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Poster for Into the Abyss

Into the Abyss

A gaze into the abyss of the human soul.

2011 · 1h 45m · PG-13 Crime, Documentary
Directed by Werner Herzog

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Overview

We do not know when and how we will die. Death Row inmates do. Werner Herzog embarks on a dialogue with Death Row inmates, asks questions about life and death and looks deep into these individuals, their stories, their crimes.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
92%
Tomatometer
Fresh

The result is gripping, moving and revelatory, an unabashed if implicit critique of the death penalty.

Ben Walters, Time Out
Fresh

Herzog is pursuing no agenda with Into the Abyss, despite his opposition to extreme judicial measures. He's seeking to answer the question of why people kill, especially in a situation such as this where the reason for the murders was so meaningless.

Peter Howell, Toronto Star
Fresh

Into the Abyss does what too few documentaries these days do - it gives ample play to all sides of the argument. Herzog allows us to think things through on our own.

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor
Fresh

The overriding point of Into the Abyss, what keeps this sad, sorrowful film from becoming depressing and elevates it far above the usual chatter of liberal-conservative debate, is that there can be light on the other end of even the darkest of tunnels.

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald
Fresh

"Into the Abyss" makes a strong case for the inhumanity of capital punishment, regardless of the crime or the criminal.

Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

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