Netflix’s New #1 Movie May Be the Most Polarizing Film of the Year

And it's only 94 minutes

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Courtesy of Netflix

There is no shortage of things to watch right now. Between new series, buzzy films, and endless drops across every streaming platform, it is honestly easy for a show or film to get buried before anyone even has a chance to talk about it. But every so often, something breaks through the noise because it is either undeniably great or impossible to agree on. Netflix’s latest number one, The Crash, falls firmly into that second category.

The true-crime documentary The Crash revisits a tragic July 2022 incident in Strongsville, Ohio, where 17-year-old Mackenzie Shirilla drove her car into a brick building at 100 mph. The crash killed her passengers, her boyfriend Dominic Russo, 20, and their friend Davion Flanagan, 19, while Shirilla survived. The film digs into one central question: was this a devastating accident, or a calculated double-murder?

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Courtesy of Netflix

Through a mix of courtroom footage, interviews with people connected to the case, and social media posts, the documentary unpacks a wider conversation around teen behavior, coercive control, and what it means when a generation’s most private emotions and public lives are permanently documented online.

Critically, the documentary is performing strongly, holding a 91 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. But audiences are not nearly as aligned, with a much lower 62 percent score that reflects just how divided reactions have been.

Scroll through the reviews and the split is pretty obvious:

"Really good. I enjoyed this very much. Well done."

"This is a very skewed and frankly horrible documentary."

"Tragic for all involved. Well done, and definitely showed 'both sides.'"

"Very engaging, however it left a lot of important information out which makes it hard to learn the facts and form a valid opinion about what happened."

At the end of the day, The Crash is not just a true-crime documentary people are watching and forgetting about. It is the kind that is actively splitting opinion, sparking debates, and leaving viewers sitting with more questions than answers. And maybe that is exactly why it is currently at number one.

The Crash is streaming now on Netflix.

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Danielle Long

Assistant Editor, News and Entertainment

  • Writes breaking news and entertainment content
  • Covers award show red carpets and movie premieres
  • Has earned two Edward R. Murrow Awards