Rating: 8/10
From YouTube personality to prison inmate, the dark truth of the beloved Ruby Franke was revealed in the Hulu docuseries “Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke.”
The Franke family is known for their popular family vlogging YouTube channel, “8 passengers,” produced and filmed primarily by the mother, Ruby. The videos captured the family’s everyday life — or the parts Ruby found ideal to make her family look picture perfect for viewers.
“Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke” is disturbing, featuring footage of the second-youngest Franke child malnourished and asking a neighbor for a favor: to call the police.
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The series reveals that Ruby not only exploited her six children for seven years, but was charged with child abuse alongside her former therapist and business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt.
The documentary does what some other series of this nature fail to do: tell the victims’ stories without the exaggerated nature of modern media. It’s a refreshing perspective that allows the audience to sympathize with those affected.
Different perspectives are brought in, such as the two adult Franke kids, Shari and Chad, their father, Kevin Franke and neighbors.
The experiences the family shared about their time on the channel are haunting. The two oldest children recalled how they knew they brought Ruby the most attention to the channel and were frequently discussed in unsuitable ways for minors.
Even worse, the children knew Ruby was aware of what increased the viewership.
“… The understanding was that if Shari or Chad were on the thumbnail, then the video’s going to do better than if just Ruby was on it or the little kids,” Shari said.
Despite the impact of hearing the family’s experience, the included accounts from the neighbors are shallow. One neighbor implies they knew something was wrong with Ruby when she would never host a party. While different perspectives are important, these accounts are so far-fetched and detached that they fall flat.
The series also struggled with pacing. Some topics drag on for too long. While it’s supposed to be enlightening for the audience, it comes off as the producers trying to reach the time limit for each episode.
Despite some of the fluffier moments, the amount of unseen footage included in the show from Ruby allows viewers to comprehend the scope of her manipulation.
There are scenes when she quickly switches from being the perfect mom to becoming aggressive when one of the children does not interact with her as she wants. During these moments, the camera is the only thing keeping her steady.
“The camera’s rolling,” Ruby said. “It helps keep me under control.”
Although some of the creative choices are a bit questionable, “Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke” is a well-produced, informative docuseries that brings awareness to the unfortunate story of the Frankes.
