Desaparecidas: Caça ao assassino de Long Island

True crime documentaries are not really my cup of tea. They are often sensationalist and voyeurist, concentrating on the gruesome nature of murder to provide entertainment. Gone Girls offers a victim-focus that is a welcome perspective.

Since I knew nothing of this case I may be an outlier, however this limited-episode series was, to me at least, an interesting and engaging overview of these events. It would be disingenuous to claim that Gone Girls is enjoyable, however this is not to criticise the documentary's creators. It certainly stands above other entries in the genre that I have seen.

The facts of what happened are shocking enough on their own merits that sensationalism is not required; the conclusion (thus far) of the case raises many concerns, not least the manner in which authorities appear to have reinforced the wider presumption that there are members of society that they consider not deserving of justice. That these human beings are often amongst the most vulnerable is a damning irony.

It is clear that there remains much still to be uncovered; if a follow-up series was to maintain a victim-focussed narrative it would be worthwhile viewing.

Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer, is another great Netflix true crime documentary, probably one of their best. This is a deep-dive into the heart of evil, the corrupt officials who allow that evil to go unchecked, the innocent people whose lives are affected, and the family members who never give up to fight for justice.

It starts with a mysterious case of a young woman, who was a sex worker (but this does not diminish who she was in any way shape or form) who disappeared under mysterious circumstances and it took many months before police start to look for her. When they do, they uncover body parts of several woman hidden in the marshes in Long Island. The pattern unravels that this is the work of a serial killer, and the hunt (should be) on to find him.

What follows is an example of how corrupt police and prosecutors put their own jobs on the line instead of doing what is right in the name of justice, and this serial killer is allowed to go on doing his work for over a decade. These idiot cops and prosecutors even block the FBI from investigating the case. The parents of the victims stop at nothing to bring awareness to the crimes against their children, and there are some journalists and attorneys who pursue justice as well, and in this documentary you really are held no the edge of your seat as the story unravels.

One of the more messed up parts of the story is that the suspect starts to call the sister of one of his victims and taunt her over the phone. This is seriously a demented person.

There is a TON of evidence of who the killer is, and the fact so little of it was pursued is a serious injustice. For example, there were eyewitnesses who had identified a suspect that the police did not follow up on until they read a report almost a decade later. (And, for those two men, you should have gone to the FBI / media sooner with your story and what were both of you doing living with a woman who had to sell her body for money?) The police knew the killer lived in a certain area of Long Island and most likely worked in Manhattan, and instead of narrowing down their suspect...well, the cops just did nothing.

Finally, DNA evidence from new people in charge of the case surfaces and they have their man...and wow as to how nobody connected the dots on this guy for so long is just infuriating. This guy was 6'8, 300 lbs, and lived in a run down home in the suburbs and had creeped out his neighbors for decades. Hmmm. And why did they even need DNA to grab him with all the circumstantial evidence.

It does feel there is tons to this case that has yet to be revealed. But, for now, this is a good series that really shares the story of all involved. Hopefully, justice will be done in the end and the guilty will be punished and the sister who was taunted will have her final say.

Shannan Gilbert had been working as an escort, she vanishes, the eventual search unearths a series of bodies, it becomes apparent that a serial killer has been getting away with multiple murders without the alarm being raised.

Reading some of the reviews, I'll take one point on board, it is a story that has been explored multiple times, and there comes a point where you think, enough now, but for someone unaware of the ins and outs, it's a good documentary.

Episode one was pretty factual, it felt quite informative, procedural so to speak, I appreciated the way they told the story of the poor victims, the same couldn't be said of episodes two and three, they really did go for the gotcha moments, but the stork itself is so unbelievably shocking, it does actually work.

There were some really eye opening moments, including various interviews and some interesting footage.

The final episode felt a little ambiguous at times, but that's the nature of the story itself.

It's terrifying to think now many crimes Rex Heuermann got away with, The Police and Authorities really did fail the victims and their families in spectacular fashion.

7/10.

One of the better true crime docu-series that I've seen in awhile. I went into it completely blind and had no idea about the case or any of the details involving it. This was a very pleasant surprise. It's very well done and is incredibly shocking and entertaining. I only wish that they'd have waited a bit until after the accused trial for a proper ending to it. I definitely felt a little disappointed by how it ended. Overall this is one of Netflixs' better true crime series that I would highly recommend to anyone interested in the subject. Like I said before, it would have been extremely satisfying to see the trial and the conviction of Red and really don't understand why they didn't wait until they could do an episode on that before wrapping it up, but maybe there will be a follow up. Knowing Netflix probably lol.

I loved the way the story was told. The b-roll was haunting. Cinematography on spot, the music was intense. There are some images that have stayed with me. I also like how the filmmakers didn't rush to unveil the story, they kept unfolding the clues to make you thing and wonder. Netflix docs are well made and awesome. I highly recommend this to lovers of True Crime. A must see in my opinion.