User reviews

Although this documentary claims to "explore new theories," it doesn't at all. If you've followed this case at even a very high level, you certainly won't learn any new information, theories or insights. It's a basic high-level introduction to the case, and a subpar one at that. Lots of clips of their tik tok videos and references to "lighting up a room" and how the victims' "lives were cut short."

The "experts" are randoms who have no connection to the case at all, and a couple of very awkward local reporters. Some of the people being interviewed are really over the top and very tabloid ish and overly dramatic in nature, which is off-putting and eyeroll-inducing. Most of the commentary is just questions ("WHY did he do it?") and no answers.

Bottom line: it's not really worth the time unless you like sensationalized reporting styles.

I'm so tired of these old styled, news anchor type of documentaries that are full of fluff, disorganized information, and a lack of detail.

The interview style is annoying. I can hardly tolerate it. I just wanted more info on the case in one easy to find place. You'll get a better idea of this crazy case looking it up on TikTok.

They make it seem open and shut and don't cover any of the convoluted details that make this case such an interesting one to follow.

The spent way too long showing you how these are just your typical beautiful blonde college girls who liked dancing on TikTok.

Very little information on the layout of the house as well.

Oh and can I just mention again how annoying hearing the news anchors narrate this doc? As much as it pains me to say, maybe go get some tips from Netflix on what makes a good, modern day documentary.

Another mindless ratings grab thrown together to titillate and excite the bored and the pathetic who get off on this kind of thing. I'll never forget all the idiotic guesses and ridiculous speculations the amateur (very amateur) internet sleuths made about this case before Kohberger was captured. They were so sure who committed the crime. Well, you were WRONG and I laugh at you. Go back to your parents' basement and play some more video games. Kohberger -- an incel if there ever was one -- is just another damaged oddball out to make a name for himself, much like the internet sleuths who crave attention and believe they can solve any and every crime.

Hulu's The Idaho College Murders is not just disappointing-it's a masterclass in how to exploit a tragedy under the guise of "true crime storytelling." What could've been a measured, respectful look at the lives lost and the investigation that followed instead feels like a bad YouTube rabbit hole-written, directed, and edited by people who seem more obsessed with clickbait than truth. This wasn't produced by documentarians. It was assembled by clout-chasers masquerading as filmmakers.

The documentary is offensively sensationalistic from the first five minutes. The music swells in all the wrong places, the reenactments are grotesquely tone-deaf, and the so-called "experts" interviewed throughout? Half of them speak like they're auditioning for a network crime show, delivering overly dramatic lines with all the subtlety of a teenager on TikTok. Their commentary isn't insightful-it's performative. You can practically hear the script notes in the background: "Make it sound more ominous."

What's worse is the blatant misreporting and conflation of facts. Multiple key details are either manipulated or presented out of order, intentionally muddying the timeline in favor of cheap suspense. The editing stitches together unrelated footage, quotes, and soundbites as if the truth is just a secondary concern. The writers and producers aren't trying to inform; they're trying to entertain-and in doing so, they betray both the victims and the viewer.

This isn't investigative journalism. It's emotional exploitation wrapped in dramatic lighting and overproduced voiceovers. The entire production reeks of amateurism and self-importance. It leans hard on regurgitating publicly available information while pretending to offer something revelatory. It ultimately offers nothing new-just a theatrical rehash of details that are already widely known.

In many ways, it feels like a documentary made by Reddit sleuths who stumbled into a production budget. Rather than acknowledge the exhaustive and often thankless work done by real detectives, The Idaho College Murders lifts from that labor, then warps it for shock value. The final product isn't just lazy-it's grotesquely opportunistic.

If you want a real documentary that treats the victims with dignity and presents the facts clearly, skip this Hulu travesty and head over to Amazon Prime. The four-part series One Day in Idaho: The College Murders is everything Hulu's version is not: thoughtful, respectful, well-researched, and grounded in reality. It tells the story without relying on dramatic voiceovers or manipulative edits. It honors the memory of the students instead of mining their deaths for dramatic effect.

To call The Idaho College Murders a documentary is to insult the genre itself. It's not journalism. It's exploitation-thinly veiled and poorly executed. Hulu should be ashamed.

I managed to get through the first episode with a sense of dismay at the presentation, sorrowing for how dishonouring this was for the family & friends. They would have given these interviews not knowing what the end result of this documentary was going to be or how heavily weighted towards portraying these victims as affluent, attractive, perfectly blond young people from perfect families. There is a whole international audience that can't relate to it, nor the expectations & opportunities afforded to such young people. I point this out because the comments in reviews reflects exactly what happened in the minds of viewers. Fed up with it, dismissive of the horror of this tragedy because of the way privilege & good looks was pushed on the audience for an hour as if that mattered in the slightest in the face of these murders. How appallingly this diminished the loss of life & grief of the victim's families as if somehow because they can't possibly have it so bad. Am I going too far? I don't think so reading the reviews.

This documentary was made 10 yrs too early. As far as I understand it the case is far from resolved & the information available from police investigations or a trial is not available. So the whole thing feels like sick voyeurism based solely on the heart rending grief & first hand experiences of the students & the families.

I just hated this for it's heartless exploitation.