American Nightmare: The shocking true story behind Netflix documentary

American Nightmare, Netflix’s latest true crime documentary, examines the real-life “Gone Girl” case of Denise Huskins. Here’s the true story behind the series explained.

Netflix is off to a great start with its non-fiction content in 2024, with the likes of Bitconned and You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment drawing in viewers across the globe. 

Next in line are sports documentaries such as Break Point Season 2 and Six Nations: Full Contact, which is surprising given the streamer’s reputation for its true crime category. 

However, this week, Netflix revealed it has an ace up its sleeve with American Nightmare, a new docu-series from the creators of The Tinder Swindler. Ahead of its release, here’s what you need to know about the case and why it’s compared to the 2012 Gillian Flynn novel Gone Girl.

American Nightmare: Denise Huskins case explained

The Denise Huskins case gained national attention in 2015 when she and her boyfriend Aaron Quinn were kidnapped. Due to the bizarre and perplexing details of the case, police initially refused to believe the couple – and the media compared it to the kidnapping hoax described in Gone Girl.

On March 23, 2015, Huskins, a physical therapist, was reported kidnapped from her boyfriend Quinn’s Vallejo, California home. Huskins described the nightmarish ordeal, stating that she and Quinn were tied up and placed in the closet with covered swimming goggles and headphones on.

“There were these pre-recorded messages,” she told ABC News. “They were going to give us a sedative and… if we didn’t take it, they would inject it intravenously.” The intruders had reportedly kidnapped the wrong woman, with Quinn telling the outlet that they had actually meant to capture his ex-fiancée.

The assailants said they would kidnap Huskins for 48 hours, during which time Quinn had to complete tasks via email and phone, starting with calling in sick to work for the pair of them. After they left, Quinn stated that he was ordered to pay a ransom of $8,500 and that the kidnappers had installed a camera in the home so he couldn’t call the police. 

Eventually, Quinn was able to contact the authorities, explaining that the assailants had snatched his girlfriend and drugged him. However, they were suspicious, believing all of the details suggested he had killed Huskins and was trying to cover it up. But then something shocking happened: 48 hours later, just as the abductors had said, Huskins was released. 

Despite verifying the details of the case, police were still skeptical. On the day Huskins was released, Vallejo police spokesperson Lt Kenny Park said in a press conference: “Mr. Quinn and Ms. Huskins have plundered valuable resources away from our community and taken the focus away from the true victims of our community while instilling fear among our community members. So, if anything, it is Mr. Quinn and Ms. Huskins that owe this community an apology.”

Many speculated that the incident might be a hoax staged by Huskins and Quinn. This skepticism was fueled by the unusual circumstances and the couple’s seemingly calm demeanor during press conferences. Their lives began falling apart, as they found themselves having to defend their case while overcoming the trauma of the experience, with Huskins telling authorities that the assailant had sexually assaulted her. 

But the case took yet another surprising turn in June when a similar attempted kidnapping unfolded in Dublin, California. The perpetrator, Matthew Muller, was eventually apprehended and linked to the crime through a series of evidence, his modus operandi involving elaborate planning. Muller was eventually sentenced to 40 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to the kidnapping charges.

The comparison to Gone Girl stemmed from the initially skeptical public response and the unexpected twists in the case, which echoed the fictional plot of the book. The Denise Huskins case serves as a reminder of the complexities that can arise in criminal investigations and the challenges in discerning the truth, even when faced with seemingly implausible circumstances.

What is American Nightmare about?

As per Netflix’s Tudum: “On March 23, 2015, Denise Huskins and her boyfriend Aaron Quinn were woken in the dead of night by a home invader. Huskins was kidnapped, and what transpired next in the terrifying, twisty, (and twisted) tale is the subject of American Nightmare, the new docuseries from The Tinder Swindler filmmakers Felicity Morris and Bernadette Higgins. 

“The story of Huskins’ disappearance invited national media scrutiny, with many comparing it to the 2012 Gillian Flynn novel Gone Girl. Law enforcement claimed the young couple’s recounting of the events was too far-fetched for anyone to believe. 

“Incorporating a mix of interrogation footage, and new interviews, the three-part docuseries unravels the consequences of our cultural rush to judgment – and what happens when law enforcement decides the truth can’t possibly be true.”

American Nightmare arrives on Netflix on January 17. Until then, check out our other documentaries coverage below:

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