Lover, Stalker, Killer

Lover, Stalker, Killer

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7 / 10

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Overview

In this twisting documentary, a mechanic tries online dating for the first time and meets a woman who takes romantic obsession to a deadly extreme.

Media

Lover, Stalker, Killer | Official Trailer | Netflix

Cast

Director:

Sam Hobkinson

Release Date:

2024-02-09

Run Time:

90m

Tagline:

From online stalking... to real life hell.

Genres:

Crime Documentary

Keywords:

ex-lover female stalker nebraska online dating stalking text messaging true crime

Financials and Popularity

Budget: Not Declared

Revenue: Not Declared

Vote Average: 6.8/10

Vote Count: 165 Votes

Movie Popularity: 0.885

Spoken Languages: English

Review

View all reviews

Insomniacs Reviews
- 29 April 2026 at 7:43 pm

7 Based on 1 Votes
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⭐ Insomniacs Rating: 7/10 THE SUMMARY Netflix’s 2024 true-crime documentary dives into a digital dating nightmare that feels more like a Hollywood thriller than real life. Set in Omaha, Nebraska, it follows Dave Kroupa, a mechanic who gets back into the dating scene and meets two women: Liz Golyar and Cari Farver. After a brief fling, Cari vanishes, but she doesn't go silent—she begins a relentless, four-year campaign of stalking and harassment via thousands of texts and emails, targeting both Dave and Liz. It’s a twisting story of arson, identity theft, and a shocking revelation that proves you never truly know who you're chatting with online. THE PROS The central twist is a total winner; even for seasoned true-crime fans, the reveal of what actually happened to Cari is genuinely chilling and well-executed. Director Sam Hobkinson does a high-quality job of building tension, using dramatic reenactments that feel cinematic rather than tacky. It’s a 7/10 because the documentary manages to be a sincere cautionary tale about the anonymity of the internet without feeling like a "scare piece." Hearing from the actual investigators and Dave Kroupa himself—who even appears in some of the reenactments—gives the story an honest, grounded weight. The pacing in the first part is gripping, moving through the years of harassment with a speed that mirrors Dave’s own mounting paranoia and desperation. THE CONS It earns a 7/10 because the middle part can feel a bit sluggish, with some of the reenactments and dramatic "tech" visuals being repeated a few too many times to pad out the 90-minute runtime. While the story is bizarre, the documentary style doesn't reinvent the wheel, sticking to the standard Netflix true-crime formula that can feel a bit repetitive if you’ve binged a lot of these. It misses a higher mark because some of the "detective-work" explanations get a bit bogged down in technical details that might be a bit of a "head-scratcher" for some viewers. Additionally, the music feels like it’s trying a bit too hard to tell you how to feel, occasionally overpowering the honest emotion of the interviews. THE VERDICT A 7/10. A gripping and bizarre true-crime doc that is a winner for anyone who loves a good "stranger than fiction" mystery. It’s a sincere and often terrifying look at obsession in the digital age that’ll make you want to double-check your privacy settings. While it doesn't quite hit "epic status" in the documentary world, it’s a total banger for a midweek Netflix session. If you’re looking for a quality mystery with a twist you won't see coming, this is a decent shout. INSOMNIAC TRIVIA • Meta Casting: In a rare move for the genre, the real Dave Kroupa actually appears in some of the dramatic reenactments, playing a background version of himself while an actor plays his younger self.• Digital Footprint: The perpetrator sent an estimated 15,000 emails and 50,000 text messages over the course of the harassment campaign, all while maintaining the digital ghost of a woman who had been dead for years.• Crucial Discovery: The breakthrough in the case came when investigators found a photo on a memory card that showed the victim’s body, a piece of evidence the killer had forgotten to delete, proving the "stalking" was actually a cover for a brutal murder. THE VIBE Like a notification sound in a dark room. It smells of cold coffee, ozone from a computer fan, and the metallic tang of a frantic 911 call.

Videos

Lover, Stalker, Killer | Official Trailer | Netflix

Cast

Jessica Johnson

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Lover, Stalker, Killer

Comment (1)

Insomniacs Reviews
- 29 April 2026 at 8:43 PM

⭐ Insomniacs Rating: 7/10
THE SUMMARY
Netflix’s 2024 true-crime documentary dives into a digital dating nightmare that feels more like a Hollywood thriller than real life. Set in Omaha, Nebraska, it follows Dave Kroupa, a mechanic who gets back into the dating scene and meets two women: Liz Golyar and Cari Farver. After a brief fling, Cari vanishes, but she doesn’t go silent—she begins a relentless, four-year campaign of stalking and harassment via thousands of texts and emails, targeting both Dave and Liz. It’s a twisting story of arson, identity theft, and a shocking revelation that proves you never truly know who you’re chatting with online.
THE PROS
The central twist is a total winner; even for seasoned true-crime fans, the reveal of what actually happened to Cari is genuinely chilling and well-executed. Director Sam Hobkinson does a high-quality job of building tension, using dramatic reenactments that feel cinematic rather than tacky. It’s a 7/10 because the documentary manages to be a sincere cautionary tale about the anonymity of the internet without feeling like a “scare piece.” Hearing from the actual investigators and Dave Kroupa himself—who even appears in some of the reenactments—gives the story an honest, grounded weight. The pacing in the first part is gripping, moving through the years of harassment with a speed that mirrors Dave’s own mounting paranoia and desperation.
THE CONS
It earns a 7/10 because the middle part can feel a bit sluggish, with some of the reenactments and dramatic “tech” visuals being repeated a few too many times to pad out the 90-minute runtime. While the story is bizarre, the documentary style doesn’t reinvent the wheel, sticking to the standard Netflix true-crime formula that can feel a bit repetitive if you’ve binged a lot of these. It misses a higher mark because some of the “detective-work” explanations get a bit bogged down in technical details that might be a bit of a “head-scratcher” for some viewers. Additionally, the music feels like it’s trying a bit too hard to tell you how to feel, occasionally overpowering the honest emotion of the interviews.
THE VERDICT
A 7/10. A gripping and bizarre true-crime doc that is a winner for anyone who loves a good “stranger than fiction” mystery. It’s a sincere and often terrifying look at obsession in the digital age that’ll make you want to double-check your privacy settings. While it doesn’t quite hit “epic status” in the documentary world, it’s a total banger for a midweek Netflix session. If you’re looking for a quality mystery with a twist you won’t see coming, this is a decent shout.
INSOMNIAC TRIVIA
• Meta Casting: In a rare move for the genre, the real Dave Kroupa actually appears in some of the dramatic reenactments, playing a background version of himself while an actor plays his younger self.
• Digital Footprint: The perpetrator sent an estimated 15,000 emails and 50,000 text messages over the course of the harassment campaign, all while maintaining the digital ghost of a woman who had been dead for years.
• Crucial Discovery: The breakthrough in the case came when investigators found a photo on a memory card that showed the victim’s body, a piece of evidence the killer had forgotten to delete, proving the “stalking” was actually a cover for a brutal murder.
THE VIBE
Like a notification sound in a dark room. It smells of cold coffee, ozone from a computer fan, and the metallic tang of a frantic 911 call.

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