Final Rating: 4/5
In 2023, former London, Ont., YouTuber Jason Nassr was convicted on charges of harassment, extortion and distribution of child pornography. Styling himself as a “Creeper Hunter,” Nassr would pose as a teenage girl on adult dating sites to entrap men, finally confronting them and posting the footage – complete with identifying information.
Matt Gallagher’s documentary Shamed is narrow in its focus, but thorough in its condemnation of Nassr. A man “hunting humans for sport” (as one interviewee puts it) with full knowledge of the effect he’s having on the world, but no capacity to see the harm.
Gallagher focuses on five of Nassr’s victims. For each, the filmmaker shows excerpts of the CreeperHunterTV video, alongside relevant interviews. Gallagher also recreates confrontations, adding vital context to Nassr’s actions.
For John Doe #1 – the subject of Nassr’s first video – Gallagher brings Nassr to the original parking lot where he staged a confrontation. Then Gallagher goes to the same parking lot with the victim’s brother.
For John Doe #38 Gallagher retraces Nassr’s steps to Iowa alongside an FBI agent the Creeper Hunter had contacted for advice. The FBI agent had told Nassr “my advice is not to do this.”
In addition to the charges against him for CreeperHunterTV, Nassr is currently the subject of a criminal complaint from a former model he’d solicited. After a brief fling, Nassr allegedly posted revenge porn of the woman, leading to humiliation and significant effects on her personal life. Gallagher interviews this woman and her lawyer – Nassr’s cousin – to get a better understanding of who Nassr is as a person.
In his videos, Nassr would ask his victims: “I’m just trying to understand why you would do this.” Gallagher asks Nassr the same question in a different way: “How does that feel, knowing that another person’s dead?” Nassr’s response? “Well, I’m sure he doesn’t feel anything.”
Shamed presents that the lynchpin of his trial was when a prosecutor insinuated Nassr got a sexual thrill from catfishing adult men, but Gallagher is even able to get under his skin when he merely implies that CreeperHunterTV wasn’t journalistically sound. In a particularly shocking quote, Nassr states that CreeperHunterTV was supposed to be “educational,” before immediately adding that he didn’t even think most of the subjects were pedophiles.
Of the over one hundred people featured on CreeperHunterTV, only two were charged with any crime, but dozens lost their reputations and livelihoods due to public shaming, with at least five ultimately losing their lives as well. In showing the method and effect of his “hunting,” Gallagher shines a light on a particularly evil form of vigilante justice masquerading as “education” and “journalism.”
Shamed was seen during the 2025 Hot Docs film festival. Thank you to Route504 for the screener.
