Reviews

I first heard of this ordeal by listening to a This American Life episode called anatomy of doubt. A few years later this series emerged. I watched the series not having connected the two until the end of the first series. I thought the acting was fantastic, a bit slow moving to start with but I feel like they really captured the agony that these women went through and their different reactions, particularly with Marie. I've read a lot of reviews that try to say this is political and feminist. To those I would suggest listening to the podcast, they interview Marie, her two foster mums, her friends and the detective who lead marie's Investigation, not to mention the two female detectives who brought the monster to justice. Listen to that and you will recognise just how close to the truth this series is.

I read some of the reviews on IMDB before watching and I must say I'm surprised by those giving 1 star reviews because they believe this series to be 'political propaganda' because it features interviews with Trump. Nobody forced Trump to do those interviews at the time this crime was committed. There is a long history of coerced confessions, there are several documentaries about just that! Nothing changes the facts of this case, four very young boys were falsely accused of a terrible crime, their families went through absolute hell also. They deserve their story to be told, the same as anybody else. This documentary is incredibly well made with a host of brilliant actors and was extremely gripping. Anybody willing to give it 1 star has to take a look in a mirror.

While this film certainly had some flow issues, the topic is so important. Whether female, male, adult or child, or however you identify, nobody deserves to be assaulted. The attitude of the citizens of Maryville is just plain disturbing, not in the least, the attitude of that bone head sheriff. It's scary to me that he is himself a father of two young daughters. Unfortunately this attitude is still widespread and the bravery of these girls to come forward and continue to campaign for survivors is seriously impressive. This film highlights not only the affect of the event itself but also the long term effects and damage that has been caused, including the loss of life for poor Audrie and the pain and suffering that her family have gone through. All this could have been avoidable, these boys all think they are invincible, untouchable and don't need to be held accountable for their actions. Above all, the lesson to be learned from this is to educate and to support. Places like Maryville and it's very 'culpable' residents, should not be allowed to operate the way that they have before now. As a side note, I was very pleased to hear that the sheriff was not re-elected, he and his attitude are just plain dangerous.

I was really enjoying this film right up to the end. They had a brilliant tense atmosphere going by only giving small glimpses of Pyewacket, which I believe is one of the key ingredients of a great horror. Then the film just ends, she kills her own mother, then that's the end. Could have been exceptional.

The storyline for this film is certainly interesting, but it just did not live up to its potential. I think the issue from the offset is that none of the main characters are likeable or relatable. I also felt as though there were a few moments where there was a supposed 'big reveal' or an 'ahhhh' moment, but it was just completely lost on me. After watching this film I cannot honestly say if Danny killed the woman, if he's good or bad, or even if the psychologist is good or bad. He doesn't seem to like the idea of helping people, yet that is what his profession is all about. Very confused after watching this film, there are some good bits in it, hence the 4 rating, but I think a bit of extra effort could have made this a far better watch.

I havered a bit on whether to watch this Film or not based on the reviews, but I'm glad I gave it a chance because it's a good film. It's not excellent, but it serves the purpose of being eerie. Dylan Sprouse's acting is superb, he really pulled off the nut job character extremely well. The main character, Mr Butler could have used a bit more edge to him and the actress playing the wife is downright awful at times, but all in all, I was pleased to have watched it. The ending was really good too, it looked like it wouldn't be a great ending, but they pulled it back with the psychopath returning to Mr Butler's house and killing his wife.

If you are looking for something award worthy then this probably isn't for you, but a satisfying watch, it is.

It's such a shame that this film didn't quite live up to its potential. It could have been so much better than it was. Don't get me wrong, its certainly watchable, but it fell a bit flat. The timeline is a bit all over the place, the male detective is horrible and it makes no sense why she would be allowed to contact her father 8 years after being abducted. The end product was a waste of good acting abilities.

I have been a massive fan of these kinds of series ever since listening to This American Life's spin off podcast 'Serial'. This is the epitome of investigative journalism, giving a voice to the silenced sufferers of injustice.

In this case, the abuse victims of members within the Catholic Church in Baltimore.

Often these documentaries provide a narrative, and you shouldn't expect to receive a definitive answer to all the questions, but I feel the point is more to get the story out there to the general public. The stories of those who had their painful memories ignored, destroyed even, by the justice system, not even to mention the church.

What happens in the next few years will be the true revelation of the type of power these documentaries hold.

As always it was excellently made and credit goes out to the two women who have pursued this tirelessly for years.

Watch it and make up your own mind, but the facts and the testimonies from the survivors speak for themselves!