Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996)

User Rating:

8.4/10   

Directors:

Joe Berlinger
Bruce Sinofsky

Release Date:

10 June 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Crime

Tagline:

It's frightening to think they did it. It's terrifying to think they didn't.

Plot:

A horrific triple child murder leads to an indictment and trial of three nonconformist boys based on questionable evidence.

Plot Keywords:

Trial | Murder | Triple Child Murder | West Memphis Arkansas | Small Town

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy. Another 4 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Joe Berlinger	...	Himself (voice)
Bruce Sinofsky	...	Himself (voice)
Jessie Miskelly	...	Himself
Jason Baldwin	...	Himself
Damien Wayne Echols	...	Himself
Christopher Byers	...	Himself (archive footage)
Steven Branch	...	Himself (archive footage)
Michael Moore	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jessie Miskelly Sr.	...	Himself
Pam Echols	...	Herself
Joe Hutchinson	...	Himself
Domini Teer	...	Herself
John Mark Byers	...	Himself
Melissa Byers	...	Herself
Terry Hobbs	...	Himself
Pam Hobbs	...	Herself
Diane Moore	...	Herself
Det. Byrn Ridge	...	Himself
Regina Meek	...	Herself
Marty King	...	Himself

Directed by
Joe Berlinger
Bruce Sinofsky

Produced by
Joe Berlinger	....	producer
Loren Eiferman	....	associate producer
Jonathan Moss	....	coordinating producer
Sheila Nevins	....	executive producer
Bruce Sinofsky	....	producer

Cinematography by
Robert Richman

Film Editing by
Joe Berlinger
Bruce Sinofsky

Sound Department
Michael Karas	....	sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
Bill Carrier III	....	aerial photographer
Douglas Cooper	....	additional camera operator
John Thoma	....	second camera/ac

Other crew
M. Watanabe Milmore	....	trial segment editor

Production Companies

• Home Box Office (HBO)

Distributors

• Creative Thinking International Ltd.
• Home Box Office (HBO) (1996) (USA) (TV) (original airing)

Also Known As:

America Undercover: Paradise Lost - The Child Murders at Robin Hood Woods (USA) (series title)
Murder in West Memphis (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

150 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Filming Locations:

West Memphis, Arkansas, USA

Company:

Home Box Office (HBO)

Trivia:

Filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky spent 79 days over a 10-month period filming in the actual Arkansas locales.

Quotes:

Damien Wayne Echols: I kind of enjoy it because now, even after I die, people are going to remember me forever. They're going to talk about me for years. People in West Memphis will tell their kids stories. It will be like, sort of like I'm the West Memphis boogeyman. Little kids will be looking under their beds before they go to bed..."Damien might be under there!"

Movie Connections:

Followed by Paradise Lost 3 (2009) (TV)

Soundtrack:

The Call of Ktulu

Scary, Even for me.

I Soapbar, Have seen the scariest, creepiest, and most controversial films ever, and still couldn't sleep the night after seeing this. Three boy's are brought in based on a flimsy confession by a boy with a mental disability, and although the boy changed his story, and there was hardly any evidence against the other two boys, they are still put to trial for captial murder. Intense, very intense. Frequently you change your mind about whose side your on, and what you think should happen, remind yourself, IT'S REAL, the footage is real, and the story is real. Those with weak stomachs beware, there is footage at the beginning of the dead second graders, bloodless, cut up bodies on the banks. This film should be remembered, it is truly a work of art.