Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

recommended

One of the best films i have seen

Good concept, poorly executed.

A horrific triple child murder leads to an indictment and trial of three nonconformist boys based on questionable evidence.This film really paints a strong picture of the stereotypical backwoods Southerner. Were people picked for this purpose, or is this an accurate depiction of West Memphis? The religious views are very interesting, especially what people think devil worshipers do (and the fact they believe in literal devil worshipers).You have to love the fake doctor who testifies that black t-shirts and black fingernails are signs of devil worship. Having grown up in the 1990s and being one of those who wore black, I know exactly what it is like to be a target of that level of ignorance.This really brings the idea of "Christian forgiveness" to the forefront. Rather than forgive or turn the other cheek, these folks talk of revenge murder and defecating on graves. And they pass around rumors of "testicles in jars".Were the West Memphis Three guilty? I have no idea. Probably not. But either way, this says so much about a community.

First of all, the rating should be on the film and not anything specific it contains right so for that reason I give this one the lowest possible because it's a classic case of a bias idiotic perspective they view this case. Documentaries today is about twisting the truth rather than exposing it, the world is upside-down.So I'm 100% sure that these psycho teens committed the crime.Their defense was so apathetic, what teenager wouldn't cry, rage and just panic over the possibility of being convicted for murder if they had nothing to do with it. The one guy, the one with the black shark eyes even smirk, waves and seem a bit proud at times in and around the court room. The retard gave a statement where he confessed the crime and goes into details on what they did. This is the thing the film makers and the conspirators claim to be a false testament meaning that the police either force him to confess or that the police interrogate in such a way that the suspect are manipulated or tricked into confessing the crime. But why would this be even remotely plausible if the police on the tape question again and again about details if they police had planted the statement they wanted the suspect to say.Like "at what time did you come there" -"at 7 or 8", "before you said around 9" - "yea, around 9" , "so which is it, 7 or 8 or 9", "-8 or 9" and it goes on like this. Say that the police had their estimated time frame for the murder at 8. Why would he Not stop asking when he said 8 but instead ask again and again like a honest cop asking to get a straight answer would. No no no! His statement was real. Guilty!You should instead question these film makers and those crazy nuts giving the murderers such support on at best equally unfounded evidence that they were innocent. The women that fall in love with killers is a classic too, do you really believe this broad is the exception?Hell no, these guys planned to kill and killed these children.

On May 5, 1993, three second graders, Stevie Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers, were reported missing and were later discovered murdered and mutilated in a small section of woods in West Memphis, Arkansas. Soon after, three teenagers, Damien Echols, 18, Jessie Misskelley Jr., 17, and Jason Baldwin, 16, were arrested for the murders and put on trial.Why were they arrested? Because they were outcasts in a way. They were the strangest of the strange, and had been arrested in the past for vandalism and shoplifting. Misskelley was the first to be tried and interrogated, and with an IQ of about 72, it was safe to say the story would be jumbled and a little shaky. The actual confession from Misskelley, which we are grateful enough to hear, is full of inconsistencies (for instance, saying the murders were committed in the afternoon, then later in the evening). Miskelley was tried separately from the other two boys, and received life plus forty years in prison.The next trials were of Damien Echols and Jason Baldwin, whom were tried together. It seems Echols was tried on personality and interests more than hardcore evidence. Echols appears to be an intelligent young man who has developed a fondness for wearing black, listening to Metallica, and practicing the Wicca religion - a religion where one has love for the world and the environment.Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills is an excellent journey through a suspicious case and three convicted men who may not deserve to be. What is truly astonishing is how much filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky were allowed to film. They seem to have been present the entire trial, day in and day out for both. We get footage I'm not sure we're even supposed to see.The interviews with the parents of the boys are haunting yet understandable. One parent says that the day the boys die he will spit and release other bodily functions on their graves. He curses the day they're born and the mothers who birthed them, as well. The other parents are stunned and saddened, some not even feeling sympathy or sorry for the three boys of the tragedy. They are far too consumed with sadness, lost, and pessimism to care.One other thing the film does very well and without apology is it shows us the inner-workings of the legal system. The case seems to be judged entirely on subjectivity and first impression. If I were to see only pictures of the three boys, without hearing a word of them I'd probably believe they did commit the murders. After hearing their pleas I can't say that I do any longer.The most convincing boy is Echols. Baldwin rarely gets any camera time, and when he does, he speaks entirely in soft-spoken fragments, yet still projects believability to his claims. Misskelley is a big confusing in his statements, but it's understandable. Not only he is slow, but he's put under an immense amount of pressure obviously making it worse.I concluded Paradise Lost with three emotions in my system; confusion, frustration, and optimism. Confusion because of what just unfolded in front of my eyes. This is a very long documentary and makes you take a lot in during its two and a half hour runtime. Frustration because the legal system the United States provides claims everyone will have "a fair trial," yet parts of the case seemed biased and judgmental. And optimism because I believe the appeals Baldwin, Echols, and Misskelley have requested will provide insight, answers, and perhaps hope for the youths.NOTE: This marks my five-hundredth review. Glad it was at least a four star film.Starring: Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley Jr., and Jason Baldwin. Directed by: Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky.

I always believed that a case needed only reasonable doubt to find people innocent. Apparently I was very wrong. I am in no way claiming my support for the three found guilty, but I for one could never convict them based on this evidence. The film shows just how unstable people can be when faced with those that don't conform. I was amazed by how much I disliked the parents of the murdered boys. They ramble and scream about killing these three, already convinced of their guilt. They seem more unstable and threatening to me, and not just because their children have been murdered. No real physical evidence is brought up against the boys, whom should probably start training professional killers on how not to leave evidence at a murder site. I know for a fact that a lot of details were left out of this documentary, and the celebrity worship that has followed the accused since is a bit too much. However this film is terrifying. It shows that just because of the way you look, and what people say about you, can take away your entire life. Make sure to check out all the evidence for yourself.