Following the rise of true crime modern classics Making a Murderer, The Confession Tapes, and more, Netflix has become a tried-and-true platform for genre enthusiasts. And it appears to be continuing its winning streak in 2020 with the brand-new movie Lost Girls, out March 13. Billed as a true crime drama, Lost Girls stars Academy Award nominee Amy Ryan as Mari Gilbert, the mother of a missing woman. Mari pressures the seemingly indifferent police force to take her daughter’s case seriously—and becomes embroiled in an investigation more haunting than anyone could have imagined.
Related: The Best True Crime Documentaries on Netflix You Can Stream This January
The real-life Mari Gilbert died in 2016 after a ceaseless search for answers to her daughter’s fate. Sex worker Shannan Gilbert disappeared in 2010 after making a harrowing phone call to 911. The search for her eventually yielded a grisly surprise—the discovery of 10 sets of remains dumped along nearby Ocean Parkway in Long Island. None of them were Shannan, but four of the bodies belonged to women who also worked in the sex trade.
The police eventually confirmed the public’s worst fears: there was a serial killer prowling through their peaceful coastal community, a shadowy figure the media dubbed the Long Island Serial Killer (LISK). Though no one has ever been arrested for the crimes, police might be closer to answers—they just released a photo of previously undisclosed evidence on January 16, 2020, the first major development unveiled in years.
Related: 32 Most Horrifying Serial Killer Books
Best known for her biographical films Bobby Fischer Against the World and What Happened, Miss Simone?, director Liz Garbus has approached Lost Girls with her signature curiosity for the truth. Her take on the story is based on the New York Times bestselling book of the same name by reporter Robert Kolker. In his book, Kolker examines the case of the serial killer who has haunted Long Island for years. The riveting trailer portrays Mari Gilbert as an unwavering force for justice, challenging an issue that impeded the early stages of the LISK investigation—the contempt for sex workers that allowed their disappearances to go unnoticed.
Eager to know more about the Long Island Serial Killer cold case? Learn more about the head-scratching case here, and watch the trailer for Lost Girls below. Then, tune in to Netflix on March 13 to watch the unsettling story unfold.
