapace is a Troubled Astronaut in This Thrilling Story