Netflix dropped one of their most banger documentaries, and it’s a perfect way to end 2025. However, this one is very disturbing. So watch at your own risk. Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story follows the story of one of the most dangerous cases of child abuse that took place in the United States in recent times. And mind you, in great depth, we come to know about the perpetrator who did this: Jodi Hildebrandt. The opening scenes of the documentary are enough to send chills down your spine: there is a young boy who escapes Hildebrandt’s Utah home and leads the authorities through severe abuse. This is the very incident that requires us to take a deeper look into what was happening: children were being abused.
Investigations took place, and many harrowing incidents came before us and the world. What shocks us is the person who did this: Hildebrandt was the person who was once well-respected by everyone. His teachings were followed by people, and he was looked up to as a self-help guru. A person so respected could be behind such a heinous act is shocking to us.
There are many pros to the documentary. For example, there are many events that follow up. But the sequence has been made well. There is nothing that we see that comes up suddenly or out of the blue. Right from the start, there is a proper chronology being followed, which makes it easier to understand what the documentary is really all about. More than displaying the whole scene as a scandal, they show the tender parts of the plot. For example, the main focus is on the victims of crime. Their plot is told to us in a very gentle, caring manner.
Now, coming to pacing, the pacing is pretty even. That gives us the time to understand well what exactly is happening all around. It helps us to grasp the actual happening of the events. That is crucial given how many sequences are in the documentary and the real-life happening of events.
We also get to see how people in power often misuse it and take undue advantage of people who aren’t in power. In this case, Jodi Hildebrandt did the same. He heavily misused his position of power and caused many victims suffering. Even the interviews with former clients help us to understand the severity of the issue. However, we see very few interviews from children who suffered in his hands. That makes sense because they are children at the end of the day who need support and might not want to come out to disclose their traumatic experience. But had there been more such interviews, the documentary would have been even more fantastic to watch.
I must warn my readers that this can become very difficult to watch. It is heartbreaking and unfortunate to see that young children undergo such a thing so early in life. So if you are someone who is emotional, this might not be a great watch for you. Hence, watch accordingly.
Final Score- [8/10]
Reviewed by - Neerja Ch
Follow @NeerjaCH on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times