Netflix’s newest true crime documentary starts off with a frantic 911 call. On Nov. 8, 2010, a young woman named Jennifer Pan had been at home with her parents in Ontario, Canada, when armed gunman forced their way inside and demanded money. In Pan’s frantic retelling to dispatchers, the gunmen tied her up and shot both of her parents before fleeing. It was a deadly home invasion — Pan’s mother, Bich Ha, died instantly, while her father, Huei Hann, could be heard in the background as Pan begs dispatchers to send help.
So begins What Jennifer Did, a 90-minute documentary directed by Jenny Popplewell (American Murder: The Family Next Door) that delivers a jaw-dropping shocker. What looks at first to the viewer like a random home invasion morphs into something much more ominous; as the title suggests, it quickly becomes clear that the titular Jennifer knew much more about what happened, and why, than she initially lets on.
Some of Netflix’s best true-crime releases of the past year or so — ranging from Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street to Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal, and Take Care of Maya — take a deep dive into the many facets and frightening consequences of evil. What Jennifer Did, coming on April 10, offers more of the same. I can’t really explain too much about how that’s done in this pretty gripping Netflix release, but suffice it to say that the title was chosen for a reason.
Long story short, you’ll leave the documentary with a, shall we say, more complete understanding of the home invasion referenced above — which was absolutely not random. This is a true-crime story about hitmen, family expectations, and the lengths to which some people will go to ensure the life that they want. A dark and twisted story, What Jennifer Did will have you spellbound from start to finish.