Pacto Brutal: O Assassinato de Daniella Perez

A deep and emotional dive into a murder that shocked Brazil, that brings to the table not only the circunstances of the crime, but also many layers of the unfolding events. Daniella death was only the beginning. The young artist wasn't only killed; her reputation was tarnished and even her body couldn't rest in peace. I was too young to remember the details about the case, but old enough to be mislead by the sensationalist media. So a documentary like this one is important to bring to the light - and to Brazilians' collective memory - not only what really happened, but also the much darker reality we can't help but witness: the incompetence of the justice system, the corruption of the police and the horror circus created by the same media that fuelled the ego of the murderer. But, more than that, the series emotional core - Daniella's family, in particular her mother Gloria - reminds us that beyond all the horror, there are people. People who remember, 30 years after. Gloria's remarks are deeply impactful.

As Episode 1 of "A Brutal Pact: The Murder of Daniella Perez" (2022 release from Brazil; 5 episodes of about 60 min each) opens, it is "December 28, 1992", and we learn that a 22 yo well-known Brazilian soap opera star, Daniella Perez, is found brutally murdered. Her mother Gloria, the writer of the soap that starred her daughter, laments: "there were only good things on the horizon, then we were crushed by December 28". We then go back in time to Daniella's upbringing, and what eventually made her a start at such a young age... At this point we are 10 min into Episode 1.

Couple of comments: 2022 marks the 30th anniversary of these terrible events, but it's clear that in Brazil many people still talk about it like it happened yesterday. There are many. Many talking heads, from family to other actors to the police who investigated, and so forth. In fact, I was taken aback by the sheer volume of on-camera interviews done 30 years later, as opposed to showing the TV clips and other archive footage from 1992 (to be clear: there are some of those, but not nearly enough). But here is the biggest challenge: by the end of Episode , we know who is responsible for the murder, and in Episode 2 we now start digging into the why, and by the end of Episode 2, I thought to myself: am I really going to sit through 3 more hours of this? I immediately knew I had already answered my own question. Bottom line: these events seem to have had a profound effect on Brazilian society but it never resonated with me, and I couldn't get into it. Even though I am a huge fan of true crime documentaries, I bailed after 2 episodes.

"A Brutal Pact: The Murder of Daniella Perez" recently premiered on HBO Max, and all 5 episodes are now available. If you are a fan of true crime documentaries, I'd readily suggest you check this out, with expectations firmly in check, and draw your own conclusion.

You might struggle to keep up with the subtitles, but I found it worth the effort. It's a touching story of a mother's fight for justice after her daughter, a Brazilian actress and dancer, was brutally murdered by a fellow actor and his jealous wife. The film is chalk full of firsthand accounts. Highly recommended!

Amazing documentary revealing shocking details of the murder of Daniella Perez, brazilian actress and daughter of famous telenovelas author Gloria Perez.

This is more than just a criminal investigation, which it is. It is also about the effects it had on the mother of the victim, and her important role in finding the truth. I don't understand how imperfect the system still is, and in cases like these, of extremely violent premeditated crimes, how little justice is served. An eye for an eye, seems to me, would be more appropriate. Can a criminal redeem itself? Maybe. But one must be held accountable for taking someone's life. I was left baffled at the end. I swallowed dry and clenched my hands as we hear the mother's remarks at the ene, and we see Daniella's hopes and dreams for her future. When a life like that is taken, it was not just of that person, but the grandchildren and extra family members that mother never had. And sadly never will.