American Nightmare is Netflix's latest true crime docuseries and focuses on the story of a Californian couple accused of faking a harrowing home invasion and kidnap ordeal back in the spring of 2015.
Told over three 45-minute episodes, the gripping drama, which is rapidly becoming a big hit and has inspired huge debate on Twitter, gives viewers an insight into the bizarre events that unfolded and had police convinced they were dealing with an elaborate hoax.
The case sparked national interest and was dubbed the real-life Gone Girl, after the 2012 book by Gillian Flynn in which the lead character is suspected of being responsible for the disappearance of his wife.
So how much of American Nightmare is based on fact or fiction? Here is everything you need to know...
What is American Nightmare about?
American Nightmare revisits the real-life case that left people around the world baffled.
On March 23, 2015, Denise Huskins was sleeping the night at her boyfriend Aaron Quinn's home in Vallejo, California, when the couple awoke to find an unknown male standing in the bedroom.
According to Aaron Quinn's victim statement, the intruder, who was dressed in a wetsuit and armed with a Taser, then drugged him, and forced Denise to tie him up before driving away with her in the boot of Quinn's car.
Aaron waited a whole day before raising the alarm about Denise's abduction but was able to give a reason for this followed by a detailed account of their ordeal —which shockingly led the authorities to accuse him of killing his partner.
The case was quickly compared to Gone Girl, the best-selling novel which had been adapted into a movie starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike, the year before.
The police believed they were dealing with a "life imitating art" case, but then two days after a $11,000 ransom was set, Denise turned up alive and well in Huntington Beach, California, 400 miles away from Vallejo.
Huskins' re-appearance, coupled with a lack of evidence, led the Vallejo police department to decide the pair had staged the entire kidnap and they were asked to make an apology to the public.
American Nightmare gives viewers the opportunity to find out what really went on, giving a behind-the-scenes view of the traumatic ordeal and revealing the lengths Denise and Aaron had to go to in order to prove their innocence. It also raises serious questions about the response of the police.
Is American Nightmare based on a true story?
Terrifyingly, American Nightmare is based on true events. It may seem to be a far-fetched tale, but Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn really did wake one night to a man's voice saying, “This is a robbery.”
Trapped in a real-life nightmare, Denise was snatched and held captive for 48 hours, but that was only just the beginning.
Aaron was stunned to discover that the police thought he'd killed Denise. In the documentary, he says: "When I made the decision to call the police I thought there would be a manhunt, they're going to do everything they can to track these guys. The police keep going after me. I'm not a violent person. I don't have a record. My brother's in law enforcement. I come from a good family. I work helping people. I can't be called a murderer over and over."
An audio file of Denise sent to a reporter proved that Denise was alive, which he shared with the police.
Having already accused Quinn of killing his girlfriend, the police then claimed Denise's subsequent reappearance pointed to them making it all up.
During the documentary, Denise talks about the disbelief and fear she felt when her story wasn't believed by the police.
She says: "Do they really think all of this is an act? This whole thing and why? What do I have to gain? What's the point?"
She adds: "Those two days of captivity all I wanted was to return to my life. All that got me through it was the thought of my future and now that’s all taken away."
Denise also explained how during her captivity she was helped by the thought of hopefully being reunited with Aaron. "For days in captivity, what grounded me was the thought of reuniting with him".
With the authorities refusing to believe them, the couple continued to live in fear, knowing the kidnapper was still on the loose and might strike again.
Even in 2021, six years after their ordeal, Aaron told ABC News: "You can go through any kind of trauma to where it leaves you devastated and in a place where you just think, ‘This is impossible to move forward from. What do I do next?’”
How many episodes of American Nightmare are there?
There are three explosive episodes of American Nightmare, ranging between 43-46 minutes in length and all brought to audiences by The Tinder Swindler filmmakers Felicity Morris and Bernadette Higgins.
The Netflix promo says: “Huskins was kidnapped, and what transpired next in the terrifying, twisty (and twisted) tale is the subject of American Nightmare.
“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.”
Was Denise Huskins' kidnapper ever caught?
Yes.
On June 5, 2015, three months after the kidnap, police were called to an attempted break-in that bore striking similarities to Huskins and Quinn's case.
The intruder had left his phone behind, which contained evidence that led the police to discover Denise Huskins had been kidnapped by a man named Matthew Muller.
An arrest was made and Muller was charged in federal court in Sacramento, California, with kidnapping for ransom and sentenced to 40 years in prison.
It is Quinn and Huskins' belief that others were involved in their home invasion and kidnapping, but to this date no other arrests have ever been made.
What happened to Aaron Quinn and Denise Huskins?
Thankfully Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn's story had a happy ending.
The couple stayed together after their life-changing ordeal, got married in 2018 and welcomed a baby daughter called Olivia in 2020, exactly five years to the day that Huskins was released by her kidnapper.
Amongst the guests at their wedding was Misty Carausu, a detective from Dublin, California and a true hero in the American Nightmare tale.
Instead of dismissing the couple as con artists like the Vallejo police did, Misty and her colleagues worked hard to piece the evidence together and ultimately solve the crime.
Is there a trailer for American Nightmare?
Yes. Netflix released the chilling trailer in the New Year, which watches almost like a mini horror film.
It begins with the Aaron Quinn's 9/11 call to report the abduction of his girlfriend, Denise the night before.
The trailer includes footage of Quinn being interviewed by police as he recounts the details of the kidnap and the moment he went from being a victim to a suspect of his own girlfriend's murder.
Also shown is CCTV images of Huskins' sudden reappearance, which led the police to accuse the couple of concocting the kidnap, before the truth was finally — and dramatically — revealed.
