Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory Reviews

This third film, an inarguably powerful knockout punch, reminds us of the documentary film's power to change people's lives.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5

[U]pdate[s,] reinterprets the original material and incorporates old outtakes and photographs. . .for comprehensive forensic and legal analysis [but] confusingly organized.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10

The new film, despite the astounding story it tells, is the most conventional, least urgent and, cinematically, the least interesting of the three.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5

First and foremost a testament to the power of the documentary.

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Beyond being an articulate examination of the case, the conclusion of the film will leave you with all kinds of questions to ponder about what justice in our legal system really means.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4

Tells us clearly something is rotten about the American judicial system.

Full Review | Original Score: A-

Destined to rank as one of the major achievements in American documentary, the Paradise Lost project comes to a presumed end with Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory.

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The new film is more informational than resonant. But you can still sense a vacuum, a rat pit of stories waiting to be unearthed. The dark something that triggered the whole ordeal in West Memphis is still out there.

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In the shadow of such sickness, all the personal dramas can't help but pale, but there are still surprising and powerful moments.

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Paradise Lost 3 is perhaps the most interesting and well-made film of the trilogy.

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The conclusion to the trilogy about the plight of three wrongly convicted men has an intriguingly new, if bittersweet, slant. It's an understatement to say that the documentary format comes off a lot better than the justice system.

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More a glorified DVD supplement than a documentary.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4

Purgatory is most affecting in its most intimate performances.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10