Film Preview: Into the Abyss

Into the Abyss, which is subtitled "A Tale of Death, A Tale of Life", is a documentary film by Werner Herzog who looks at two men who were convicted of a triple murder in Conroe, Texas in 2001. Michael Perry received the death penalty for the crime and Jason Burkett received a life sentence. The film speaks at length with Perry and those affected by the crime to help understand why some states in America still have the death penalty.

Michael Perry who received the death penalty

Herzog's film brings a sort of dark humour as he interviews both Perry and Burkett who believe the other was largely responsible for the killings including two that they were not charged for in the town of Conroe in Texas. It looks at why the state of Texas feels it is necessary to kill offenders and why people themselves are driven to kill others. Herzog said that he has no political motivations when making this movie although does say at the outset that he is against capital punishment but his ''focus was elsewhere'' when making this film.

Into the Abyss is finally released in the UK on Friday 30th March 2012 and the trailer is embedded below: