Back in 1995, documentary filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky flew down to West Memphis, Arkansas, to cover a murder trial that they thought would represent the callousness of today’s youth and the total deterioration of American values. Three teenagers had apparently decided to kill and decapitate three eight-year old boys on a whim. What they found, however, was something entirely different: a small town witch hunt, an incompetent justice system and mass hysteria. Despite a lack of complete lack of physical evidence, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Miskelly were convicted and thrown behind bars before they could scarcely comprehend what had happened to them.
The resulting documentary Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills was a landmark film, not just because it told a story that was both gripping and shocking, but also because it started a movement. That movement, in part, led to Paradise Lost 2: Revelations, a sequel that focused on the battle to free the West Memphis Three (as they have since been labeled) and also raised suspicions about the possible involvement of the father of one of the murdered boys, John Mark Byers. Alas, a decade after the release of that film, they were all still serving life sentences, one of them on death row. Which brings us to Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory.
The third film in the series focuses on a plethora of new evidence that has been unearthed to potentially prove their innocence, and it also checks in with these people ten years later. In some ways, a lot has changed. Everyone seems to have a lot less hair for one thing, but it also seems that people have generally mellowed out. Damien and John Mark Byers have made amends, and the West Memphis Three have learned to accept their situation and make the best of it. Does time really heal all wounds?
The movie once again opens with ominous Metallica guitar riffs and swooping aerial shots of West Memphis, and then proceeds to attempt to summarize events from the previous two films. Although you could probably do an endless series of films about these characters and it would never get old, there is an incredible amount of recapping that eventually becomes necessary in order to keep new viewers up to speed. At first it feels that we will never get to any new material, but it slowly rekindles the feeling of outrage as we see all of the ridiculous decisions that were made along the way.
The majority of the film is concerned with presenting the evidence that has been gathered by new experts who were hired by the WM3 Legal Defense Fund. They have obtained new DNA evidence that wasn’t available with the technology they had at the time of the trial that does not link any of the West Memphis Three to the crime scene. Lorri Davis, a long time campaigner and now Damien’s wife, is among those who were instrumental in pushing for the evidence to be presented in court. Despite a statute allowing for post-conviction DNA testing, however, the request is initially denied due to a questionable interpretation of the law.
The DNA testing does reveal a new potential suspect, and even though the courts are not interested in hearing about it, the film indulges this possibility for a while. Compared with the previous film, however, the evidence is not as strong and the suspect is not nearly as riveting on screen as the fire and brimstone of John Mark Byers.
The big problem with reviewing this movie, of course, is that the cut shown at TIFF was essentially unfinished. As most people know by now, the West Memphis Three were finally released last month with ten-year suspended sentences. The details of the deal they made and their re-introduction to the real world after 18 years in prison is not covered by the film. I guess this is what happens when your movie is pushing for change — it can potentially rewrite the very story it is documenting, which is obviously a good thing, but means the filmmakers are one step behind.
Although Paradise Lost 3 is perhaps the tightest and most well-made of the three films thus far, it is a little less compelling content-wise, particularly if you’ve seen the first two films. The new ending will make it stronger and more satisfying to be sure, but it remains to be seen how much material they might leave for a possible fourth film. As it stands, Paradise Lost 3 serves as a solid conclusion to what is an amazing non-fiction trilogy. However, if a fourth film were to become a reality, it could end up being the non-essential middle chapter of an otherwise epic story. Only time will tell. — Sean
Documentaries are awesome. I’m a huge music fan so I love music documentaries. A really solid music documentary coming out soon is Pearl Jam’s PJ20. You can check out a great playlist for Pearl Jam on Spotify now!http://open.spotify.com/user/myplay.com/playlist/2RrwYnpe54sfwJUV57YfFL
Paradise Lost proves to show a small aspect of how our government especially our judicial system as a whole must be worked on. Innocent people are being thrown in jail or even worse to put to death. I know we have been doing the same thing for many many years, but if something is broken it needs to be fixed. Knowledge and awareness is the root of change. I saw another doc that questions our gov’t and their tactics. We need to see more docs like Paradise to find “dirt swept under the rug” and actually “clean the room.” bitly.com/oQ0ZVk
Hey you should go check out the most recent documentary from Kings of Leon. Here is a trailer for it. It looks like a good one. Don’t miss out on it! http://www.talihinasky.com/
I saw saw the latest Paradise Lost Documentary last night at a Film Festival event and, although I think the story is good, I am still dismayed that they chose to show the crime scene footage of those 3 little dead babies naked on the ground mutilated. I know it’s part of the story and of public record, but I can’t help but wonder, “Do these little boys (who did nothing but get murdered), or their parents who brought them into this world and loved them, really deserve to have photos of their dead bodies as part of a movie?” I’m also a Mom and I can’t help but wonder if it’s even legal to show it without their permission or consideration for their feelings.
