Netflix’s ‘American Nightmare’ explores Denise Huskins kidnapping, botched response by Vallejo police
Netflix’s “American Nightmare” is resurfacing the story of Denise Huskins, a Vallejo, California, woman whose “real-life Gone Girl” kidnapping grabbed headlines in 2015.
The bizarre abduction of a Northern California woman that grabbed headlines nearly a decade ago — first for how local police said it was a hoax, then for the disturbing truth that eventually emerged — is getting renewed attention thanks to a Netflix docuseries.
"American Nightmare" premiered on the streaming platform last week and remains at the top of its most-watched shows. The series features new interviews with the woman, Denise Huskins, and her husband, Aaron Quinn, and it explores how they say local law enforcement and the FBI failed them.
The couple narrate the shock of the events of the abduction early March 23, 2015, in the San Francisco Bay Area city of Vallejo. Huskins emotionally recounts how she was taken, held captive and raped twice.
Also examined is how Vallejo police dismissed the kidnapping as "orchestrated" after Huskins was found unharmed two days later. The high-profile case would fuel scrutiny of a troubled police force plagued by other misconduct allegations in subsequent years.
"It was so insulting," Huskins says in the docuseries about the police claims, which led to derogatory posts about her on social media. "Having people believe I'm this type of person who would put my family through this, that I would make this huge, elaborate lie — for what, I don't know. It was crushing."
Rating: 5