Stop us if you’ve heard this before, but there’s a true crime docuseries on Netflix that has tongues wagging. The appetite for such endeavors appears bottomless; it seems we really enjoy depraved and aberrant behavior so long as we can hit pause and take a bathroom break every now and then. But sometimes, a series will sneak through that offers more than titillation, cheap thrills, and hyperventilating aesthetics. And so, American Nightmare, a swift, concise piece of work that even mixes in a dash of investigative reporting verve.
- 1/20/2024
- by Chris Vognar
- Rollingstone.com
Spoiler alert: This story contains spoilers from “American Nightmare,” the three-part docuseries now streaming on Netflix.
“American Nightmare” may be difficult to watch at night. Netflix’s latest docuseries, from the filmmakers behind “The Tinder Swindler,” Felicity Morris and Bernadette Higgins, tells the story of a traumatic home invasion, abduction and the unreal events that unfolded from there.
In March 2015, Denise Huskins was abducted by a home invader from an apartment in Vallejo, Calif., and her boyfriend, Aaron Quinn, was drugged with Nyquil at the same time, so he wasn’t able to report her kidnapping right away. As shown in the docuseries, the Vallejo police first viewed Quinn as the prime suspect after hours of questioning and attempting to get him to confess. Then Huskins showed up at her father’s house in Huntington Beach, hours south of Vallejo, after being missing for two days. She was quickly labeled...
“American Nightmare” may be difficult to watch at night. Netflix’s latest docuseries, from the filmmakers behind “The Tinder Swindler,” Felicity Morris and Bernadette Higgins, tells the story of a traumatic home invasion, abduction and the unreal events that unfolded from there.
In March 2015, Denise Huskins was abducted by a home invader from an apartment in Vallejo, Calif., and her boyfriend, Aaron Quinn, was drugged with Nyquil at the same time, so he wasn’t able to report her kidnapping right away. As shown in the docuseries, the Vallejo police first viewed Quinn as the prime suspect after hours of questioning and attempting to get him to confess. Then Huskins showed up at her father’s house in Huntington Beach, hours south of Vallejo, after being missing for two days. She was quickly labeled...
- 1/18/2024
- by Emily Longeretta
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix's 2024 documentary campaign gets off to a fast start this week with the premiere of American Nightmare, a three-part series about the terrifying abduction of Denise Huskins in March 2015. Directed and produced by the duo behind The Tinder Swindler, Bernadette Higgins and Felicity Morris, American Nightmare retraces the crime itself, with Huskins and boyfriend (and now-husband) Aaron Quinn recalling their harrowing experience in vivid detail, and dives into the aftermath, when the young couple was demonized by law enforcement and a media apparatus all too eager to dismiss their story as a hoax.
- 1/17/2024
- by Claire Spellberg Lustig
- Primetimer
Aaron Quinn and Denise Huskins may not be household names, but what happened to them was made ubiquitous by a widely-known association: “Gone Girl.”
The California couple made headlines in 2015, just one year after David Fincher’s adaptation of the popular Gillian Flynn novel. Huskins was kidnapped, her then-boyfriend telling the police a shocking story, and after 48 hours, she came home. Their ordeal was treated like a “real-life ‘Gone Girl'” by the media — as well as local and federal officers — and now retold in the Netflix docuseries “American Nightmare,” helmed by Bernadette Higgins and Felicity Morris.
When Quinn and Huskins’ story reached the duo behind “The Tinder Swindler,” it was once again via “Gone Girl”-association. Higgins told IndieWire she was struck by all the twists and turns in their story (which doesn’t end after Huskins came home), and the “sheer audacity” of law enforcement in the situation.
The California couple made headlines in 2015, just one year after David Fincher’s adaptation of the popular Gillian Flynn novel. Huskins was kidnapped, her then-boyfriend telling the police a shocking story, and after 48 hours, she came home. Their ordeal was treated like a “real-life ‘Gone Girl'” by the media — as well as local and federal officers — and now retold in the Netflix docuseries “American Nightmare,” helmed by Bernadette Higgins and Felicity Morris.
When Quinn and Huskins’ story reached the duo behind “The Tinder Swindler,” it was once again via “Gone Girl”-association. Higgins told IndieWire she was struck by all the twists and turns in their story (which doesn’t end after Huskins came home), and the “sheer audacity” of law enforcement in the situation.
