ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Brennan Camacho Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

MisterWhiplash To begin with, at first when Metallica's opening chords for their great song 'Welcome Home (Sanitarium)' came up at the start of the movie - as the bodies of the three children being pulled from the site where they were discovered in the Robin Hood woods - I was taken aback. It seems a little much to put that music to these images, probably images that would work best without any music or a different theme. But it becomes clearer why this is used - there's an ominous, dark tone that the filmmakers (one of whom, Joe Berlinger, would go on to make a Metallica documentary), Metallica actually does the music for the movie (all those metal-music moments are them), and for Damien Echols this was the song that made his situation remind him of the most: being stuck in a place where time stands still, no one leaves and no one will (as the song goes). Paradise Lost is the story of an insane situation, for both the parents of the victims (who think and/or know these teenagers are guilty, even before any facts are presented) and for the teenagers themselves (one of them is a 72 IQ).It would be one thing though if the film were just a true crime story, or a story of justice - or, it should be said injustice, since it's a thing that, perhaps after the fact or in hindsight one knows in 2016 the convicted killers were pardoned in 2011 after so much evidence that was tainted or botched and so on was revealed - but it's also a story of a particular place. West Memphis, Arkansas and its people are like another character, and the directors get some compelling footage and images from this part of the country where everything is just flat in the landscape sense, it looks the same at Christmas time as it does in the summer (it's kind of jarring to see all those decorations up with everything seeming to look the same), and Church is with a capital 'C' and many attend in order to ward off Satan. One of those is Mark Byers, a man who has quite a singing voice in Church and a helluva way with a pistol outside of it; see the scene where he talks about using the teenagers to shoot at with a pumpkin as his target.It's easy to see at first why tempers and passions would be so heated: three young children killed but more to that, mutilated (some of the details are sickening), and left in such a way that brings up the occult. One of the things that makes this movie stick out, to a point where it's difficult to say that the filmmakers aren't balanced, is that they show the parents of the kids as much as the killers on trial - prosecution and defense get fairly equal time on camera, albeit as the trial goes along further for Baldwin and Echols the evidence points more to not guilty than guilt. Even if one watches it today and knows the outcomes of the trial (and what happened years later) there's so much compelling information and testimony and characterizations to go on; how Echols is on the stand; how Byers changes from one place (church, shooting at a pumpkin) to another (on the stand, with a brain tumor that may or may not be there); teenage girls who won't be on camera, leaving the filmmakers to get creative with their coverage; the families and people watching who can't take it; a moment with Echols and his baby in the courtroom.The film is long at 2 1/2 hours, but it never feels it, and the movement from one point in the case to the next becomes more disheartening as it goes along. The first part where Misskelley has his separate trial is hard enough to take (that involved the confession that was false) and is heartbreaking to watch; the second part is where the details in the case gain traction - this piece doesn't fit here, the reasonable doubt there, what happened with this piece of evidence that was *lost* - and in a way knowing the outcome makes it all the more tragic and captivating. I wish I had been there at the time to see this without knowing the results, and perhaps it would have made for a different viewing experience. As it is, Paradise Lost captures not just a court case or grisly murder, but a set of feelings and emotions in the air in that place and time: rage, confusion, desperation, fear and disillusionment with the public and law enforcement and so on. It has staying power past being a typical, dark-envelope-pushing HBO documentary.

gavin6942 A horrific triple child murder leads to an indictment and trial of three nonconformist boys based on questionable evidence.This film really paints a strong picture of the stereotypical backwoods Southerner. Were people picked for this purpose, or is this an accurate depiction of West Memphis? The religious views are very interesting, especially what people think devil worshipers do (and the fact they believe in literal devil worshipers).You have to love the fake doctor who testifies that black t-shirts and black fingernails are signs of devil worship. Having grown up in the 1990s and being one of those who wore black, I know exactly what it is like to be a target of that level of ignorance.This really brings the idea of "Christian forgiveness" to the forefront. Rather than forgive or turn the other cheek, these folks talk of revenge murder and defecating on graves. And they pass around rumors of "testicles in jars".Were the West Memphis Three guilty? I have no idea. Probably not. But either way, this says so much about a community.

disaia-1 As far as the film goes, it is well made and keeps you interested.**SPOILER** I watched this movie thinking that three innocent boys were found guilty of murder and was interested in finding out how that happened. By the end of the movie I was convinced these boys actually DID commit these crimes. First of all there was a confession, even though one or two details were not clear. Second, one of the boys admitted it to a fellow jail mate. Third, at the end of the movie, when they are found guilty, there is no emotion from them. As if they knew it was going to be a guilty verdict. Not the reaction of an innocent person, who would show some emotion. Asked one of the boys, "what will you do if you are found innocent?" and he said "found innocent???" as if that thought didn't cross his mind, as he had confessed to the crime and he in fact WAS GUILTY.It's also despicable how they try to blame the father of one of the murdered children. They believe one man could overpower and control three eight year olds, rather than three teenagers doing it? If there is a flaw in our justice system, it's not that they were found guilty, but that they were set free.

Jack Black This is one of the best documentaries that I have seen lately. The filmmakers stick to the facts and allow viewers to slowly form their own opinion of this disturbing case. Prejudice and ignorance surrounding the trial overshadow facts. It is a movie that stays with you and forces people to think critically about our fragile justice system. After I saw it I was never able to look at a court case without thinking how much my own views might be influenced by the hype and media around me. You can see how murderers can be set free and how innocent people can be locked up in jail. The justice system becomes so obviously fragile that I even had to consider whether or not I believe in having jury is fair, for it is putting the lives of people in the hands of those who are not truly experts to examine critically any evidence. A must see!