Before watching this documentary, I had no knowledge of the Watts case. Perhaps that’s not surprising – in Europe, we usually only hear about the most bizarre cases from the U.S., and this one certainly qualifies. The Watts case is a stark reminder of what pure evil can look like, embodied by husband and father Chris Watts.

The documentary portrays how Chris went to the media to report his wife Shannan and their two daughters as missing, coldly calculating that he could deceive both the public and the police. It’s chilling to watch his empty appearances while his guilt slowly unravels.

Justice eventually caught up with Chris, but the documentary also paints a picture of Shannan Watts as a woman with a strong need for control, which seems to have contributed to an increasingly destructive relationship. However, a clear downside of the documentary is that it doesn’t delve deeper into this toxic dynamic between the couple. Exploring their troubled relationship in more depth could have provided greater insight into how it deteriorated – even though it can never excuse Chris’s heinous actions.

That Chris would go so far as to murder his pregnant wife and their two young daughters was beyond what anyone could imagine. Despite the horrific events, justice was served. Chris Watts was sentenced to five life terms without the possibility of parole. May he rot in prison.

The documentary itself is a fairly standard true-crime story, even though the case is so bizarre and horrifying. I rate it 5/10 for production, but the case and story deserve a 7/10. Worth watching – though it’s a chilling study of pure evil that is hard to shake off.