Devil's Knot (2013)

This movie is based on a real murder case, and that case is simply far too complex to jam it all in to a logical movie of 2 something hours. The film makers simply missed the mark on this and did a very poor job of turning this murder case into a story line for a film.

As a movie, it felt extremely disjointed. They flicked between different time points very quickly, which made it difficult to grasp how much time had actually passed between events. There is very little character development so viewers are left without any idea of who most of the people actually are, which is especially sad given that there are real people behind every character. In terms of the case details, they had some very odd choices in what to include and what to leave out, and they dramatized certain things but down played others. I feel they misrepresented certain people and certain relationships, and didn't seem to present much of a story.

Overall it was just a terrible movie. Such a shame that they managed to do such a poor job given that this movie is based on a real murder case with plenty of very interesting people.

Fmovies: In 1996, HBO produced a documentary, "Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills", about the much-publicized murder case of three pre-teen boys, Stevie Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers, who were murdered in the wooded creeks called Robin Hood Hills near West Memphis, Arkansas. The local authorities were convinced the murders were enacted by three older male teens, Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley, Jr., and Jason Baldwin. According to the present film and the HBO documentaries, the local authorities targeted the older teens as suspects in a kind of modern-day witch-hunt because of their interest in the occult, horror films, and Heavy Metal music. Echols was often seen wearing black clothing, an affront to the predominant Christian community of West Memphis. He later admitted to reading about Aleister Crowley but asserted he had never read any of Crowley's actual writings.

The case against the three teens hinged primarily on the notion that the murders were committed as a kind of sacrifice in a satanic ritual. Also, dubious testimony, particularly that of Vicki Hutcheson and her son Aaron, was later recanted. Hutcheson claimed initially that she had seen the three teens involved in Satanic rituals and that Damien Eckles had bragged about committing the murders at the event. She later said she had been coerced by police to offer false evidence, fearing authorities might take away her son. Her son Aaron in a video-taped interview said he had seen the actual murders, but then later when he was older withdrew his testimony claiming he knew nothing about the crimes. Other evidence, such as the possible involvement of an African-American who ended up in the ladies' room and smeared blood on the walls at Bojangles Restaurant the night of the murders was never adequately followed up on. No actual physical evidence linked the boys with the murders. Their prosecution was mainly based on circumstantial evidence concerning their interest in the occult.

Twenty years after the convictions of the so-called "West Memphis Three" and 17 years after the HBO Documentary "Paradise Lost", the film "the Devil's Knot" based on the book of the same name was released, starring Colin Firth as Ron Lax, a private investigator who became interested in the case, and Reese Witherspoon as Pamela Hobbs, the mother of victim Stevie Branch. First off, the film is beautifully shot. The lush swampy areas portraying the Robin Hood Hills appear almost like photos you might see in a postcard. The night shots are particularly beautiful, although simultaneously horrific as the setting for the brutal murders.

Critics claimed the film didn't add anything new to the understanding of the case, but I don't believe this was the filmmakers' intentions. The point of the film I believe was simply to tell the story in a dramatic/narrative format rather than a documentary. (HBO produced three documentaries in all about the case and probably assisted in the revelation about the poor police investigation, the witch-hunt sensibilities towards members of their community interested in the occult, and the dubious testimonies which led eventually to the release of the West Memphis Three.) Apart from whether or not audiences will believe the West Memphis Three are guilty or innocent, much of the film is about the complexity of such cases. Unless a defendant truthfully confesses to a crime, many questions and strange circumstances surround most cases. In many instances, the whole truth m

"If you don't have a strong case the state is gonna kill 3 young men and I can't stand by and watch that happen." In 1993 three 8 year old boys were savagely murdered. The state tried three teenagers as adults for the killings and claimed they were murdered as part of a satanic cult ritual. This is the story of the trial and how Ron Lax (Firth) tried to help the defense and how one of the mother's (Witherspoon) dealt with the loss and aftermath. I knew very little of the actual story going in. This is a movie that reminded me of the Aviator in the way that I watched a documentary and read more about the events after it was over and found those to be better and more interesting then the movie. The cast is great and has many big names as well as 3 Oscar winners, but at best this felt like a made-for-TV movie. I found it hard to really get into and was disappointed especially with this cast. I'm not saying it's not worth seeing but if you get a chance read and watch anything else on the West Memphis Three, you will be more informed and more interested then you would if you watch this movie. Overall, not bad but could have been so much better. I give this a B-.

