Death Row - Into The Abyss: DVD Review

Death Row - Into The Abyss: DVD Review

Rating: M
Released by Madman Home Entertainment

German director Werner Herzog returns to the doco format after a brief outing as the bad guy in the Jack Reacher movie.

This time, he turns his attention to the death penalty in Texas by following a series of people, locked up for murders in parts of the region. A series of four stories, each looks at the cases involved in very great detail and at the ramifications of what lies ahead for the killers, their families, and the people affected by their actions.

With a viewpoint vehemently opposed to the death penalty, Herzog's crafted a series of pieces which aren't sentimental or skewed to his viewpoint, but which instead look at all facets of what's occurred and examine the human condition.

Hauntingly told, and in depth, they're likely to get under your skin as you realise the futility of what these people have done, how the system affects them and why it will never be a perfect world. Using a series of occasionally unorthodox questions, Herzog eschews the usual line of interrogation and instead manages to get under their skin in a way most doco makers would never achieve.

Extras: Four mini docos as well as a feature length film are enough material for this set.

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