Viewers have been left "sick" to their stomachs after watching a new Netflix documentary based on "the real life Gone Girl".
The streaming service added a three-part true crime series titled American Nightmare on Wednesday (January 17), and it is the latest release from the makers of The Tinder Swindler, released in February 2022.
The show follows the story of Denise Huskins, a woman who was kidnapped in 2015 while she had been hanging out at her boyfriend Aaron Quinn's house in Vallejo, California.
The couple, who are physical therapists, were tied up and forced into a closet by two intruders who also drugged and blindfolded them. Denise was then kidnapped and held for ransom, which led to Aaron reporting the crime.
Watch the American Nightmare trailer below:However, when Denise's boyfriend called the police for help, he was stunned to discover that not only was he not believed, but was also a suspect in her sudden disappearance.
At the time, the case was compared to the movie Gone Girl - the best-selling novel by Gillian Flynn that was adapted into a film in 2014 and starred Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike.
In the popular flick, author Amy Dunne (played by Pike) suddenly vanishes from the scene, causing the cops to presume that her husband Nicholas (portrayed by Affleck) is behind it.
Although authorities made early assumptions that Aaron had killed his girlfriend and had invented a tale to cover his tracks, the story took a surprising turn two days later when Denise was spotted near her parents' house in Huntington Beach.
Her safe discovery was a relief but ended up raising questions about the kidnapping claims. "I’d never heard of a case where a kidnapper drops the victim at the front door of their house," a voiceover in the trailer said, while another stated: "We thought she was this innocent victim - she looks more like a suspect."
Vallejo police announced they believed the abduction was staged and asked the couple to retract their statements and apologize to the public for the bizarre ordeal.
However, the actual perpetrator, Matthew Muller, was caught two years later and was convicted and sentenced to 40 years in jail in 2017. The 44-year-old was charged at the state level with one charge for kidnapping, two counts of rape, as well as robbery and burglary charges, as reported by PEOPLE.
In addition to this, the couple received a $2.5 million settlement from the city of Vallejo in 2018, with the city admitting "no wrongdoing," per the BBC. The police eventually apologized, but none of the cops were disciplined. In fact, the documentary reveals that the lead detective, Mat Mustard, was even awarded Officer of the Year in 2015.
Many viewers took to X (formerly Twitter) to share their shocked reactions to the disturbing documentary, with one user writing: "This is one docuseries that will make you really sick in the stomach. Very heartbreaking."
Another chimed in: "OMG This documentary makes me want to choke the life out of these lazy ass cops !!! This is a perfect example of why victims don’t come out and speak ! Fear of being prosecuted or drug through the mud #AmericanNightmare."
A third reacted: "My God #AmericanNightmare @netflix is WILD! I don’t think I’ve ever been this enthralled in a true crime story like this before…I’m usually cracking the case the first 15 mins and this threw me for a loop!!"
A fourth added: "This documentary was not good for my high blood pressure."
You can watch American Nightmare on Netflix now.
