Movies
[BD Review] West Memphis Three Drama ‘Devil’s Knot’ Is Completely Unnecessary
The entire case against them was based on a forced confession, and their love of horror movies, Slayer, and Stephen King. Their story resonated with a lot of people all over the world. Anyone who’s ever been called a “freak” or any other misguided insult because of their taste in music, movies, and clothes could relate to them. Especially Echols, their supposed ring leader who allegedly coerced them into committing human sacrifice. He always seemed a little too smart for his own good. In the courtroom, he showed surprising defiance in the face of authority, even with his life on the line.
The 20 years of injustice wrought upon these three men was extensively chronicled in the Paradise Lost trilogy of documentaries – three compelling films that kept Echols, Baldwin, and Misskelley in the public consciousness and, according to some, had a lot to do with their release in August 2011. In 2012, a comprehensive documentary called West of Memphis was released, which covered everything from the initial trial to their release following a controversial “Alford Plea.”
Those four films covered every angle of the case through its two decade history, so is there any need for a dramatization of it? Atom Egoyan’s Devil’s Knot attempts to argues that there is, but the film provides no new insight or weight to the saga of the West Memphis 3. There’s just no reason this film should exist.
Devil’s Knot features a cast of big names, including Reese Witherspoon and Colin Firth, but wastes their talents on what can be considered a standard courtroom drama. It has the vibe of a television movie and does a lackluster job capturing the hysteria that consumed that small town of fanatics. The four documentaries do a far better job evoking the drama and frustration of the trial while exhaustively covering the angles. Devil’s Knot fails to do pretty much anything except cover ground already combed before. The various trials and appeals of the West Memphis 3 is one of the most vexing and obscene cases of injustices in recent history, yet none of this is captured in Egoyan’s film.
Even viewed as a primer on the West Memphis 3 for folks who aren’t familiar with the case, Devil’s Knot works poorly. When instances of “lost” evidence and flawed witnesses appear, they feel very haphazard and may be confusing for the unacquainted. For example, the information concerning the woman who made a deal with the cops if she’d have her son deliver a false confession was a major blemish during the first trial, but here it’s presented in a manner out of step with the rest of the film.
The bits of fiction thrown in for emotional effect are cheap and laughable. In one scene, Witherspoon, who plays Pam Hobbs, the mother of one of the murdered boys, is hugged by a group of schoolchildren. Gimme a break. Firth plays a legal aide attempting to clear the teens’ names and while his character lacks depth, we are told by his ex-wife that “he becomes obsessed with his cases” and that he has to defend them because “no one else will.” It’s some of the most cliche lawyer “characterizations” ever.
It’s a damn shame the cast isn’t given some ripe material to work with, especially the supporting cast that boasts the likes of Elias Koteas and Bruce Greenwood. The mighty Kevin Durand (Lost) is perfectly cast as John Mark Byers, the bible thumping looney tune who gifted a knife to the Paradise Lost documentary crew. So what if there was some human blood on the knife, he doesn’t know how it got there!
Devil’s Knot is simply an unnecessary movie that rehashes material that’s been extensively covered before in films, books, and television. It closes on title cards that explain the direction the appeals and investigation went in after the initial trial, teasing the audience with material far more interesting then what they just sat through.
Despite Devil’s Knot being completely useless, it does reinforce the saddest thing about the whole saga: the real killer is still out there.
The holiday weekend means a light week for new horror releases, but it does bring the return of Dark Castle Entertainment to select theaters. It’s being joined by 6 new horror movies.
Here’s all the new horror releasing June 29, 2026 – July 3, 2026!
For daily reminders about new horror releases, be sure to follow @HorrorCalendar.
You wished for it. The highest-grossing horror movie of the year (so far), Curry Barker’s Obsession, arrived on Digital on June 30.
In Curry Barker’s theatrical debut Obsession, after breaking the mysterious One Wish Willow to win his crush’s heart, a hopeless romantic finds himself getting exactly what he asked for but soon discovers that some desires come at a dark, sinister price.
Michael Johnston (“Teen Wolf”), Inde Navarette (“Superman & Lois”), Cooper Tomlinson (“That’s a Bad Idea,” Milk & Serial), Megan Lawless (The Death That Awaits), and Emmy Award-nominee Andy Richter (“Conan,” Elf) star.
Based on a story by director James Kondelik (Behind The Walls) and a screenplay by Canadian writer Victor Rose, survival thriller Pitfall headed home to Digital on June 30. Family is murder in this Cineverse release.