Devil's Knot fmovies. I have seen a lot of people trash this film, and if you are looking for something on the level of Angelina Jolie's "Changeling", you will be disappointed. If though, you are tolerant of a low budget but effective dramatization of a very tangled, disturbing, and tragic story about 3 young boys losing their lives to murder and 3 young men losing their lives to a group of detectives and justice system blinded by emotion, you will appreciate this film. Reece is fantastic as the mom of one of the victims. She is the big name in the film, though you will recognize several actors who are not quite up to her level of star power. I am a bit of a junkie on this case, and I was not disappointed. I think it does a fair job of presenting the defense's perspective. Granted, if you think they are guilty, and there are many who do, then you will be angered by its presentation. Nonetheless, I was very pleased with it.

For decades now, Hollywood has been mining the headlines for inspiration. It was only a matter of time before studio executives turned their attention to the West Memphis Three: a trio of teenagers who were convicted - most likely wrongfully - of murdering three young boys and sentenced to life in prison. You might imagine that the resulting movie would be every bit as disturbing, tragic and thought- provoking as the actual case itself. But Devil's Knot is more respectful than effective as a film, covering the facts without really getting to the heart of the matter.

On a summer day like any other, Pam Hobbs (Reese Witherspoon) waves goodbye to her little boy Steve as he heads off on his bike with his two friends. It would be the last time she sees him alive. When three bodies turn up in a rain-washed river, the local authorities conclude that the murders bear shades of a Satanic ritual. As a result, other leads - a bloodied man stumbling into a diner near the scene of the crime, a young man (Dane DeHaan) with an odd interest in the boys - fall by the wayside. Instead, three teenagers with an interest in the occult - Damien Echols (James Hamrick), Jason Baldwin (Seth Meriwether) and Jessie Misskelley Jr. (Kristopher Higgins) - become the targets of a community and legal system eager to find answers, even if it means looking in all the wrong places.

It's easy to see why these murders, which took place in 1993, have remained so compelling and fascinating, even twenty years later. Mixed up in the heartbreakingly tragic loss of three young lives are weighty themes of prejudice, religious bias and the miscarriage of justice. With new leads consistently popping up that continue to throw the original judicial decision into doubt, it's small wonder that private investigators like Ron Lax (played by a rather miscast Colin Firth in the film) find themselves turning over and over the facts of the case, trying to figure out how the police narrowed their search in a way that seemed to lead to obvious - and likely erroneous - conclusions.

But Atom Egoyan's film never really delves into the horror and humanity of the story it wants to tell. At some point along the way, the film shifts into documentary mode, hitting the story beats but never really finding its heart. There are a couple of emotional moments that come courtesy of Witherspoon's shell-shocked Pam, but very little insight is otherwise provided into the psyches of the characters. We spend hardly any time with the parents of the other two victims, and we're never really given the opportunity to come to grips with the seemingly stone-cold Damien or his two alleged accomplices - a befuddled Jason and a haplessly confused Jessie.

For anyone unfamiliar with the West Memphis Three, Devil's Knot will serve as a good enough primer: it's a dutiful version of the story, with the bare facts alone capable of chilling most people to the bone. But anyone who's more interested in the twists, turns, implications and consequences of the case might be better served by looking elsewhere. There are a few actual documentaries out there - the Paradise Lost series and West Of Memphis (produced by Peter Jackson) - that are considerably more incisive in their approach to these murders.

Based on the book by the same title, DEVIL's KNOT is a docu-drama about the 1993 ritual murders of three eight-year-old boys in West Memphis, Arkansas. This film does not contain any basic information that is not already covered in the documentaries PARADISE LOST and WEST of MEMPHIS. It does, however, provide some fairly interesting reenacted personal perspectives of the various parties: victims' families, the accused "Memphis 3" and certain of their friends, the police and prosecution, the defense teams, etc. DEVIL's KNOT makes for a compelling enough show and is expertly filmed with decent but not great acting. Though I'm sure that there are some misrepresentations of certain details, it is faithful to the basic events of this case. The biggest limitation is that those who have read the various books and seen earlier films will not find anything terribly new here while casual viewers who are unfamiliar with the case will find all the various characters and shifting perspectives confusing.

Colin Firth gives a nice performance as private investigator for the defense Ron Lax; ditto for Reese Witherspoon as Pam Hobbs. DEVIL's KNOT might have worked better with a stricter focus on one or maybe both of these characters, even if that meant ignoring certain other people and factors in the case.

Regardless, this film is very revealing of how incompetent police work, selective use of evidence by the prosecution, and public hysteria in this rather superstitious Bible Belt community led to the denial of reasonable doubt for the accused "Memphis 3." Without telling you what to think or pointing the finger unduly, it also cursorily examines other potential suspects. There are some brief bits of courtroom drama, but again, the focus changes just as things get really interesting.

In short, DEVIL's KNOT is quite watchable, but the attempt to tell the entire story in a narrative of less than two hours is inadequate and dissatisfying.

WARNING: Though there's not a lot of gore, there are some brief and graphic post mortem shots of the young victims.