“American Nightmare” is like Ben Affleck’s “Gone Girl” film gone bad…very bad.
It’s one of the most disturbing examples of “confirmation bias” I’ve heard of.
Trailer for “American Nightmare”
Watch “American Nightmare”
Stream “American Nightmare” on Netflix at https://www.netflix.com/title/81620852
Ratings:
- My Rating: 90/100
- IMDB Rating: 7.6/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 90/100 (users); 94/100 (critics)
Review of “American Nightmare”
You can’t make this sh!t up!
On March 23, 2015, Aaron Quinn calls 911 to report that his girlfriend (Denise Huskins) has been abducted from their home in Vallejo, CA . The bad guy drove away in a Mustang.
Vallejo Police treat Aaron as a suspect pretty much from the start.
“Innocent until proven guilty” seems flipped on its head.
What’s really going on seems one of the worse examples of confirmation bias I’ve ever seen.
If you don’t follow psychology, confirmation bias is where someone processes info by looking for or interpreting things that are consistent with their existing beliefs.
Think if it as “tunnel vision”.
In this case, the Vallejo Police’s tunnel vision is that they grab hold to the plot line from the Ben Affleck psycho-thriller film “Gone Girl” (2014) in which a wife goes missing and they think it’s a hoax.
Not only do the Vallejo Police not believe Aaron, they also don’t believe Denise (who’s still missing).
Then, the plot thickens.
In Dublin, CA. there’s another break-in and attempted abduction. This part does sounds like Hollywood, right?
This clue leads to a raid in South Lake Tahoe and the arrest of Harvard Law grad Matthew Muller.
But here’s the kicker – he’s driving a stolen white Mustang, tying him to a mysterious “Mare Island Creeper” (Mare Island is just 2.9 miles from Vallejo)
What really gets you is how the Vallejo Police handle Aaron’s phone.
They put it in airplane mode during questioning, ignoring the fact that Aaron said the kidnappers would call.
This isn’t just a mistake; it’s a missed opportunity.
Muller had tried calling – twice.
If they had tracked those calls, they could’ve pinpointed him, potentially preventing a second rape of Denise.
This story isn’t just about a kidnapping; it’s a cascade of errors and misjudgments, a domino effect leading to a tragic outcome.
It’s a stark reminder of the consequences of police tunnel vision and the importance of listening to victims.
Thanks for reading!
Rob Kelly, Chief Maniac, Daily Doc