User reviews

If you ask me, I think JCS did much better in composing this case and presenting it through the lense of criminal psychology.

It highlights the most important aspects of the case - all condensed into what Jennifer really thought the solution was. Also, with the bonus of not including the dramatic music in the background that Netflix features in every single crime doco.

I honestly thought watching the case again, this time around on Netflix, I might learn something more. However, after seeing it, Netflix doesn't measure up the slightest to what JCS presented.

For those curious, it's called Jennifer's Solution on YT.

Police receive a 911 call from Jennifer Pan, who explains that her parents have been shot at their family home.

First of all, what a drab production, I've just watched another Netflix documentary, Crime Scene Berlin, which was such a slick production, this one, for Netflix was so bland.

The story, it's an interesting one, but the narrative is just off somehow, I don't feel we learned very much at all, very little exploration of Jennifer's relationship with her parents, no alternative theories explored.

The actual footage of Jennifer's interviews is fascinating, and does make the film worth watching. You see some of the techniques used by The Police.

Personally, it must have been tough for her, her parents seemed pretty strict, but what she did, as the title gives away...... unforgivably.

It's a little overlong at 90 minutes long, you may find yourself yawning and fidgeting a little bit.

Worth seeing, but don't expect to be wowed.

6/10.

Overall i enjoyed the documentary just expected a bit more.

I wondered why so many details were left out. Although I truly appreciated the actual footage and commentary I was surprised they chose to exclude some of the more interesting tidbits about the case

I had preciously listened to the 2 hour and 49 minute long Casefile (Episode 50) from 2017 podcast about this years ago and wish they would have included more into this documentary. Casefiles version was so good.

I also recently watched the JCS: Criminal Psychology episode (Jennifer's Solution). It was good also.

I would definitely recommend watching and listening to both of those to get your true crime fix.

To begin with, the title does not seem well thought out to me at all, and it is not the only thing that is done poorly in this documentary.

I think that this crime story from Canada will appeal primarily to people interested in true crime documentaries, but I must admit as a fan of crime stories, that this one is really dull. They are too many unexplained details, what a disappointment. DNA tests are missing in the house, etc etc..etc..etc .. The most frustrating thing is not having investigated her phone records earlier, incomprehensible! It makes no sense to me.

There are also many repetitive things, to fill time I imagine.

A great part consists of showing archival footage of interviews that Jennifer had with investigators at the Markham police station. Jennifer's father, who is still alive, spoke to police after he came out of his coma, but he's a very minor player in this story and it would have been fascinating to hear more from him. .. I can go on..

There is much more material that they could have used to make a much more interesting and complete documentary, with more respect and responsibility as it should be in these cases. The end seems rushed and a little unclear for me.

For true crime fans who are looking for a quick and interesting crime story, it's worth watching! . It manages to entertaing with some surprising details and twists into it's short running time.

No pun intended - the run time may not be the longest and yet this could have been way shorter. I think a one hour documentary could have done the trick (again no pun intended). Just tighten everything up and get faster to the point and the "truth". I don't think there is much doubt about what happened ... there may be questions about the why .. but we can't really look into other peoples brains ... so there is that.

So short of someone giving us their reasons for their actions, we won't really know. We can take some educated guesses ... the title already suggest that there is more to the story that the start of the documentary suggests ... that said, maybe you already know of the story - I had not heard of it. So it was quite entertaining and had some interesting twists ... I may be cutting this some slack .. but I am known to be nicer than other reviewers I reckon ... and nice may not be the right way to go here I guess .. but that is another pun to tell ...

Very good production design but with few story production material and this is the result!

Only scenes from Jennifer's interview worth to be watched and contemplated, the other interviews is lifeless with few footage about Jennifer herself but only footage about the investigators and police chiefs that makes you feel the film is about their work and not an attempt to discuss a crime about a young girl and trying to get into her mixed, complex and deviant feelings which led her to commit this crime.

The film doesn't have a lot of plot twists or introductory scenes and that's maybe it's forgivable for the crew because there probably aren't many archival scenes of the girl and the story is straightforward and not serving any twists.

Astounding how a large studio with a substantial budget, can't do it better than one guy making YouTube videos. Look up the JCS video on youtube. It's around the same length but goes into this from the criminal psychology angle and absolutely nails it. Netflix tried too hard (as they often do) to ramp up the drama and cinematography and in turn essentially fall flat when it comes to actually giving you what you want from a story like this.

The story of this horrific murder is organically dramatic enough that the erie music is completely unnecessary and takes a lot away from the organic darkness of this case.

Essentially, it's too long for how much it leaves to assumption and too dramatic for how much it takes away from the incident.

Watch the JCS video instead.

This is a decent enough Netflix documentary about the murder and attempted murder of a set of strict immigrant parents and the assault of their only daughter. While the motive appears to be a robbery, or drug related revenge killing there may be more. That is what this one is about. Mostly told through interviews and archival interrogation footage it is not too long and decent enough. Not a real brain twister, but if you like true crime it is worth a watch. I did not find it to be the best or the worst of the real crime documentaries but still very watchable. Telling more would be to provide spoilers, which we don't do.

