American Nightmare: Unravelling Crimes That Never Were
On the night of March 23rd 2015, Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn were drugged and bound by a mystery assailant who had broken into their home. Denise was then kidnapped. When Aaron called the police the next day, they believed he had murdered her. Two days later, however, Denise – who had been sexually assaulted by her kidnapper - was freed. Now the police believed no crime had been committed at all, and that Aaron and Denise were hoaxers. The psychological thriller Gone Girl had been released just six months before.
In American Nightmare, co-directors Bernadette Higgins and Felicity Morris explore both what happened and, as host Matthew Sherwood puts it, ‘the consequences of our cultural rush to judgement and the damage done when law enforcement and the media decide the truth can’t possibly be true’.
The result is a three-part series that twists and turns and upends your expectations with every passing minute. In American Nightmare, light becomes dark, and dark turns into light.
On this episode of Factual America, Bernadette and Felicity guide Matthew through Denise and Aaron’s story as well as the making of their series. Among the topics they discuss are how the unfair treatment of women who are victims of sexual crime motivated them to make American Nightmare, the true crime documentary that inspired and shaped the series, the extensive research that went into the making of it, and how American Nightmare offers the opportunity to get viewers to ask questions of themselves and others about how they treat other people.
They discuss the betrayal of trust, self-doubt, and even out-of-body experiences that Denise and Aaron went through. Perhaps most surprising of all, however, is the point of connection that they find between American Nightmare and Pamela: A Love Story, the 2023 documentary about Pamela Anderson.
“This happened, and it happens a lot, and if it can happen to Denise and Aaron, it can happen to anyone.” – Bernadette Higgins
Resources:
American Nightmare
MovieMaker Magazine
Innersound Audio
Alamo Pictures
Connect with Bernadette Higgins
Connect with Felicity Morris
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Charles Starkweather: The Murder Victim Who Lived
Where the Truth Lies – Investigating MH370: The Plane That Disappeared