American Nightmare
by
Maureen McCabe –
American Nightmare, a three -episode true-crime series streaming on Netflix is proof that the truth is stranger than the strangest fiction. Based on the so- called “Gone Girl” kidnapping case from 2015, the latest offering from The Tinder Swindler filmmakers Felicity Morris and Bernadette Higgins, will both fascinate and enrage viewers. It begins with a 911 phone call from a preternaturally calm young man, Aaron Quinn, who claims he and his girlfriend Denise Huskins were attacked in their home during the night, zip-tied, drugged and blindfolded with blacked out goggles. While he was incapacitated, Denise was kidnapped. When asked why he waited until the morning to call police, he states he only just woke up from his drugged slumber and managed to get himself free. Immediately police suspicion falls on Quinn, and the series, which uses taped footage and recreations to tell its story, follows the pattern of many a twisted thriller, showing us what looks like the prime suspect implicating himself throughout his increasingly desperate interviews. Despite his pleas of innocence, the police never believe his story, which is admittedly quite far-fetched, despite being extremely detailed. Except days later, Denise suddenly appears on her childhood neighborhood street, where her parents still live, and tells the exact same story. She describes the time she spent with the kidnappers (she is convinced there was more than one) in harrowing detail: how she was drugged, sexually assaulted and videotaped. Instead of being relieved or pleased that Denise has been found safe, the Vallejo police immediately accuse the couple of perpetuating a hoax, in the manner of Rosamund Pike’s character then recently released movie Gone Girl. (Who knew cops were such fans of Ben Affleck movies and best-selling thrillers?) Accusing them of “wasting valuable resources from our community,” the police and FBI threaten Huskins and Quinn with arrest and prison time. The duo are greeted with hatred and vitriol from the press and on social media. Unable to work at their jobs as physical therapists, they basically go into isolation, anxiously waiting to see what the final traumatizing outcome will be for them. Without giving away any spoilers, the conclusion of American Nightmare is as shocking and as satisfying as you could wish for, making this disturbing, convulted series stand out among a slew of true crime docs currently streaming.
There are so many distressing facts about this case, but one of the most egregious is how Denise’s claims of sexual assault were dismissed. Early in the investigation, one of the main investigators, a detective named Mat Mustard, asks Denise’s mother Jane Remmele, if there’s anything in her past that might shed light on her daughter’s disappearance. She tells him that Denise had been molested when she was young, to which Mustard replied that women who have been abused will often pretend it happened again in order to “relieve the thrill of it.” Remmele states she was “aghast” at the suggestion, and so is the viewer. What is equally infuriating, especially in light of further developments, is that Mustard was later awarded Officer of the Year. But in an interesting twist worthy of the series itself, it’s been reported that the Vallejo Police Department and its social media pages have been inundated with thousands of negative comments ever since the series premiered, many of them targeting Mustard. Serving as both a commentary on law enforcement’s, the media, and the public’s rush to judgment and scorn, and a tribute to dedicated police work, American Nightmare may very well give the viewer their own sleepless nights.
