Dirty John - Netflix Review

The new Thriller series unraveling our household screens from the streaming giants Netflix has just landed - giving us another creepy antagonist to have mixed feelings about. I am of course talking about ‘Dirty John’ starring Eric Bana, but not in the charming smooth talking roles we've seen him in before - though a few scenes show rage some might refer to a little green character he played a little while back. If you’ve been getting stuck into to Netflix’s creepy/binge-worthy crime led content of late, this is your kind of show.

The story follows successful business women Debra who after a string of unsuccessful online dates, meets John. A handsome, charming doctor who almost seems too good to be true. That's because he totally is. The only real thing seems to be his name, which even I have some trouble believing. Despite the undeniable disgust of her daughters Debra falls for John, as he slowly starts to put his real motives into motion. The truth about dirty old John starts to come to the boil with one mistake after the other, uncovering a very checkered history that even cupid eyed Debra must take notice of. The further John begins to control Debra the more her family takes action, hoping to free Debra from this unpredictable evil. We believe John’s only motive is to make a quick penny, but with each “betrayal” from his darling Debra, a more sinister plot comes into play.

Definite spoilers coming up so don’t say I didn't warn you.

Us Netflix bingers find it very easy to root for characters, wanting them to succeed at every mile stone, praying the bad guy gets his just desserts. But this isn't that story. The more the episodes go on the more we start to see the troubling childhood of conman John, who seems to be merely a result of the environment he grew up in. A scene that no father should be taking notes on, is when John’s Father proceeds to place a large piece of glass in his restaurant meal, only for the simple satisfaction of another scam. The more we learn about John’s past, his drug addictions and abusive father, the more we start to feel for him. Well sort of. Near the end of the journey I started to see that John was very far from saving. He couldn't be bought or reasoned with, which makes him a very dangerous character to Debra and her Family.

The unraveling of John’s criminal background is an unexpected revelation to Debra, but not her Daughters. They were planning his exit with the very first hello. With John’s last terrifying threat to Debra’s happy little family, she plots to be rid of dirty johnny for good. All while we are nervously waiting for him to burst in at any moment.

The appearance of John Meehan is all too familiar for Debra’s nephew Toby, who’s seen it all before. Through a devastating series of flashbacks we see Debra’s own sister murdered by her childhood sweetheart, as much like John, he feared her slipping away. This all took place whilst Toby was just a child. This harrowing set of flashbacks adds a terrifying dynamic to the plot, with viewers praying for history not to repeat itself. But sure enough, this time it doesn’t. With a rage bigger than his wallet John’s fear of losing Debra cultivates in the attempted murder of her youngest daughter Terra - which after a vicious fight, see’s Dirty John, in a dirty grave.

This new Netflix journey is a gripping uncovering of secrets, lies, and messed up family dynamics that could be the catalyst to John’s lack of empathy. But something tells me it goes much deeper. The craziest part of this whole thing, Is that it is based on a true story!