Joe Berlinger's and Bruce Sinofsky's crime documentary, originally made for HBO, chronicles the two trials of three teenage Metallica fans accused of the murder and mutilation of three grade-schoolers in West Memphis, Arkansas. The associated specters of witchcraft, devil worship, Aleister Crowley, and human sacrifice are raised. Doubts get cast. Questions go unanswered. And after two and a half hours you still have not heard all you need to hear about the case. (Why, you wonder, did the stepfather of one of the victims make a gift of a used knife to the filmmakers? Why not ask him?) The movie is absorbing, disturbing, depressing, frustrating, and ultimately unsatisfying in ways that only a true story can be. (1996) — Duncan Shepherd
This movie is not currently in theaters.