Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer Review: Infuriating Story Told Effectively Well

Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer Review: This Netflix documentary series aims to tell the untold stories of the many women who disappeared in the Long Island area spanning from 1993 up until 2011. Primarily sex workers, the documentary is a chilling reminder of all the lives lost thanks to the Gilgo Beach serial killings and the heartbreaking testimonies of friends and families as they recall their fond memories of loved ones and the harrowing experience of losing them.

The series has 3 episodes, each with a runtime of around 45 minutes.

Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer Review

Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Liz Garbus brings to us another hard-hitting documentary that tries to bring the truth of the Gilgo Beach serial killings to light without giving the perpetrator the chance to get more attention than the victims. A crime that had gone undetected and eventually ignored for far too long, thanks to the victims’ occupation, a breakthrough was finally made in 2020 after Rex Heuermann was arrested in connection with the murders, and the trial is still ongoing.

However, let’s come back to the documentary, which paints a heartwrenching and vivid picture of the Gilgo Four — Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy and Amber Costello with the help of friends and family. Since the discovery of their remains, 11 bodies were additionally discovered by 2011, a number that will haunt viewers as they watch the audacity of the authorities and the corruption that destroyed the lives of not only the victims but also their families.

This docuseries will break your spirit to watch how inhuman human beings can be. Even if we don’t think about the perpetrator, just the thought of the police, the media and the masses being okay with a woman being murdered just because she’s a sex worker seems unimaginable. The cruelty and dismissiveness of the general public and the apathy of the authorities will take away any faith that you might have in humanity and replace it with disgust and disappointment.

However, it’s the victims’ families who shine the brightest here. Kudos to Garbus for capturing the raw emotion of these people who have fought valiantly against society’s prejudices for years to find answers — it really leaves a mark on you as you watch the documentary unfold and more and more evidence comes to light. Of course, we know where the documentary is going, but the emotions are what make this so hard-hitting, and the docuseries doesn’t even think twice before giving you the uncomfortable truth.

I think the other very interesting part of this series is the corruption in the police angle that makes you really look into how one act of corruption can affect everyone and everything in its path. District attorney Tom Spoda and police chief Jimmy Burke’s tag team effort to derail the investigation is not only a misuse of justice in the Gilgo Beach murder case, but it also makes you wonder what other crimes these two men might have swept under the rug. As it turns out, Burke was a criminal among the police and was eventually sentenced to 46 months in prison, while Spoda received 5 years for abetting Burke in his crimes and obstructing justice as a result.

Final Thoughts

Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer brings forth a very chilling and unsettling story that goes back years. The corruption portrayed in the series will leave your heart hurting for all the people who never got the right answers, and make you question whether there’s anything left for us to look forward to from humanity. Just a terrible tragedy all around.

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