The Fear of 13
The Fear of 13
| 15 October 2015 (USA)
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After 23 years on Death Row a convicted murderer petitions the court asking to be executed, but as his story unfolds, it becomes clear that nothing is what it seems.

Reviews
SpunkySelfTwitter

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

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AshUnow

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

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Keira Brennan

The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

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Ortiz

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

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morrison-dylan-fan

A few days before she went on a half term holiday with her family,I asked a friend about what she has recently seen on Netflix. Being a fan of true crime,she told me about a doc on Netflix that I've not heard of before,which led to me finding out how unlucky 13 could be.The outline of the doc:Faced being charged with attempted murder of a cop,19 year old drug addict Nick Yarris decides to make up a story about knowing someone related to the rape and murder of Linda May Craig,a case that Yarris read about whilst waiting to be interviewed by the police. Believing the person he named to be dead,Yarris finds out that he is actually alive,which leads to the police treating Yarris as the main suspect,that would result in him spending 20 years on death row.View on the film:Just filming Yarris sitting in a chair talking about his life for 90 minutes, director David Sington underlines some of the most devastating moments in Yarris's life with a clever use of sound effects of gunshots and shower water that firmly puts the viewer in Yarris's shoes,along with tastefully done minimalism "re-enactments" over Yarris voice,offering a small, blurred glimpse to some of the things Yarris has seen. Staying in the background, composer Philip Sheppard delivers a warm ambient score.Whilst never becoming the focus of attention, Sheppard's score does give the title a subtle background noise to Yarris's monologue. Being the lone voice in the film, Nick Yarris is an incredibly captivating speaker,with Yarris's hand/body motion fully pulling the viewer into the events of his life. Wrongly locked in death row for 20 years, (a large part in solitary confinement,during which he read over 1000 books) Yarris displays in his stark delivery a skill of someone who is well-read that knows what details to give to the listener/viewer,with Yarris and Sington being extremely respectful to Linda May Craig (whose murder has not been solved) and her family.

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djmrmusic

I must start this review by saying a few things... I am NOT involved with this documentary in any way shape or form. I am not really a fan of documentaries. I only watched this because of the reviews I read here. I was VERY skeptical because I have been mislead by reviews so many times before. but the positive reviews here are truth!, watch it! so please believe me when I say these things... The telling of this story was SPECTACULAR and as near to perfection as you can possibly get!all I can say is "WOW", it is worth your time! I am going to recommend this to everyone I know...

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thor_linnet

SPOILER ALERTI am so used to documentaries like this having horrible endings that I constantly waited for the next horrible twist in this man's incredible story. I say incredible story, but not only is the story incredible, this man is incredible. He has had bad luck beyond belief, fueled by a couple of bad decisions. So when this story ended the way it did, I almost shed a tear, which is a very rare thing. Despite the static, empty and gray environment of his confinement, the horrible treatment he received, the indifference from the legal system, he endured it all, and not only that, he grew to become a better and wiser man at peace with himself. How he managed this is beyond my understanding, and it would be an honor if I could ever shake this man's hand. Hearing him tell his story, aided by highly effective visuals, sound effects and music scores, you are taken on an emotional tour through his life. I can easily say that this documentary has affected me more than any other recent title. I recommend watching this to anyone.

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philipcfromnyc

**** SPOILER ALERT -- THIS SUMMARY CONTAINS PLOT DETAILS ****In the interests of full disclosure, I should mention that I am vehemently opposed to the death penalty under all circumstances. What I found extraordinary about Yarris's account is the dispassionate manner in which he tells his story, in the form of interviews and flashbacks to past events. Yarris is no choirboy -- this is made very clear when Yarris describes his successful escape from death row during the course of a transfer, and his time spent on the lam committing auto theft, robbery, and other serious crimes.Yet Yarris draws the viewer into his tale, in which the viewer learns about the botched handling of DNA evidence, which became available in the 1990s and which resulted in literally hundreds of prisoners (many on death row) across the nation being released from prison EVERY YEAR following the reversal of their convictions.We learn of Yarris's self-motivation and his ultimate success in teaching himself to read and to understand complex words, and his subsequent immersion into the world of books (thrillers, suspense novels, and nonfiction accounts -- one nonfiction account named "Crime and Punishment!").Yarris describes the manner in which he was prosecuted for assaulting a police officer, attempted murder of a police officer, reckless endangerment, resisting arrest, and other charges stemming from his recapture. Clearly, Yarris is not the model prisoner or model citizen one would wish to have as a next door neighbor.But the inexcusable screw-ups in the handling of DNA evidence which finally exculpated Yarris make it clear that our criminal justice system is far from perfect, and that innocent people can and do get convicted, causing one to speculate as to the number of actually, factually innocent prisoners who have been executed, particularly in the decades before DNA evidence became available.At no point does Yarris engage in bathos or naked attempts to appeal to emotions. His account is calm, collected, and coherent at all times. Even his ultimate vindication and the reversal of his conviction are described without much emotion.What becomes clear is the psychological cost of sexual assault which is not addressed by therapeutic intervention (in this case, of Yarris himself as a youth). The writer was also left with serious doubts as to whether or not conditions on Pennsylvania's death row comport with Eighth Amendment prohibitions against cruel and unusual punishment.

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