In 2005, the state of Florida passed the “Stand Your Ground” law — legislation now in effect in several U.S. states — which allows a person to use force (even lethal force) in self-defense without any obligation to retreat first if they believe their life or physical integrity is in danger. Unlike other self-defense laws, this one does not require the threatened individual to attempt to flee or avoid confrontation before using force.

The Perfect Neighbor (2025), directed by Geeta Gandbhir, reconstructs the murder of Ajike Owens. On the night of June 2, 2023, Owens went to the home of her neighbor, Susan Lorincz, to confront her about her interactions with her children. From inside her home, Lorincz fired a shot through the closed door, fatally wounding Owens in the chest. Using footage from police body cameras, the documentary reveals how a simple dispute between neighbors spiraled into a fatal confrontation. The film is a cry against a barbaric law — one that encourages violence and fosters impunity.

The Perfect Neighbor

The greatest strength of The Perfect Neighbor lies in the rawness of its imagery. Gandbhir builds her narrative entirely through police body camera recordings. The moments leading to the tragic outcome are edited with remarkable precision, giving the film a unique cinematic power. From the opening sequence, the outcome feels inevitable, yet the tension remains unrelenting. Each fragment fits together like pieces of a puzzle, gradually amplifying suspense and emotional weight as the picture comes into focus.

There are no reinterpretations here — no voiceovers, no interviews intercut with the footage that assaults and unsettles us. The Perfect Neighbor shakes us because it presents life itself, unfiltered and unforgiving. It forces us to confront the irrational depths of human behavior and exposes the decay of a fractured nation. Nothing prepares the viewer for its devastating final sequence a climax that lingers in the mind long after the screen fades to black.

Gandbhir turns police footage into a merciless mirror that compels us to stare at the unbearable. The Perfect Neighbor doesn’t offer easy answers; instead, it invites a deep reflection on the dehumanization of a society seemingly intent on its own destruction. It’s a direct, unsparing look at a grim reality that repeats itself with chilling regularity. Ajike Owens is not an exception — she is the painful proof of a system where violence has become the norm.