In Pitfall, a young man becomes separated from his friends in the woods and plunges into a ten-foot pit lined with spikes, impaling his leg and leaving him helpless. As reality sinks in and his situation grows dire, he realizes the fall wasn’t an accident.
The film stars Richard Harmon (Final Destination: Bloodlines), Alexandra Essoe (The Pope’s Exorcist), and UFC champion Randy Couture (The Expendables) as the ruthless killer who stalks his prey in the woods. Marshall Williams (The Ice Road), Jordan Claire Robbins (The Umbrella Academy), and Matt Hamilton (Murder for Sale) also star.
The Amityville IP leans into Jaws with Amityville Shark House, just in time for the Fourth of July holiday too, as it released on Digital June 30.
Will Collazo Jr. (Amityville Thanksgiving) and Shawn C. Phillips (Amityville Karen) co-direct from a script they wrote with Julie Anne Prescott.
In the movie, after discovering an ominous shark idol hidden beneath the decaying floorboards, Richard unknowingly awakens an ancient and savage force. As the entity begins to merge with him, a quiet coastal town descends into blood-soaked chaos.
With each victim claimed, the monstrous predator grows stronger, fueling a cult’s belief that their dark god has been reborn. Now, the race is on to stop the carnage before evil consumes everything in its path.
Phillips and Prescott also star alongside Tasha Tacosa, Maritza Brikisak, Gigi Gustin (The Retaliators), Adam Marino, and Carl Solomon.
Available on Digital, Blu-ray, and DVD as of June 30 is Jacked, directed by John Fucile from a script he co-wrote with Simon Fraser.
The synopsis: “Set in the summer of 1987, JACKED follows two small-town teenagers whose day at the lake turns into a fight for survival after their car breaks down and they encounter a violent stalker.”
Marla Jean Robison, Tom Koch, Anthony Cipriani, Wynn Reichert, Kam Perez and Bella Marie star.
Get ready to work up a killer sweat and maybe spill some blood with Slashercise, a workout meets slasher hybrid that arrived exclusively on Bloodstream on July 1.
Written and directed by Ama Lea (Deathcember), the retro-styled feature follows “a masked killer known only as Meathead as he stalks the fitness clubs of Los Angeles, turning workout sessions into blood-soaked nightmares. As the city’s top trainers are picked off one by one, a group of determined fitness fanatics must fight back before they become the next bodies on the mat.”
Vanessa Decker (Stiletto), John Bloom (The Last Drive-In With Joe Bob Briggs), Spencer Charnas (Ice Nine Kills), Sarah French (Blind), Kelli Maroney (Night of the Comet), Sarah Nicklin (V/H/S/Halloween), Diana Prince (The Last Drive-In With Joe Bob Briggs), Jared Rivet (The Once and Future Smash), Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp), Tiffany Shepis (Victor Crowley), and Lisa Wilcox (A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master) star.
After a record-breaking box office run, A24 and director Kane Parsons’ feature debut is heading back to theaters with bonus footage. AMC Theatres is unleashing Backrooms: Everything Must Go Editiontoday, July 3.
In the film written by Will Soodik, the owner of Cap’n Clark’s Ottoman Empire discovers a strange doorway in the basement of the furniture showroom. He sets out to explore the mysterious, liminal space, walking headfirst into a creepypasta nightmare.
Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsvestar.
AMC describes this release as a “theatrically exclusive post-credit” with additional footage from Kane Parsons. Expect 16 minutes of bonus footage, with the new version clocking in at 2 hours and 6 minutes.
The Last Exorcism director Daniel Stamm and Dark Castle Entertainment are back with Lockbox, in select theaters July 3. It adapts Soren Narnia‘s Knifepoint Horror Podcast story “Winthrop” by Emmy-winning playwright Justin Yoffe.
In Lockbox, “Seeking peace after her mother’s death, Ellen retreats to a rural town and takes in her severely traumatized cousin Winthrop. Their fragile domestic balance shatters when an erratic neighbor warns that Winthrop is dangerous. As strange phenomena escalate, Ellen must put everything on the line to defend Winthrop from a dangerous otherworldly entity determined to track him down.”
Lou Taylor Pucci (Touch Me, Evil Dead), Carla Gugino (The Haunting of Hill House, Gerald’s Game, The Fall of the House of Usher) and Katharine Isabelle (Ginger Snaps, Backrooms) star.
This week’s new release roundups are presented by Lockbox.
Be careful who you let in. Carla Gugino and Lou Taylor Pucci star in Lockbox, only in select theaters this Friday. Get tickets.
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