Add this to your queue ASAP!
From TV shows and movies to podcasts and audio books, true crime has been all the rage for years now.
These real-life horror stories have become entertainment for a lot of people, following along and trying to get some insight into these seriously haunting tales.
Now, a new Netflix documentary has viewers pining for more, with users gushing about just how crazy this real life story is.
The “real-life Gone Girl“
Netflix recently released a true-crime series centered on the real-life case that has been compared to the narrative of Gone Girl.
In the 2014 film, “former New York-based writer Nick Dunne (played by Ben Affleck) and his glamorous wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) present a portrait of a blissful marriage to the public,” the description reads.
“However, when Amy goes missing on the couple’s fifth wedding anniversary, Nick becomes the prime suspect in her disappearance. “
The plot description continues: “The resulting police pressure and media frenzy cause the Dunnes’ image of a happy union to crumble, leading to tantalizing questions about who Nick and Amy truly are.”
The documentary…
The aforementioned documentary series, which debuted on the platform on January 17, boasts a similar storyline.
The series follows the harrowing ordeal of Denise Huskins, who was abducted from her boyfriend Aaron Quinn’s home in Vallejo, California, in 2015.
The couple, who are both physical therapists, were thrown for a loop when intruders broke into the house, subdued them, and subsequently kidnapped Denise after drugging and blindfolding both of them.
Even though Aaron was the one to report the kidnapping, the police initially suspected him.
Denise was released two days later, having suffered drugging and rape at the hands of her captor.
But still, even after she was free, the police continued to express doubts about the couple’s account of the situation.
The case drew many parallels to the Gone Girl narrative, where a woman fakes her own kidnapping.
Because of all the similarities in these stories, many people didn’t believe Denise’s story.
The docu series explores themes of disbelief towards women’s accounts and the consequences when law enforcement dismisses the truth.
“I didn’t do anything,” Aaron tells an investigator, in a tense moment caught on police security cameras and re-aired in the documentary.
The officer quickly shuts him down, replying: “Yeah, you did.”
But to the surprise of many, Denise and Aaron were telling the truth.
A huge breakthrough in the case came three months later, when evidence from Denise’s kidnapping was discovered in the possession of Matthew Muller during an investigation of a similar crime.
Muller was eventually sentenced to 40 years in prison.
“Those months in between were unsustainable and we weren’t able to go back to work,” Quinn said of the time between the incident and the eventual breakthrough.
“Partly because of trauma and partly because they wouldn’t let us,” he continued. “Who wants to hire a hoaxer?”
Denise and Aaron went on to sue the City of Vallejo for defamation, winning a $2.5 million settlement.
To this day, the couple still doesn’t understand why they were targeted in this crime.
“Like many victims, or many people who have gone through tragedy, you don’t get all the answers,” Aaron said.
“So for us, we don’t rely on finding those answers, but what we have to do is move forward in the unknown and focus on things that matter the most to us, like our family, our kids, our work,” he said. “Those are sustainable things.”
The series, titled American Nightmare, is now available for streaming on Netflix.
If you’re looking for even more suggestions, check out our list of the 30 best shows you can binge on Netflix right now:
1. Arrested Development
“Michael Bluth finds himself forced to stay in Orange County and run the family real estate business after his father, George Bluth Sr., is sent to prison for committing white-collar crime. He tries to juggle the wants and needs of his spoiled and eccentric family while being a good role model for his teenage son, George Michael.”
2. Murderville
“Terry Seattle (played by Will Arnett) and his guest celebrity partner improvise their way through a scripted murder investigation without the script.
3. Insecure
“Modern-day black women might be described as strong and confident; in other words, just the opposite of Issa and Molly. As the best friends deal with their own real-life flaws, their insecurities come to the fore as together they cope with an endless series of uncomfortable everyday experiences.”
4. Ozark
“This drama series stars Jason Bateman as Marty Byrde, a financial planner who relocates his family from Chicago to a summer resort community in the Ozarks. With wife Wendy and their two kids in tow, Marty is on the move after a money-laundering scheme goes wrong, forcing him to pay off a substantial debt to a Mexican drug lord in order to keep his family safe. While the Byrdes’ fate hangs in the balance, the dire circumstances force the fractured family to reconnect.”
5. Dead To Me
“Jen’s husband recently died in a hit-and-run, and the sardonic widow is determined to solve the crime. Optimistic free spirit Judy has recently suffered a tragic loss of her own. The ladies meet at a support group and, despite their polar-opposite personalities, become unlikely friends.”
6. Bojack Horseman
“A humanoid horse, BoJack Horseman — lost in a sea of self-loathing and booze — decides it’s time for a comeback. Once the star of a ’90s sitcom, in which he was the adoptive father of three orphaned kids (two girls and a boy). The show was the hottest thing around, then suddenly, was canceled. Now 18 years later, BoJack wants to regain his dignity.”
7. Six Feet Under
“Laced with irony and dark situational humor, the show approaches the subject of death through the eyes of the Fisher family, who owns and operates a funeral home in Los Angeles. Peter Krause stars as Nate, who reluctantly becomes a partner in the funeral home after his father’s death.”
8. Beef
“Two strangers get into a road rage incident that brings chaos into their lives.”
9. The Queen’s Gambit
“Set during the Cold War era, orphaned chess prodigy Beth Harmon struggles with addiction in a quest to become the greatest chess player in the world.”
