American Nightmare

Wow dude. This shocking doc. Is NOT what I thought it initially appeared to be. This true crime doc has 3 eps; not too long, is a mystery about the abduction of Denis Huskins that told in a way that almost sounds Outlandish.

The story is told from different perspectives in each episode and after each, you're likely to jump into conclusions as some of the folks on this show do (anything more and I might end up spoiling it for you. All I can say is, I wish people did their job. I'm shocked but at the same time, I'm like 'Why am I not surprised!?' This horrific story is totally worth your watch but also serves as a cautionary tale.

Another True-Crime documentary from Netflix. It does a good job of presenting the police's point of view in the first episode, expands on what was the truth in the second and third episodes. It's a very bizarre tale, and it's understandable that the police would be sceptical. However, a good example of why multiple leads should be followed in an investigation. Initially, that the boyfriend has murdered his girlfriend. But instead of actually trying to prove this, they devote a great deal of time interrogating the boyfriend. And then when the girlfriend actually shows up alive, deal of time to saying that they created a hoax. But if they had devoted at least some time to actually investigating their story, they may have found the perpetrator. One question I have about the series is that they mentioned that they were kidnapped by more than one person, no only one person has ever been convicted of this crime. That person sent multiple emails to a newspaper claiming that there were two other people involved in the crime. The target of the crime was the boyfriend's ex-girlfriend. Her ex-boyfriend was an FBI agent who was investigating this crime. So why wasn't he investigated? Why was no one following up the leads of the two other assailants? It feels like the investigation is actually incomplete, but the law establishment was happy that they had one conviction, and they didn't go forward to finding the other people responsible for the crime. It's a good examination of what can go wrong when you focus on one theory during an investigation.

I've been watching too many true crime serial killer things lately and I thought this was just one more of the same.

I was wrong.

It was not what I expected and after watching it I was sort of breathless.

Holy moly!

I did not at all remember this although clearly it was on the national news.

Here I am 24 hours later and still shaking my head.

How could a thing like this happen?

It's shocking and disturbing.

I really feel for the victims here. It could happen to any of us.

This is made very cleverly. I don't even want to say much more than that. We come to stories like this with firmly held preconceived notions.

But things are sometimes not what they seem.

I would have given this a 10 except at some (few) points it drags a bit. So a 9 but highly recommended.

As Episode 1 of "American Nightmare" (2024 release; 3 episodes of about 45 min.) opens, we are introduced to Aaron and Denise, a couple in their late 20s in Vallejo, CA. Then shockingly, Denise is kidnapped in the middle of the night, and Aaron doesn't call 911 until the next afternoon... At this point we are 10 minutes into Episode 1.

Couple of comments: this is the latest documentary from director Felicity Morris ("The Tinder Swindler"). Here she reassess events from 2015 when a woman is kidnapped (or was she?), and the boyfriend is an immediate suspect by the Vallejo PD and the FBI. I had not heard of this true crime case before, and it is super plot heavy, so the less said on that, the better. I will simply comment that once again if this was presented as fiction, it would lack credibility. But facts are stranger than fiction. Morris does an outstanding job presenting all the different aspects, and doesn't waste a second. My only complaint is the series' title, which is unnecessarily generic and surely someone could've come up with something more relevant.

"American Nightmare" started streaming on Netflix a few days ago. I watched all 3 episodes in a single setting. If you are in the mood for a kidnapping case that is bizarre, to say the least, but along the way makes for riveting viewing, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

For fans of the true crime genre, American Nightmare offers a very well documented, detailed and also with the real victims, they are not actors. They even have audio and video evidence.

This documentary rise the questions around judging and pointing fingers without sufficient evidence, disbelief and the failings of our institutions, the truth is that it is not a new issue, although in this case it is extremely cruel and I would say that it is even illegal. The word 'negligence' falls short in this case, it is much worse than negligence.

I would have liked to know more about Andrea's ex-partner, the FBI agent, but it still doesn't matter for the final result. And also a psychological profile of Matthew Muller could have maybe added a new view to the story.

When a citizen finds themselves in a dangerous situation, their first thought is to get help from the authorities because that's what they are meant to do, at least come forward to prove they are not lying! But what if they deny to believe you? The officers tried everything to break them down by pointing fingers at them from the beginning. Really frustrating! My blood pressure went up! And if that were not enough, let's talk about the press, always inventing things just to damage and break our lives. I will tell journalist Henry Lee, from the San Franciso Chronicle, not to judge without knowing, that is not doing your job well at all!, but simply wanting to harm others in every way. I hope it happens to you one day, let's see if we believe you. Asking for forgiveness later makes no sense any more, damage is already done!

I just hope that after all this unnecessary drama and loss of a lot of money, the organizations that should help us when we need it most have learned something.

I absolutely recommend it!