Film Review: Into the Abyss

Director: Werner Herzog

Into the Abyss, subtitled A Tale of Death, A Tale of Life is a documentary by Werner Herzog which looks at two men convicted of murder in the state of Texas where the death penalty is still in use. At some points it discusses whether the death penalty is the right thing to do in these cases or whether life imprisonment is sufficient. Herzog himself is against the death penalty but doesn't use this film as an opportunity to promote this, he just presents the facts as well as the thoughts and feelings of every involved in the murders. Werner Herzog and editor Joe Bini found that editing the footage was so stressful due to lack of material that they both took up smoking again.

Jason Birkett who was given a life sentence in 2001, he is up for parole in 2041

The film begins with an interview with law enforcements officers who take us through the scene of the murders and attempt to explain what happened. After this we move on to interviews with Michael Perry (convicted and executed just 8 days after the interviews and Jason Birkett (life sentence) as well as family members of the victims. There is also interview's with Jason Birkett's father who has also spent most of this life in prison who speaks of the blame he feels for not being there when his son was growing up. He also spoke at the trial pleading with the jury not to murder his son and to give him a life sentence. To finish off there are some slightly stranger interviews with Birkett's wife who married him after his incarceration and is now believed to be carrying his child.

The interviews with Jason Birkett's father were the most interesting as he speaks of home life for Jason without a father and a single mother with disabilities trying to raise 4 children. Jason certainly comes across as the more intelligent person compared to Michael Perry which does make you wonder why he committed these crimes but alcohol and drugs are usually present. The film does suffer from the questions being a bit pedestrian at times but also does have a fascinating interview with the former Captain Fred Allen who attended and performed over 120 executions for the state of Texas before having a mental breakdown about his job.

The main flaw is that both Perry and Birkett maintain their innocence for the murders, despite the fact that Perry led the police to the two of the bodies that they hadn't found, meaning that we never find out why they committed these crimes and what they were thinking at the time. This is the huge insight that a lot of people are looking for when murderers are interviewed and profiled.

2.5/4 Fascinating look at the case and people behind but lacks the cutting insight into the murders minds.