In his unique approach to story-telling, Werner Herzog brings us the story of two young men (Michael Perry and Jason Burkett) accused of a triple homicide in Conroe, Texas. We come to know both of these young men, their victims, the victims’ families and also others who have been involved with the legal system in this state, where capital punishment is enforced routinely.

At the opening screening, after a standing ovation, Herzog addressed the audience and told us that he is most definitely against the death penalty. He mentioned growing up in Nazi Germany as the reason why.  Into The Abyss, however, is not about taking one side or the other. It is more about the details of such crime, its perpetrators, their histories and how their actions have affected so many others. There are many details about the crime that may be too much to see or hear for some but Herzog does balance these with conversations with people not involved in the crime but who’ve worked in the prison and even with a reverend who visits inmates on the day of their execution.

There are moments in the film that make you mad, that make you question how things get so desperate that people resort to murder and there are moments where you’re trying to understand that Perry and Burkett have also being victims of living an impoverished upbringing with absentee fathers and involvement with the law by various male relatives as well. But there are other parts in the film where Herzog allows us to exhale and laugh. We come to see that all of those affected by this ridiculous crime are only human.

As Herzog said in the Q&A session afterwards, these young men “are human. The crime they’ve committed is monstrous.”  He went on to explain that he was not trying to make a documentary only about the crime but also about those who survive the victims…their family. He also wanted us to learn how capital punishment is not necessarily a solution, as demonstrated in his conversation with the reverend and the man who worked in Huntsville Unit, where the executions take place. All in all, the film creates a dialogue and makes you aware of your own views on the topic. Whether you agree with the Herzog or not, Into the Abyss will definitely raise questions and create dialogue. For a clip of the film, go here.