- 1/17/2024
- by Proma Khosla
- Indiewire
Netflix kicks off the new year with a three-part crime documentary series titled American Nightmare, which revolves around the kidnapping of Denise Huskins, who was abducted from her house in Vallejo, California. The entire suspicion fell on her current boyfriend, Aaron Quinn. However, the local detective later attached a Gone Girl theory to the case and put the entire blame on the kidnapped victim, calling her a pathological liar and the true perpetrator of the crime. Many outlandish theories and speculations emerged from this kidnapping incident. But when the truth was revealed, it came out as a tight slap in the face to the flawed police department of Vallejo.
Spoilers Ahead
How Did The Kidnappers Took Away Denise Huskins?
A twenty-nine-year-old physiotherapist, Denise Huskins, was kidnapped from her boyfriend’s house. On the night of March 23, 2015, Aaron and Denise were sleeping peacefully in their bed when a group of men...
Spoilers Ahead
How Did The Kidnappers Took Away Denise Huskins?
A twenty-nine-year-old physiotherapist, Denise Huskins, was kidnapped from her boyfriend’s house. On the night of March 23, 2015, Aaron and Denise were sleeping peacefully in their bed when a group of men...
- 1/17/2024
- by Poulami Nanda
- Film Fugitives
This article discusses the real life events behind American Nightmare and will therefore “spoil” the docuseries.
The events that unfold in Netflix true crime docuseries American Nightmare are hard to believe. I know that because I didn’t believe them. At least not at first.
On March 23, 2015, Aaron Quinn called 9-1-1 and reported that his girlfriend Denise Huskins had been kidnapped from their California home. According to an extremely groggy-sounding Quinn, a masked man wearing a wetsuit had broken in, tased them, injected them both with a sedative, and then taken off with a tied-up Denise. What was already a strange case only got stranger when Denise returned to her parents’ home a few days later, seemingly no worse for wear.
The police held a press conference in which they accused Quinn and Huskins of making the whole thing up and wasting precious law enforcement time and resources on a scam.
The events that unfold in Netflix true crime docuseries American Nightmare are hard to believe. I know that because I didn’t believe them. At least not at first.
On March 23, 2015, Aaron Quinn called 9-1-1 and reported that his girlfriend Denise Huskins had been kidnapped from their California home. According to an extremely groggy-sounding Quinn, a masked man wearing a wetsuit had broken in, tased them, injected them both with a sedative, and then taken off with a tied-up Denise. What was already a strange case only got stranger when Denise returned to her parents’ home a few days later, seemingly no worse for wear.
The police held a press conference in which they accused Quinn and Huskins of making the whole thing up and wasting precious law enforcement time and resources on a scam.
- 1/17/2024
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
Netflix’s three-part documentary series American Nightmare examines the 2015 case of Denise Huskins and her boyfriend Aaron Quinn. The trailer hits the key elements of the story and teases a deeper dive into the subsequent rush to wrap the case up in a tidy bow.
The Tinder Swindler‘s filmmakers Felicity Morris and Bernadette Higgins directed the docuseries and served as producers. Rebecca North and Fiona Stourton executive produced.
“After a home invasion and abduction, a young couple’s recounting of the events is too far-fetched for the police to believe. Why did the victims seem so calm? Was it all a hoax?,” reads Netflix’s synopsis. “From the filmmakers behind The Tinder Swindler, this three-part docuseries unravels the consequences of our cultural rush to judgment and the damage done when law enforcement decides the truth can’t possibly be true.”
The docuseries will incorporate real interrogation footage along with...
The Tinder Swindler‘s filmmakers Felicity Morris and Bernadette Higgins directed the docuseries and served as producers. Rebecca North and Fiona Stourton executive produced.
“After a home invasion and abduction, a young couple’s recounting of the events is too far-fetched for the police to believe. Why did the victims seem so calm? Was it all a hoax?,” reads Netflix’s synopsis. “From the filmmakers behind The Tinder Swindler, this three-part docuseries unravels the consequences of our cultural rush to judgment and the damage done when law enforcement decides the truth can’t possibly be true.”
The docuseries will incorporate real interrogation footage along with...
- 1/3/2024
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
The kidnapping of Denise Huskins on March 23, 2015, made headlines across the country. Her boyfriend had reported to police that she she’d been abducted from his California home at gunpoint and the kidnappers demanded an $8,500 ransom.
But after Huskins reappeared seemingly unharmed an hour before the ransom was due, two days later, police called a news conference and declared the whole thing a hoax — perpetrated by the couple themselves.
The case became erroneously known as the “Gone Girl” kidnapping, in reference to the popular book and movie about a deceitful disappearance. But Huskins wasn’t lying.
In June 2015, federal prosecutors...