10. Breaking Bad
“Mild-mannered high school chemistry teacher Walter White thinks his life can’t get much worse. His salary barely makes ends meet, a situation not likely to improve once his pregnant wife gives birth, and their teenage son is battling cerebral palsy. But Walter is dumbstruck when he learns he has terminal cancer. Realizing that his illness probably will ruin his family financially, Walter makes a desperate bid to earn as much money as he can in the time he has left by turning an old RV into a meth lab on wheels.”
11. Gilmore Girls
“Set in a storybook Connecticut town populated by an eclectic mix of dreamers, artists and everyday folk, this multigenerational drama about family and friendship centres around Lorelai Gilmore and her daughter, Rory. Lorelai owns the town’s bed-and-breakfast, the Dragonfly Inn, with best friend/chef Sookie, and contends with weekly dinners with eccentric, well-off parents Richard and Emily Gilmore (who always have something to say about their daughter’s life).”
12. The Crown
“Based on an award-winning play (“The Audience”) by showrunner Peter Morgan, this lavish, Netflix-original drama chronicles the life of Queen Elizabeth II from the 1940s to modern times. The series begins with an inside look at the early reign of the queen, who ascended the throne at age 25 after the death of her father, King George VI.”
13. Chappelle’s Show
“The sketch-comedy show, starring comic Dave Chappelle, follows the tried-and-true formula of similar shows that preceded it. Chappelle performs a stand-up routine that leads into a taped comedy sketch.”
14. Better Call Saul
“He wasn’t always Saul Goodman, ace attorney for chemist-turned-meth dealer Walter White. Six years before he begins to represent Albuquerque’s most notorious criminal, Goodman is Jimmy McGill, a small-time attorney hustling to make a name for himself.”
15. Narcos
“Netflix chronicles the rise of the cocaine trade in Colombia and the gripping real-life stories of drug kingpins of the late ’80s in this raw, gritty original series. Also detailed are the actions taken by law enforcement as they battle in the war on drugs, targeting notorious and powerful figures that include drug lord Pablo Escobar.”
16. Big Mouth
“Even for a cartoon character, going through puberty isn’t easy for a young person. Andrew is learning that first hand as he experiences the nightmare that is growing up in this animated series geared toward adults.”
17. Seinfeld
“Four single friends — comic Jerry Seinfeld, bungling George Costanza, frustrated working gal Elaine Benes and eccentric neighbor Cosmo Kramer — deal with the absurdities of everyday life in New York City.”
18. Black Mirror
“A series of stand-alone dramas — sharp, suspenseful, satirical tales that explore techno-paranoia — “Black Mirror” is a contemporary reworking of “The Twilight Zone” with stories that tap into the collective unease about the modern world, particularly regarding both intended and unintended consequences of new technologies and the effect they have on society and individuals. Each story features its own cast of unique characters.”
19. The Devil’s Plan
“Contestants face off in games of wit and strategy, striving to be crowned winner and go home with the ultimate prize.”
20. The Fall of the House of Usher
“Siblings Roderick and Madeline Usher have built a pharmaceutical company into an empire of wealth, privilege and power; however, secrets come to light when the heirs to the Usher dynasty start dying.”
21. The Good Place
“When Eleanor Shellstrop finds herself in the afterlife, she’s both relieved and surprised that she’s made it into the Good Place. But it doesn’t take long for Eleanor to realize she’s there by mistake. She hides in plain sight from the Good Place’s architect, Michael, and his all-knowing assistant, Janet. Her seemingly perfect neighbors, Tahani and Jason, and open-hearted soul mate, Chidi, help her realize that it’s never too late to change.”
22. Love Is Blind
“Singles try to find a match and fall in love — without ever seeing each other face-to-face, as emotional connection attempts to conquer physical attraction.”
23. Midnight Mass
“The arrival of a charismatic priest brings miracles, mysteries and renewed religious fervor to a dying town.”
24. Sex Education
“Socially awkward high school student Otis may not have much experience in the lovemaking department, but he gets good guidance on the topic in his personal sex ed course — living with mom Jean, who is a sex therapist. Being surrounded by manuals, videos and tediously open conversations about sex, Otis has become a reluctant expert on the subject.”
25. Good Girls
“When sisters Beth and Annie and their best friend Ruby become fed up with playing by the rules and not getting the respect they deserve, they band together to take control of their lives — by holding up a local grocery store.”
26. Quarterback
“Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, and Atlanta Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota are the three quarterbacks featured in the series. The three quarterbacks wore a microphone during every game of the 2022 NFL season, marking the first time the NFL allowed such access.”
27. Russian Doll
“Emmy-nominated actress Natasha Lyonne stars in this comedy-drama series as Nadia, a young woman who is on a journey to be the guest of honor at a party in New York City. But she gets caught in a mysterious loop as she repeatedly attends the same event and dies at the end of the night each time — only to awaken the next day unharmed as if nothing had happened.”
28. Beckham
“The team follows David Beckham’s rise from humble working-class beginnings to football stardom.”
29. Stranger Things
“In 1980s Indiana, a group of young friends witness supernatural forces and secret government exploits. As they search for answers, the children unravel a series of extraordinary mysteries.”
30. Never Have I Ever
“After a traumatic year, a first-generation Indian-American teenager wants to improve her status at school, but friends, family, and feelings don’t make it easy on her.”