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Into the Abyss, Movie

Into the Abyss 2011

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A tale of life. A tale of death.

Documentary from Werner Herzog (Cave of Forgotten Dreams, Grizzly Man) examining capital punishment - on why people kill, and why the state kills. More

The focus is on a triple homicide case in Texas. Herzog interviews (though as he told the Guardian, he doesn't like the term 'interviews': "I'm not a journalist; I'm a poet. I had a discourse, an encounter with these people but I never had a list of questions.") 28-year-old death row inmate Michael Perry, scheduled to die within eight days.

He also speaks with families of the victims and perpetrators, as well as a state executioner and pastor who have been with death row prisoners as they’ve taken their final breaths. Herzog describes it as "a gaze into the abyss of the human soul." Hide

Directed by Werner Herzog ('Cave of Forgotten Dreams', 'Bad Lieutenant', 'Grizzly Man', 'Aguirre, Wrath of God')

Written by Werner Herzog

Documentary | Country of Origin: USA, UK, Germany | Official Site

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19 votes / 3 comments The Talk

  • 74 %

    Want to See it

    What say you?

    • Shiftbutton

      Waaah looks good :)

    • Magz

      Boring!

    • Zac-Young

      @Magz I kno rte?! Like totally no explozons or nething. GeeZE!

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Flicks.co.nz Review

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Steve Newall Flicks Writer

Werner Herzog’s documentary exploration of the death penalty is confined to just one case here, a format continued in his other Death Row portraits. With such a limited focus Herzog’s interviewing skills come to the fore, winning the confidence of the felons, family of the victims, acquaintances of both and some state employees. More

He expertly eases the process for his subjects with his softly spoken manner and uses silence to draw out revealing comments, nudging the interviews along by tapping into emotional reservoirs that aren’t always related to the direct subject at hand. Light on existential rumination or odd tangents, this isn’t stereotypical Herzog, but is the more insightful for it. Hide

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Press Reviews

AV Club (USA)

Powerfully suggests that violent death of any kind, whether personal or state-mandated, transforms everyone in its vicinity. Full review.

Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)

May be the saddest film Werner Herzog has ever made. It regards a group of miserable lives, and in finding a few faint glimmers of hope only underlines the sadness. Full review.

Empire (UK)

A haunting portrayal of people who are neither completely innocent nor wholly evil, and the terrible price of killing, whether in the pursuit of a sports car or in the name of justice. Full review.

Guardian (UK)

It is a sombre, thoughtful, restrained and often powerful piece of work. Full review.

Hollywood Reporter

Above all it's a portrait of stunned grief, of the devastation families endure, whether through violence, accidents, illness or incarceration. Full review.

Los Angeles Times

What is missing is something new - clarity, insight, outrage. Instead, its understatement is ultimately its undoing. Full review.

New York Times

Superficially resembles the kind of titillating, moralizing true-crime shockumentary that is a staple of off-hours cable television. But the grim ordinariness of the narrative makes its Dostoyevskian dimensions all the more arresting. Full review.

Total Film (UK)

Herzog's tapestry testifies to life's light from death's darkness. Its honest humanity and sideways-on character bare his illuminating imprint. Full review.