A chilling true crime documentary, described as the 'real life Gone Girl,' has left fans 'screaming' at their television screens. American Nightmare is a three-part documentary series that plunges viewers into a 'terrifying' ordeal when one couple saw their lives changed forever.
From the creators of The Tinder Swindler, the series explores the 2015 case when Denise Huskins and her boyfriend Aaron Quinn were woken one night by a home invader. What happened next was a 'terrifying' tale, and as Quinn called the police and told them the stranger had tied them up and kidnapped Huskins, not one person believed their version of events.
When Huskins reappears days later, hundreds of miles away from her home, law enforcement accused the pair of fabricating the incident together - but what really happened? The true crime documentary series looks into their nightmare, as nine years on, they still do not have the answers they need.
A Netflix synopsis teases: '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? 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 series, which was first released in 2024, has been dubbed the 'real life Gone Girl,' referring to the hit 2012 novel of the same name by Gillian Flynn, as it explores the harrowing case and the media frenzy that followed. According to Netflix's Tudum, the Gone Girl movie adaptation was released just a year prior to this incident, with headlines commenting on the similarity between its 'scarcely believable kidnapping plot and the harrowing details of Huskins' ordeal'.
American Nightmare has been branded a must-watch for those who have not yet seen it, which can be streamed on Netflix in full. In a Reddit thread titled 'American Nightmare - Just finished - HOLY COW - anyone jump up and down and scream?', one person continued: 'I cried at the end.' Another user admitted they were 'yelling at the screen' as a third added: 'This series was one of the oddest true crime documentaries I've ever seen.'
With an impressive rating of 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, one person said: 'Personally, I was glued to the screen until the final episode, uncovering the truth. This is simply an outstanding documentary—I highly recommend watching it.' Another commented: 'This case is definitely worth three episodes to cover it. The storyline is so mind-blowing that it's more like a movie instead. The only thought after watching is OMG.' A third described it as being a 'mind bender' watch as a fourth echoed: 'A gripping documentary that had me hooked from the get go.'
Previously speaking to Tudum about the series, Denise Huskins said: 'I don't want to disappoint people, but the truth is, we don't have all the answers. We're never going to get the answers. We've had a long road of trying to accept that.'
