The Crash, the “harrowing” documentary from Netflix, is currently sat atop the streamer’s global chart. With over 27 millions views this week alone, the true crime documentary has been a worldwide success.
The documentary film tells the story of Mackenzie Shirilla, who intentionally crashed her vehicle into a brick wall in Strongsville, Ohio. The incident, which took place in July 2022, claimed the lives of Dominic Russo and Davion Flanagan.
The incident was originally thought to be an accident, but investigators began to work on the theory that Shirilla intentionally caused the crash. She was later charged with murder, and subsequently sentenced to two concurrent life sentences.
Netflix
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The documentary, which was released earlier this month, is currently the #1 film in 27 countries across the world ahead of Swapped and Ladies First. This week, the project has 43.7 million hours viewed across 27.6 million watches (via Tudum).
The true crime film is directed by Gareth Johnson and produced by Angharad Scott, with Shirilla being interviewed as part of the process. Speaking to Tudum, Johnson and Scott said they wanted to give voices to those affected by the case.
“Whilst elements of this story had been told before in various bits of media, quite a lot of these people’s voices hadn’t been [heard], and they felt like they still needed to say something,” said Scott.
“It was our job, in making this film, to present everybody’s viewpoint as fairly and accurately as we could,” added Johnson. “We’ve given the audience everything they need to come to their own conclusions about what happened.”
The Crash has been praised by critics, with Rotten Tomatoes currently reporting an approval rating of 92% from 12 reviews. In a four-star review, Ready Steady Cut called it a “call to action”.
Netflix
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“The story itself is an engrossing tale of coercive control and car-crash forensics. As a documentary, though, it’s fairly formulaic in its approach and lacks the incisive analysis of the best of the genre,” opined RadioTimes in a three-star review.
“Ultimately, The Crash is harrowing, gut-wrenching and sombre – a meticulous examination of a toxic romance that ended in irreversible devastation,” remarked Bangkok Post, while Culture Mix praised its “diverse variety of interviews”.
The Crash is streaming on Netflix.
Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.