Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story – Review | Netflix

EVIL INFLUENCER: THE JODI HILDEBRANDT STORY on Netflix is a new true crime documentary feature from documentarist Skye Borgman. Even if you’re familiar with the story already, it’s still worth checking out. Read our full Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story documentary review here!

EVIL INFLUENCER: THE JODI HILDEBRANDT STORY is a new Netflix true crime documentary. It’s far from the first one covering this particular case, but it has a somewhat different angle. Also, while still a fascinating watch, it has a more direct and sober approach than many other productions.

In other words, even if you’ve already watched other documentaries and know the story well, I’d still recommend watching this one on Netflix. Admittedly, I did not expect that, so this was a better experience than I thought it would be. Also, the runtime is just around an hour and a half, so it’s a tightly paced documentary.

Continue reading our Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story documentary review below. Find it on Netflix from December 30, 2025.

The cult of Jodi Hildebrandt

With Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story, we’re not getting the story of a now-classic social media influencer, but rather the influencer of someone who has a virtual cult. It’s only really possible, however, that Jodi Hildebrandt can make this work because she approaches people who are already under the influence of following something blindly.

In this case, her clients (who practically become worshippers) are from the Mormon or LDS church. A church that sends clients to Jodi Hildebrandt, which means they already know that their church wants them to follow her.

This is the story of how the Utah-based therapist, Jodi Hildebrandt, ends up at the center of a child abuse case. She gets arrested alongside parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke for child abuse. Of course, at this point, she’s guilty of much more… just not according to any law books. Not even the Bible.

Focused on facts

While true crime documentaries are usually focused on facts, some take a much more dramatic approach than others. Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story is very focused on facts, which I always appreciate.

Previous true crime approaches have focused much more on Ruby Franke and the whole “8 Passengers” YouTube channel, while this Netflix documentary focuses on Jodi Hildebrandt. To me, this is the much more interesting story.

Don’t worry, though. Even if you’re not familiar with this true crime, you will be able to follow it just fine. It’s simply that this documentary focuses on what’s actually criminal, while previous documentaries have also focused on the concept of Mommy Blogging and the whole YouTube and Social Media influencer fame.

Watch Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story on Netflix now

Skye Borgman is the documentary filmmaker behind Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story, which is admittedly the only reason why I wanted to watch it. She’s the filmmaker behind such iconic Netflix true crime documentaries as Abducted in Plain Sight and Unknown Number: The High School Catfish.

Most recently, she also made the documentary My Father, The BTK Killer, and whatever the topic, her documentaries are always well-made and feature a fascinating true crime case of some kind.

This latest Netflix documentary features a truly twisted tale of manipulation. And yet, Skye Borgman avoids being judgmental and simply allows the people in her production to tell their truth. We hear harrowing experiences and are allowed to form our own opinion while also being informed of the legal ramifications for Jodi Hildebrandt, of course.

Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story is on Netflix from December 30, 2025.