West of Memphis
Metascore
80 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 27 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 27
  3. Negative: 0 out of 27
view
per page
  1. Arizona Republic
    Reviewed by: Bill Goodykoontz
    Jan 24, 2013
    90
    As with "The Central Park Five," you come away from the film impressed by the storytelling but enraged by the facts. It's outrageous that this kind of thing happens, but Berg does an outstanding job of showing us how it does.
  2. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Ty Burr
    Mar 14, 2013
    88
    While the “Paradise Lost” films captured events as they unfolded in the heat of battle, West of Memphis has the luxury of at least partial closure.
  3. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    Jan 16, 2013
    100
    Do we need a fourth film? Yes, I think we do. If you only see one of them, this is the one to choose, because it has the benefit of hindsight.
  4. Empire
    Reviewed by: David Hughes
    Dec 10, 2012
    100
    Prepare to be shocked, disturbed, awed... and, if you expected justice to prevail at last, ultimately devastated.
  5. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    Jan 9, 2013
    91
    The film casts a hypnotic spell all its own. It artfully sketches out the events for anyone who's coming in cold, but basically, its strategy is to take what we already know and go deeper.
  6. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Sara Stewart
    Dec 20, 2012
    88
    This is a compelling and comprehensive guide to one of the most Kafkaesque crime stories in American history.
  7. NPR
    Reviewed by: Mark Jenkins
    Dec 27, 2012
    85
    Although it's the fourth documentary about the West Memphis Three, West of Memphis doesn't feel superfluous. This bizarre case rates at least 18 documentaries - one for each year Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley spent in prison for murders they clearly didn't commit.
  8. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Marc Mohan
    Mar 7, 2013
    91
    West of Memphis does nothing to displace its predecessor films as masterpieces of investigative filmmaking, but complements them as a riveting capstone to an epic and tragic tale.
  9. Tampa Bay Times
    Reviewed by: Steve Persall
    Feb 27, 2013
    91
    Thanks to Jackson's involvement as a producer, Berg has time and access Berlinger and Sinofsky didn't, allowing expansion of whatever material that's repeated.
  10. Variety
    Reviewed by: John Anderson
    Nov 25, 2012
    90
    Amy Berg's clear, captivating, indignant film carves out its own significant place in criminal-justice cinema, makes new and startling revelations into the triple-murder mystery, and is visually spectacular to boot.
  11. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Alan Scherstuhl
    Dec 18, 2012
    100
    That makes this the most rare of films: one that indisputably matters. And one that stuns.
  12. Wall Street Journal
    Reviewed by: Joe Morgenstern
    Jan 3, 2013
    90
    Ms. Berg's film, which she wrote with Billy McMillin, tells the story with unprecedented clarity. She has a dramatist's eye for what was irretrievably lost-the innocent lives of the children, plus 18 years of three other innocent lives.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
5.9 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 9 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. MarcDoyle
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view. It's a very interesting documentary which feels a bit too ordinary toward the end. I've seen the 3 Paradise Lost docs on HBO, so perhaps this film didn't have the same shock value for me that that it would like have for someone new to the subject. After the strong mountain of evidence that stacked up against the "other" stepfather who hadn't been scrutinized as strongly as the first over the last 15 years or so, it's a bit of a let-down that we don't see a criminal action brought against him. I would have liked to have seen the filmmakers at least address the issue. Glad to see Eddie Vedder (and the other "outsiders" praised by the final judge) stick by the 3 for over a decade of his life. Bottom line: it's an amazing story, but I felt like West of Memphis could have been a little tighter in its presentation after 3 such amazing HBO docs on essentially the same subject.… Full Review »
See all user reviews »