Based on the true story of the West Memphis three, Atom Egoyan’s Devil’s Knot is one of the most interesting and disturbing films I’ve ever seen. Not disturbing in the way most films that Roger and I review are, but because of the amount of lunacy that occurred in the courtroom in Arkansas in 1994.
Three 8-year-old boys are found dead, bound and castrated, in the town’s river. The entire town, including the police department and court judge place the blame on three teens who are accused of practicing occultism and of being Satanists. As more and more discrepancies arise in the prosecutors’ case, the more the truth seems to be ignored.
Devil’s Knot is not necessarily a horror film, but it does possess some of the most unsettling images I’ve ever seen. I don’t want to say too much so I will just leave it at that; You will know exactly what scene(s) I am referring to, once you see this film.
I’m not sure how close to reality this film is, as we all know that “based on true events” in films usually tends to mean “loosely based on kind of true events.” Even with that being said, if this film is anywhere close to what really happened… it’s ridiculous. The fact that an entire town could be convinced of obviously false accusations is beyond me. If this really happened, the entire justice system needs to be re-modeled and re-created, and I am glad that Atom Egoyan and his team decided to make a film on it because everyone needs to be made aware of these events.
With an awesome cast consisting of the likes of Reese Witherspoon, Colin Firth, Elias Koteas, Stephen Moyer, Dane DeHaan, and many more, I don’t even need to comment on how great the acting was throughout the entire film. The performances were all outstanding, doing a wonderful job of keeping me immersed in the plot the entire time.
If you like crime drama films with a pure horror subject matter, I highly recommend Devil’s Knot. It is now available on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital download from Image Entertainment.
I give it 4 pocket knives out of 5.
