Into the Abyss A Tale of Death, a Tale of Life

Werner Herzog’s documentary about an unrepentant young murderer on death row is a cool, compassionate study of the dark side of the human condition

Built around an intriguing interview with death row inmate Michael Perry, eight days before the date scheduled for his execution, Werner Herzog’s meticulously detailed investigation into a triple homicide is at once a profoundly compassionate look at the darker side of the human condition and a cool salutary reminder that notions of good and evil, innocent and guilty are often simplistic