DBLurker First of all, I felt really sorry for John Mark Byers. He lost his child, then his wife, then all the health issues. But he still kept fighting. Despite his theatrics, I really felt sad for him because he reminded me of how hysterical my own father was on death of my mother last year.That said, I saw these movies without know anything about these murders or the fact that the three convicted were released later on. So, believe me when I say that Terry Hobbs from the moment I saw him in first movie, acted shady as f**k. He showed no remorse at all, not even enough to hold his wife or console her properly when she was crying. His behavior kept bothering me and lo and behold, the third movie finally shows us why. He's nothing but a psychopath.But the worst part is, he'll go scott free. Because of the incompetence of the cops who couldn't be arsed with doing their jobs properly.

runamokprods A powerful, if frustrating, conclusion to the Paradise Lost films which chronicle the extremely questionable conviction of 3 high school aged young men for the horrible murder of three little boys. Despite the fact that the case against the three was absurdly weak, seeming to be based as much on the idea that they acted 'strange', or listened to heavy metal music as in any hard evidence (the strongest 'evidence' being a recanted confession given by one of the young men with an IQ of 72, who was questioned without council for 12 hours, and with no recording or transcripts of what went on in the first 11 hours. And even then, the confession was full of factual mistakes). This third film picks up with the men having been in prison for 15 years, and finally moving towards possible exoneration under pressure on the Arkansas justice system from across the country and even the world. Mostly the film focuses on the uncovering of yet another possible 'real' killer (although the 2nd film also did so and pointed convincingly at the wrong man, showing just how hard it is to ever fully know the truth). It also shows the lengths to which those involved in the first trial, especially the judge, put their own reputation and their inability to admit error, or even questions, above a search for true justice. The film has it's flaws; it spends a lot of time re-capping the story, and never seems to acknowledge how confusing the issue of guilt is, as the 2nd film showed in seeming to point at the wrong man for being 'weird', just as the trial did with the 3. Also the dramatic conclusion feels tacked on and incomplete – not the fault of the filmmakers, as much as of timing. The film was essentially done when the directors had to race to Memphis to film a climax that ended up more like an epilogue than it should.But this is an important document of just how easily the legal system can fail when prejudice and self-interest come into play – as they will continue to do as long as we are human and frail creatures.

jadepietro This film is recommended.The third installment of this documentary continues to explore the ever-changing case and testimony of three convicts who were convicted as teenagers in the brutal killing of three young boys in Arkansas. Due to the dedication and research of filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky ( and recent DNA evidence ), the case was overturned and the three man were set free after nearly twenty years of incarceration.Some background exposition: Known as the Memphis Three, Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelly, and Jason Baldwin were three wild teenagers back in 1994. The town and jury all but convicted them by their Goth appearance and love of heavy metal music. Questionable witnesses and a shaky confession obtained by police from one of accused sent them to prison.Berlinger and Sinosky persevered, as did others who feel that the verdict was unjust. Thus, their first documentary, Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills and Paradise Lost 2: Revelations kept the story and the hopes of the Memphis Three alive. This final chapter, Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory, brings this sad tale to a close.While the film uses newsreel footage of the crime and court testimony, plus endless interviews with the accused killers and family members and townsfolk, the documentary tries to remain objective, but never really does achieve that status. The film presents allegations of jury misconduct and uncovered DNA samples that can link a family member to the crime, but it never investigates those findings with much clarity. ( The film also could have been more effective if it included more of the aftermath once Echols, Misskelly, and Baldwin were released, observing their individual choices once freed. )Still, Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory does show the power of the documentary genre and the diligent efforts of the filmmakers to make a difference in the outcome of injustice. The tragic events that grew out of this heinous crime still linger with the families. ( One of the parents of the murdered boys asked the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science to remove the documentary from consideration as they say the film glorifies their son's killers. The film remained in competition and is nominated for Best Documentary. ) Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory will linger with you too. GRADE: BNOTE: Visit my movie blog for more reviews: www.dearmoviegoer.com

Greg Back in 1996, filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky set out to make a documentary for HBO on the West Memphis 3 – three teenage kids that were accessed of murdering three 8-year-old boys and sentenced to life imprisonment with one of the teenagers been given the death penalty.The documentary focused on the questionable evidence and lack of thorough police investigative work that lead to their incarceration and hit such chords with the American public that soon celebrities such as Johnny Depp were championing the cause in an attempt to get the three boys a new trial.Four years later, Berlinger and Sinofsky followed-up their story with Paradise Lost: Revelations which was a more biased account of the teenager's innocence and used new information and footage to help promote their cause.Fifteen years later, Berlinger and Sinofsky finish the trilogy with Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory that takes one final look at the teenagers that have grown into 30-year-old adults in prison for a crime that lacked the forensic evidence to convict if put on trial today.Paradise Lost 3 opens in 1994 and we get the hard-to-watch actual crime scene footage of the three naked 8-year-old boys who were left hogtied with shoelaces in a small wooded area known as Robin Hood Hills.With pressure from the media and the increasing tension amongst residents of the town, authorities soon charged teenagers Jason Baldwin, Jessie Miskelly and Damien Echols with murder and sentenced two of them (Baldwin, Miskelly) to life in prison without parole and Echols with the death penalty. The case was built upon their association with each other and loose allegations that the three were part of a satanic cult thanks to their preferred dark clothing and various graffiti and doodles of skeletons that were part of the group dynamic.Although not as engrossing as 1996's Paradise Lost, Purgatory again presents its case of innocence by interviewing or taping experts in their fields discuss the case and with a 2007 re-examining of the evidence by authoritative members of their fields (DNA, forensics etc). Scattered interviews from 1994 through 2010 help assert that justice may not have been done and that stubborn individuals who had involvement in the case provided the judicial roadblocks to impede any progress.Paradise Lost 3 spends a bit more time in an assumption of another potential murderer of the three boys and they are fueled by celebrities Johnny Depp, Eddie Vedder and even a member of the Dixie Chicks in their attempts to have new evidence presented and justice served.Paradise Lost 3 wrapped filming in August 2011 – three days later, the Memphis 3 were released from prison on a lesser charge that does not clear their innocence. Berlinger and Sinofsky informed the sold out crowd at the Toronto International Film Festival that we will be the first and the last to see this theatrical version as a new ending has since transpired (which drew a loud applause from the agreeing audience).One of the real tragedies of the now trilogy of Paradise Lost films is watching three teenage boys age while in prison. They have missed out on an entire life's worth of experiences (one did get married while incarcerated to a female fan) and we can only hope that a follow-up film 10 years from now shows us how the three were able to assimilate back into society and become everything that they should and could have been had they not been wrongly accused.www.killerreviews.com