Film Review: Evil Influencer (Netflix)
Netflix’s true-crime documentary Evil Influencer is not just disturbing—it is deeply unsettling because it exposes the frightening level of ignorance, blind faith, and moral surrender that still exists in modern society.
The documentary centers around Jodi Hildebrandt, a self-styled counselor and influencer who, like many clever charlatans, weaponizes the name of God to lure people into her web. What is shocking is not merely her manipulation, but how easily well-settled, educated couples—loving parents raising their children together—hand over their autonomy to a stranger under the guise of “spiritual” or “moral” guidance.
Jodi’s counseling methods rely almost entirely on guilt. She convinces her clients that their natural human emotions, parental affection, and marital disagreements are signs of moral failure. Instead of offering solutions, she traps them in endless cycles of self-blame, leaving them emotionally broken and dependent on her approval.
One of the most heartbreaking cases featured is that of a father to an eight-month-old baby girl. A loving parent who simply wanted to nurture and watch his child grow, he is branded as “unsafe” by Jodi. She succeeds in separating him from his wife and strips him of even the right to visit his own daughter. The cruelty is staggering. On one hand, she denies a child her father; on the other, she charges him $179 per session—only to push him deeper into shame and guilt.
Jodi’s partner in this moral disaster is Ruby, a mother of six and a popular parenting influencer herself—someone who publicly preached discipline, family values, and “ideal” motherhood. Under Jodi’s influence, Ruby’s life—and more tragically, her children’s lives—begin to unravel completely.
Jodi enters Ruby’s home claiming she is haunted by frightening voices she can hear. Astonishingly, in the same breath, she also claims to be “the voice of God.” The contradiction is glaring, yet Ruby accepts her without question, allowing her to move in. Faith here crosses the line into blind submission, and logic is entirely abandoned.
The documentary reaches its most horrifying point when it reveals that Ruby and Jodi subjected the children to prolonged physical and psychological torture, convinced that the children were “evil” and needed to be disciplined into righteousness. The hypocrisy is chilling. While Jodi publicly preached humility, compassion, and moral purity, she privately encouraged cruelty and abuse in the name of correction.
Ultimately, one of the children manages to escape this living nightmare and seek help from the police. This brave act exposes the extent of the abuse and brings the entire fraud to light. When authorities inform Ruby’s husband, his reaction is one of disbelief—but also troubling passivity. The ease with which he accepts separation from his children, without even demanding visitation, raises uncomfortable questions about parental responsibility and emotional detachment.
Final Thoughts
Evil Influencer is a grim reminder of how dangerous unchecked authority can become when wrapped in spirituality and social-media influence. It exposes how easily people surrender reason, empathy, and parental instinct in exchange for false moral superiority. More than a crime documentary, it is a warning: when faith replaces thinking, and guilt replaces conscience, the most innocent—children—pay the highest price.
This is not just a story about one fraudulent counselor. It is a mirror held up to society’s willingness to follow voices of authority without question—and the devastating consequences that follow.
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