Review of West of Memphis (2012) by Alex R — 27 Jan 2013

Filmmaker Amy Berg follows up her terrific documentary Deliver Us from Evil with West of Memphis, a fourth film that takes another look at the case of the West Memphis Three, the three Teens falsely accused of a heinous crime.

With all new interviews, Berg directs a stunning documentary that recounts the misinformation of the trial that lead to the wrongful convictions of Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley and Jason Baldwin. This is a truly remarkable film that sheds new light on the case, and reanalyzes key aspects of the trial.

After the three Paradise Lost documentaries, and this film, you get a new outlook on the case itself. The new info eventually cleared the WM3 and this film was made a few years after they were cleared.

What separates this new documentary is that it overlooked the entire case. This is a brilliant film that is shocking, riveting from start to finish and looks at the cracks of the American justice system and the dedication of a group of people to try and save the three who were wrongly convicted.

If you want a stellar documentary, West of Memphis is the one to watch. Along with the Paradise Lost trilogy, these are among the best documentaries I've seen. The original facts of the trial are enraging and it is sickening that laws that are supposed to protect the innocent are used to wrongly convict them.

Amy Berg direction is immaculate and she always manages to craft wonderful documentaries that are worth seeing. Definitely give this one a shot if you're interested in the subject along with the three classics Paradise Lost.

This is brilliant filmmaking and is a highly engaging film that you can't turn away from.