But after Huskins reappeared seemingly unharmed an hour before the ransom was due, two days later, police called a news conference and declared the whole thing a hoax — perpetrated by the couple themselves.
The case became erroneously known as the “Gone Girl” kidnapping, in reference to the popular book and movie about a deceitful disappearance. But Huskins wasn’t lying.
In June 2015, federal prosecutors...
- 3/17/2017
- by Christine Pelisek
- PEOPLE.com
“Gone Girl” kidnapper Matthew Muller — a former Marine and a Harvard-educated lawyer who was later disbarred — will spend 40 years behind bars for the 2015 abduction of a woman that was revealed only after police publicly dismissed her story, according to multiple reports.
Muller, 39, was sentenced Thursday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Sacramento, California, according to Kron, Ktvu and the Sacramento Bee.
The hearing closes out a series of bizarre twists that began when the victim’s boyfriend reported her missing almost two years ago.
In September, Muller pleaded guilty to a kidnapping charge stemming from the March 23, 2015, abduction of...
Muller, 39, was sentenced Thursday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Sacramento, California, according to Kron, Ktvu and the Sacramento Bee.
The hearing closes out a series of bizarre twists that began when the victim’s boyfriend reported her missing almost two years ago.
In September, Muller pleaded guilty to a kidnapping charge stemming from the March 23, 2015, abduction of...
- 3/16/2017
- by Christine Pelisek
- PEOPLE.com
File - In this July 13, 2015 file photo, Denise Huskins, left, and her boyfriend, Aaron Quinn listen as their attorneys speak at a news conference in Vallejo, Calif. Quinn, reported that kidnappers broke into the couple's home, abducted Huskins and demanded $8,500 in ransom money, a figure police have said they found small for what would have been an elaborate kidnapping. Huskins turned up safe two days later in her hometown of Huntington Beach, where she says she was dropped off. After Huskins reappeared, Vallejo police said the kidnapping was a hoax. Matthew Muller, a disbarred Harvard University-trained attorney was set to...
- 3/16/2017
- by nicsolotimeinc
- PEOPLE.com
California kidnap victim Denise Huskins is speaking out after accusations by strangers that she faked her high-profile abduction almost two years ago.
“All I did was survive, and I was criminalized for it,” Huskins wrote on Facebook Sunday.
In March of 2015, Huskins was held at gunpoint, drugged and kidnapped from her home in Vallejo, California. She was released after two days near her mother’s home in Huntington Beach, California. Her boyfriend, Aaron Quinn, was also held at gunpoint, drugged and forced into a closet.
Huskins’ case became erroneously known as the “Gone Girl” kidnapping, referencing the popular book and movie about a phony kidnapping,...
“All I did was survive, and I was criminalized for it,” Huskins wrote on Facebook Sunday.
In March of 2015, Huskins was held at gunpoint, drugged and kidnapped from her home in Vallejo, California. She was released after two days near her mother’s home in Huntington Beach, California. Her boyfriend, Aaron Quinn, was also held at gunpoint, drugged and forced into a closet.
Huskins’ case became erroneously known as the “Gone Girl” kidnapping, referencing the popular book and movie about a phony kidnapping,...
- 1/3/2017
- by cpelisektimeinc
- PEOPLE.com
"Gone Girl" kidnapping suspect Matthew Muller - a former Marine and a Harvard-educated lawyer who was later disbarred - is set to plead guilty in the case on Thursday, People confirms. Muller, 39, plans to change his plea at a court hearing in U.S. District Court in Sacramento, California, according to U.S. Attorney's Office spokeswoman Lauren Horwood. He had previously entered a not guilty plea to a kidnapping charge stemming from the March 23, 2015, abduction of 30-year-old Denise Huskins from her home in Vallejo, California. Huskins' case became erroneously known as the "Gone Girl" kidnapping, referencing the popular book and movie about a phony kidnapping,...
- 9/28/2016
- by Christine Pelisek, @chrispelisek
- PEOPLE.com
A California city whose police publicly dismissed a woman's 2015 abduction as a hoax - before a man was eventually arrested in the case and the city apologized - has defended its actions in a recent court filing obtained by People. The city of Vallejo is seeking to dismiss victim Denise Huskins' federal lawsuit, filed in March with her boyfriend, Aaron Quinn, which accused the police department of defamation, false arrest and false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress. (Quinn has claimed he was initially held for an 18-hour interrogation after reporting Huskins' missing, where police accused him of killing her.
- 8/2/2016
- by Chris Harris, @chrisharrisment
- PEOPLE.com
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.