The first Paradise Lost was intended to stir up controversy, not show the real story.
The second Paradise Lost was a West Memphis 3 infomercial
The third will be the same, I am sure
There needs to be a doc that refutes the implications made in the docs. Namely that poor Damien was a typical angst filled misunderstood heavy metal fan.
If you read about his mental health history, you will find he was a homicidal maniac in the making and his arrest had nothing to do with Metallica or trench coats
I have to say that I kind of agree with you Marva. I think I might have bristled at the idea of censoring content from a film such as this a few years ago, but now that I’m a father, I find it pretty sickening. I don’t know that my personal hang-up gives me any credibility to tell the filmmakers that they were wrong to include it (maybe keeping those murders real and visceral will stoke necessary public outcry to catch the killer), but I can definitely relate to your sentiment.
Paradise lost was seriously the most amazing docs ive seen in years. Its astounding to me how different it is down there and how these boys spent the better half of their lives in prison for absolutely nothing. I supported their website heavily for a few years – Brent is a great guy. Cheers to the release of these innocent men who were taken advantage of by their attorneys and local law enforcement. I think it was the one little boys dad who had his teeth removed, that was the icing on the cake for me right there.
Dirk: Damien had his mental health problems yes, but that doesn’t make him a potential murdering psychopath. Fact is that he was sentenced without any concrete proof whatsoever. The fact he was an outcast in a small Bible Belt town is sadly enough one of the reasons why he the dreamt-of scapegoat for the prosecutors. People would believe it if they dramatised a bit, a bit of hiding of proof of innocence, a fraction of Jessie Miskelley’s hearing (which was a fraud in itself). There was no proof Damien was guilty, the principle “innocent until PROVEN guilty” was never followed. For that matter, you would be astonished how many people have mental health issues ; heavy depressions do not turn someone into a potential killer. The only bit of beauty in the whole story is that in the end the Three are free men now, and that Damien found the woman of his dreams and is still happily married to her now. True love survives even in such harsh circumstances as the ones Damien and Lorri were in.
Those wanting to know the follow-up of the three being back into the regular world: browse YouTube and you will find countless of interviews with mainly Damien. Damien also wrote a book recently along with Lorri, documenting how their love survived in such difficult situations, the book is called “Yours for eternity: a love story on death row”. A dedication to true love.
Jason is studying law in Seattle and wants to become a lawyer to avoid the injustice he went through from happening to others. Only about Jessie there is little known, he lives quite reclusive. Seems the system broke him mentally to large extent, while they tried but failed to do the same to Damien and Jason.
Final remark: read some stuff by Damien, check some of his interviews. This is a really talented writer, someone who tries to move on rather than be bitter about the past, and a very intelligent person. He has written and said some very wise things, which I recommend everyone to read or hear.
Don’t feel awkward about it. You’re not supporting a child killer. You’re supporting a man who wrong wrongly convicted for crimes he did not do, and who tries to make the most of his life now as a free man together with his wife Lorri, who comes across as an amazingly intelligent person too.
In a civilised justice system you are innocent unless proven otherwise. There has NEVER been a concrete proof. On the contrary, none of the West Memphis Three’s DNA samples matched the ones found on the victims and at the place of the crime. Not a single proof of involvement with the murders. And to my knowledge, it is not a crime to listen to heavy metal music and read about Aleister Crowley. Prisons worldwide would be bursting from overpopulation if anyone committing those “crimes” were put in jail. We may never find out who is the real killer ; but there is for sure no clear proof of undoubtable guilt against Damien, Jason, and Jessie. They should have been exonerated, not make that stupid Alford Plea in order to walk free again.
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