Into the Abyss

In the United States, the death sentence is often carried out in the greatest possible anonymity. Far away from the rest of society, in a hermetically sealed room, the condemned sit down in the electric chair or receive a fatal injection. In this way, the human story behind the criminal can be obscured. But this is exactly the story Werner Herzog (, wants to tell in his compassionate death row documentary. He zooms in on the case of 28-year-old Michael Perry, who has been on death row in Texas for 10 years. As teenagers, he and his friends Jason Burkett murdered three people just to take a joyride in an expensive car. With striking warmth and sympathy, Herzog conducts deep, emotional and at times confrontational conversations with both perpetrators, their families (some of whom are also in jail), the families of the victims, the sheriff who investigated the case, and a former executioner, who has carried out more than 100 death sentences. A detailed picture emerges of a deeply religious but also intensely criminal and violent community. Herzog makes it clear early on that he is against the death penalty, but the film is by no means a political statement. outlines the human perspective behind a deeply inhumane ritual.