One thing that separates humanity from the rest of the animal kingdom is the fact that we are aware of our own mortality. Those scheduled for execution know not only that they will die but the exact time, place and method of their departure.
While many movies use different tactics to shock and dramatise violence and death, very rarely are we confronted with such an urgent and intimate picture, where Herzog visits the town of Conroe, Texas, to explore the fallout from a triple murder 10 years back.
Police footage offers a glimpse into a night of casual destruction at the hands of Michael Perry, death row inmate scheduled for execution within days, and Jason Burkett, his accomplice serving a life sentence. A woman and two boys become their victims because they are simply barriers in their plan to steal a performance vehicle.
Everyone Herzog interviews appears to be deeply affected by death, be it as a chaplain, victim or executioner. Everyone, that is, except for the perpetrators themselves, who appear equally perplexed concerning their crimes as we are, and for whom death, even their own, is merely an afterthought, a simple matter of fact. Are individuals capable of such detachment sent from another planet, or are they humans just like us? Are all humans afraid of death? Is the delusion of religion merely to mask the realisation that our final day is really the end? 'Into the Abyss' does not seek to explore these questions, but they are never far from the surface.
Toward the end Herzog meets Melyssa, who married Jason after his conviction. That a woman would of her own free will negate any possibility of a healthy, supportive family life and bring a child into the world who's father is a convicted murderer serving a life sentence is another reminder of the strange justice of this world. Life will persist where logic would dictate it should never.
One of the most poignant and revealing interviews is with a retired executioner for the state who participated in the executions of over 120 individuals. For a man who remained professional and detached for so long, he resigned, unable to continue, and now stands against the state sanctioned taking of human life. One can't help but notice the dimly lit, slightly claustrophobic room in which the interview takes place, apparently the room where inmates spend their final hours before being taken to the gurney. The word 'dream' in carved wooden letters appears on the mantelpiece. Will dreams come to me in my eternal sleep? 'Into the Abyss' will most certainly leave few viewers unchanged. A necessary film.
While many movies use different tactics to shock and dramatise violence and death, very rarely are we confronted with such an urgent and intimate picture, where Herzog visits the town of Conroe, Texas, to explore the fallout from a triple murder 10 years back.
Police footage offers a glimpse into a night of casual destruction at the hands of Michael Perry, death row inmate scheduled for execution within days, and Jason Burkett, his accomplice serving a life sentence. A woman and two boys become their victims because they are simply barriers in their plan to steal a performance vehicle.
Everyone Herzog interviews appears to be deeply affected by death, be it as a chaplain, victim or executioner. Everyone, that is, except for the perpetrators themselves, who appear equally perplexed concerning their crimes as we are, and for whom death, even their own, is merely an afterthought, a simple matter of fact. Are individuals capable of such detachment sent from another planet, or are they humans just like us? Are all humans afraid of death? Is the delusion of religion merely to mask the realisation that our final day is really the end? 'Into the Abyss' does not seek to explore these questions, but they are never far from the surface.
Toward the end Herzog meets Melyssa, who married Jason after his conviction. That a woman would of her own free will negate any possibility of a healthy, supportive family life and bring a child into the world who's father is a convicted murderer serving a life sentence is another reminder of the strange justice of this world. Life will persist where logic would dictate it should never.
One of the most poignant and revealing interviews is with a retired executioner for the state who participated in the executions of over 120 individuals. For a man who remained professional and detached for so long, he resigned, unable to continue, and now stands against the state sanctioned taking of human life. One can't help but notice the dimly lit, slightly claustrophobic room in which the interview takes place, apparently the room where inmates spend their final hours before being taken to the gurney. The word 'dream' in carved wooden letters appears on the mantelpiece. Will dreams come to me in my eternal sleep? 'Into the Abyss' will most certainly leave few viewers unchanged. A necessary film.