If you have strong feelings one way or the other regarding the death penalty, Into the Abyss isn’t likely to change your mind. This disturbing look at a small have/have-not community in Conroe, Texas, raises far more questions than it answers as one criminal case serves as a universal study.
Film Synopsis
German filmmaker Werner Herzog (Encounters at the End of the World [2007], Grizzly Man [2005]) studies the general topic of crime and punishment through focused interviews with various residents in and around the small Texas town. The crime: ten years ago, a woman, her son, and his friend were shot to death in order for two teenagers to steal a red Chevrolet Camaro. Through photographs and archival crime scene footage, we see the victims Sandra Stotler, Adam Stotler, and Jeremy Richardson.
To gain perspective on the value of life and death, Herzog interviews the two perpetrators, Jason Burkett and Michael Perry, from their jail cells. Burkett, sentenced to 40 years and awaiting release at age 59, and Perry, on death row awaiting execution in eight days, still proclaim their innocence and offer no remorse at the loss of life.
In addition, the filmmaker interviews relatives of the victims, prison staff, a police detective, Burkett’s father, a bartender, and a woman who began a pen pal relationship with Burkett while he serves his 40-year prison sentence (only to fall in love with him, marry him, and carry his child). This woman scoffs at death row groupies who fall in love with handsome convicts, such as Scott Peterson. Herzog points out that Jason Burkett is a handsome man, too. These kind of unsettling questions and observations occur throughout the interview process.
The Questions Remain
As represented in the film, these gun-toting, uneducated, tattooed residents with long rap sheets come from broken, dysfunctional homes where one or more family members are serving prison sentences. There’s almost a carnival sideshow atmosphere surrounding the entire town. They nonchalantly describe violence in their lives, show off their injuries and almost brag about past traumas and transgressions.
Other than asking questions, Herzog offers no narration – unlike some of his earlier works. Here, the strange story, pictures, and characters speak for themselves. Sifting through the lies, half truths, and distorted perceptions becomes quite challenging for the viewer. Just as the heroes and villains become blurred (in his last words, Perry forgives the State and victims’ family members for the “atrocity” of his lethal injection), right and wrong also become less distinct.
The film offers characters displaying a range of emotions and occasional shifts in thought, yet there’s no one answer that emerges from this case study about how to better deter crime or make sure justice is served. Herzog’s own declaration of being opposed to the death penalty becomes just one of the many voices heard in this bizarre small town tapestry.
Into the Abyss
- Crime and punishment surrounding a triple murder in Texas are examined in this documentary.
- Starring Werner Herzog, Jason Burkett, Michael Perry, Reverend Richard Lopez, Lt. Damon Hall, Charles Richardson, Lisa Stotler-Balloun, Jared Talbert, Amanda West, Delbert Burkett, Melyssa Thompson-Burkett, Fred Allen
- Director: Werner Herzog
- Writer: Werner Herzog
- Genre: Crime Documentary
- Run Time: 107 minutes
- Rating: PG-13 (for mature thematic material and some disturbing images)
- 3/5 Good
- More Information at IMDB.
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Leslie C. Halpern - Leslie C. Halpern, Romantic Films/Comedies Topic Editor, authored Passionate About Their Work, Reel Romance, & Dreams on Film.
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