Liz Garbus joke that it was “kind of prescribed” that one day she would make a
Documentary about Long Island Serial Killer. Her first scripted narrative film, 2020’s “Lost Girls”, was based on Robert Kolker’s book of the same name about the series with 11 murders that took place from 1993 to 2011, and ever since she got the script for that project in 2015, she has held up with the case.
“I just crossed my fingers for some good police work to happen,” Garbus said.
Then, in the summer of 2023, Rex Heuermann was arrested for crime. “I
Immediately checked in – it may sound strange – to congratulate (victims) families, “she said.” This was something they had been waiting for so long. When I came back into contact with them, I thought, “There is much more story to tell here.”
Garbus documentaries extend from deep dives into the prison system (“The Farm:
Angola, USA “) to biography of celebrities (” Harry & Meghan “and” What Happened, Miss Simone? “) To Exploations of Odd Events (” There’s Something Wrong With Aunt Diane “). Now, with netflix’s” Gone Girls, ” Heuermann but as on How His Horrific Crimes Forever Changed His Victims’ Loved Ones.
When you are dealing with a case whose trial is still ongoing, when do you know it’s time to cancel your story?
When I started this project, (Heuermann) was accused of the murder of three women and was linked as a person of interest to one. Now he is fully charged for the murders of seven women. There is a reason why things have taken time, but this trial was far enough because there was time to complete this movie. If there is a follow-up of the trial and there is more that we need to know-and I imagine that there will be many questions answered-then we go back. But at this point, the story has been told until the trial.
Your series does a good job of putting the victims’ families first and foremost.
You don’t want to think about losing a loved one, but there are rippling effects on people’s lives, such as Amanda, sister of Melissa Barthelemy, who received a phone call from the killer, and PTSD she had, releases from high school and was afraid to go on date because it could be him. The massive shadow it throws over so many lives is something that I do not think is obvious to people who just follow the news about the case.
Unfortunately, when it is more and more dead and blood casting, it is more difficult for people to really process how devastating the loss is. We get the type of number blind.
Right. “I’ll be away in the dark,” which is another series, I did – I’m not saying it’s about the Golden State murderer because we barely even talk about him. It is about these crimes and the huge rippling effect it had on the surviving lives and those who persecute the case. Without these kinds of stories that (the book’s author) Michelle McNamara did, as Robert Kolker did, that I do, that many others do, it is just about this guy – his name and these numbers. That is why we do what we do.
How do you see the current documentary landscape? Is there more or less demand than in previous years?
When I started making documentaries, there were really one or two places they could go. There was an audience, but it wasn’t really service. Then with Netflix and the explosion of other streamers in the wake, the documentaries transformed into something that everyone is watching. It has really changed the profile of documentaries from something that you looked at in Science Class to something you will choose to look at home at night with your best friend.
I would say that we are now in a period of contraction, and it is throughout the entertainment industry. We have seen it in recent years. Some of the movies I could have done a few years ago would be much harder to get
done now. I hope this is a bike and that we can continue to do the more challenging things we have done our entire career and which people have emerged.
This article has been edited for length and clarity.
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