‘One Night in Idaho: The College Murders’ (2025) Prime Video Series Review - Getting Things Right

Before watching One Night in Idaho: The College Murders, I wanted to go through the case's Wikipedia page to familiarize myself with facts, but at the last moment, I decided to go into the documentary with a complete blank slate. Turns out, I did the right thing because The College Murders affected me more as I got all the information first-hand and fresh. The directors, Liz Garbus and Matthew Galkin, take the camera to the victims' friends and family members. They also include other interviewees, like The Argonaut's news editor. On November 13, 2022, four University of Idaho students - Maddie, Kaylee, Xana, and Ethan - were stabbed to death at 1122 King Road, an off-campus residence. The incident shocked the local people, especially since Moscow was considered a safe place by all the residents. Wikipedia tells me that "the town of Moscow had not had a murder since 2015." Of course, the murder shook everyone. But what proved to be more shocking was the identity of the culprit. No one expected him to be a random person. What's more bizarre is that the perpetrator was revealed to be a PhD student. He was a doctoral student in criminology at Washington State University (WSU) in Pullman. His name? Bryan Kohberger.

Why did Bryan commit the murders? What was his motivation? The College Murders labels him as an incel, but his motivations don't really matter, considering that nothing can bring back those four students, who were excited about life, their future, and their careers. Garbus and Galkin, rightly, put more focus on the aftermath of the tragedy and the victims. We see many news reporters, Instagram sleuths, and anonymous accounts hounding the people who were close to the victims. They roam outside their houses and slide into their DMs. Since the police department doesn't share much information with the journalists and the public, the silence is filled with inane gossip. Many YouTubers start blaming the survivors, Dylan and Bethany, for views, engagements, likes. The College Murders displays the ugliness of the media circus. It looks at those online strangers who go around blaming people with contempt. The documentary reminds you to see each other as humans. By peddling conspiracy theories, you can damage someone's reputation — even their life. Try to be responsible; try to be kind.

The filmmaking is nothing out of the ordinary. The College Murders comes up with those usual images, consisting of talking heads and real-life footage. There is also an attempt at recreation when a door is slowly opened and then quickly closed to show us how a surviving roommate may have reacted. I am not a fan of such recreations. There is something vulgar about them - they feel sensational. On one hand, The College Murders denounces online sleuths and gossip mongers. On the other hand, it practices the same sensationalism. Still, the documentary gets so many things right that the issue doesn't become a dealbreaker. I especially liked that moment where Scott Laramie, Maddie's stepfather, remembered the day when Maddie referred to him as dad. When I typed November 13, 2022, on Google, the "AI Overview" informed me about all the events that occurred on this date. In the field of cricket, England won the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. In Mexico, there were nationwide protests against President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's proposed reforms to the National Electoral Institute. There was a bombing on Istanbul's Istiklal Avenue, and, of course, four students were murdered in Moscow. But do you know what happens annually on the 13th of November? This day is celebrated as World Kindness Day, which makes the Idaho incident more, um, peculiar? If there's a god, he really has a very dark sense of humor. 

Final Score- [6.5/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
Follow @vikasonorous on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times