Netflix's hugely successful Worst Ever franchise has become a chilling study of the darkest extremes of human behaviour. From toxic former partners in Worst Ex Ever to dangerous housemates in Worst Roommate Ever, the series explores how ordinary relationships can unravel into obsession, deception and, sometimes, deadly violence.
Its latest instalment, Worst Neighbor Ever, turns its attention to those living just beyond our front doors. Produced by Blumhouse Productions – the studio behind many horror hits – the four-part documentary series is another stark reminder that you never really know who your neighbours are.
The opening episode, set in the small town of Mount Sterling, Kentucky, is perhaps the most heartbreaking.
It follows Frances Zaayer, once a close friend of David and Shawna Scott, an interracial couple, whose relationship with the family spirals into months of intimidation, false accusations and increasingly bizarre behaviour. The documentary also touches on Zaayer's political activism and alleged racist behaviour – including attending anti-Muslim rallies – that drives a wedge between the parties, eventually leading to a full-blown feud that ultimately ends in a fatal shooting.
The second episode, set in the Midwestern US city of Indianapolis, broadens the definition of what makes a “bad neighbour”. Instead of a personal feud, it centres on Monserrate “Moncy” Shirley, a much-loved resident of the close-knit Richmond Hill suburb whose life is upended after a divorce and the arrival of her new boyfriend, Mark Leonard, a man with a criminal past.
What follows is a disturbing case of an insurance fraud scheme that culminates in a devastating house explosion, killing two innocent people, injuring dozens more and destroying more than 30 homes.
Episode three returns to a more familiar neighbour dispute, this time centred on an eviction that spirals into tragedy.
Miles Armstead and his wife, Melina, are settling into a new life in the working-class neighbourhood of Eastmont Hills in Oakland, California, with their blended family, when tension begins to mount after the family next door is evicted. What starts as a friendly relationship between Miles and neighbour Jamal soon descends into relentless harassment as Jamal refuses to leave, squatting in the garage of his former home.
As his behaviour becomes increasingly erratic, the Armsteads endure repeated attacks, including several smashed windows that eventually force them to board up their home. Law enforcement is called time and again, yet little changes. When the intimidation ultimately turns deadly, it becomes impossible not to wonder whether the tragedy could have been prevented, making this episode perhaps the most infuriating.
The last episode is the series' weakest link in that no neighbours were actually harmed. But it is grotesque. Caroline Herrling appears at first to be an eccentric but respectable neighbour. Instead, investigators uncover an elaborate fraud involving a dead man's estate, forged documents, millions of dollars and an almost unthinkable attempt to conceal the victim's death for financial gain.
It is less explosive than the earlier episodes, but no less disturbing because of the calculated cruelty behind it.
Like its predecessors, Worst Neighbor Ever occasionally verges on being exploitative. Yet there is a small measure of solace in each story: every case ends with a conviction. It, of course, does nothing to erase the grief and trauma endured by the victims, survivors and families recounting these events, but it offers at least some comfort that justice, however delayed, was ultimately served.