I really hope they gave him credit for this, because his was so much better, and they obviously ripped him off. I only watched this because I learned of this case due to JCS. However, after watching this, and comparing to JCS, well it really can't compare. I feel like JCS was more thorough and kept my attention. I also like how he explains Jennifers demeanor and everything, so that you know how the story comes together. He gave a lot more backstory as well. I usually love Netflix, but it's really hard when you watched a really good one, and then you see this one, it just can't compare. I really recommend you watching JCS Criminology on YouTube instead.

From the title of the documentary one can deduce that Jennifer is fully or partly responsible for what happened to her parents that night. However, the documentary is solely told from the point of view of those involved in the investigation, painting a pretty black and white picture of the event and leaving out key details about Jennifer's live at home and outside her home. There's a few comments from a friend of Jennifer (who doesn't appear to be a close confidant), an older friend of the family, and a private tutor, but nothing substantial to paint a complete picture of who Jennifer is, and how complicated her relationship with her parents was. There isn't enough context and nuance for us to better understand what lead her to commit such an unspeakable...and though her parents were the victims of this crime, it feels as though they don't get a pass - since they're not the only victim here. I wonder what someone like David Fincher would do with this story if given access to dig deeper into Jennifer's psyche. We need her side of the story for better or ill.

My wife and I recently watched What Jennifer Did (2024) on Netflix. The storyline follows an Asian family in Canada who experience a home invasion where both parents are killed. The daughter, Jennifer, calls 911 and explains what happened. As the police investigate, some pieces of Jennifer's story don't seem to make sense.

Directed by Jenny Popplewell (American Murder: The Family Next Door), this is a very well put together documentary that features key interviews between the police and those involved. Hearing the 911 call was also very effective in helping form impressions as the story unfolds. I also enjoyed the neighbor interviews where they always say, "they were a normal family," which often means they weren't. The documentary is well paced, revealing the details behind the scenes that may have led to the events. The ultimate conclusion fits the events and provides a worthwhile resolution to the circumstances.

In conclusion, What Jennifer Did is another solid Netflix documentary that I would score a 7/10 and recommend seeing once.

This is the story about the interrogation and investigation into Jennifer Pan, who hired men to murder her parents and staged the crime so it looked like she was a victim of the home invasion. As the story unfolds, you def can see she was good at lying and smart, but also that her parents put too much pressure on her to be someone who she wasn't and the left her with nowhere to go but into a downward spiral.

This kid was a great piano player, why would you want her to be a pharmacist. Why not encourage her to follow her passion? I understand not wanting her to be with the deadbeat boyfriend, but that is also a situation you need to learn to handle without being so controlling. Kids have to be given the tools to make the right choice.

I don't think her parents brought what happened onto themselves, but I do think that they put too much pressure on her and the thing is...you're in Canada you're not in Vietnam. Your daughter is going to want to be Canadian. Let her be herself. Love her for who she is.

As for the ex-boyfriend, he and his friends absolutely should have known better. What the heck were they doing? Killing her parents so they could get some insurance payout from the home? No excuses there.

In the end, I feel bad for Jennifer she never got the help she needed, but there really is no excuse to hire people to take out your parents. I hope she can get some healing and closure.

I came here after watching the documentary on Netflix to read others reviews and saw a couple mention this YouTube episode "Jennifer's Solution" by JCS Criminal Psychology. I was wondering how much better it actually could be and it's a LOT better. More footage of the interviews and explaining the psychology behind what she's doing. How you can see from the beginning she is putting on an act. I also think it does a better job of diving into her life with her parents. While Netflix's scratched the surface and was a good intro, the YouTube one really dives in deeper. I also think the Netflix doc provides more of the thoughts of the police/detectives on the case...but there were things that didn't make sense. There were clear consistencies in her 911 call and her in-person interviews that never appeared to be questioned in the interviews on the documentary. I would highly suggest the YouTube episode over Netflix's if you're interested in this case.

I know I sound really twisted but this is one of my favourite crime stories! I got hooked on this case from the moment I became aware of it through YouTube videos. This case is definitely worth watching and I promise you it will send chills down your spine!

The story starts from the moment when Jennifer, a young lady in her early twenties, calls 911 to inform that some intruders broke into their house and shot both of her parents. She says she cannot check on them as she is tied up against the bannister upstairs. After the police arrive and rescue her, she is taken into custody. She tells the police as she cries profusely that three men entered their house and rummaged through their stuff for money. They shot her parents because they did not tell the intruders about the exact location where they could find cash. But the detectives questioning her seem to be utterly confused as they listen to her.

Why did the intruders not take a lot of the cash and valuables still remaining intact in the house despite the fact that these could be easily detected? And most importantly, why would the intruders leave Jennifer alive even though she is a firsthand witness of their actions Things take a rather bizarre turn when it is discovered that Jennifer is not the only witness alive. Her father, who was shot and remained in coma for days, is taken out of coma and he gives an astonishing account of the events that took place.

Highly Recommended.

This is without a doubt a captivating story if you havent heard or seen it already.

The story, case study and outcome has been all over social media ever since it happened and the Netflix episode offers nothing new, if anything it edits things out!

However Netflix does have a great way of rerunning a story in a coherennt and compelling way, Just as it did with several other crime documentarie such as American Murder (the family next door) and the Sins of the mother. Netflix just gathers all of the youtube footage that many of us have seen and throws in a couple of new interviews to beef the story up, it does a good job here but id like to see fresh and new evidence rather than rewatch all the footage thats avaliable free on youtube.