Devil's Knot (2013)

The savage murders of three young children sparks a controversial trial of three teenagers accused of killing the kids as part of a Satanic ritual.

Director:

Atom Egoyan

Writers:

Paul Harris Boardman (screenplay), Scott Derrickson (screenplay)

Stars:

Colin Firth, Reese Witherspoon, Alessandro Nivola

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Reese Witherspoon	...	Pam Hobbs
Colin Firth	...	Ron Lax
Alessandro Nivola	...	Terry Hobbs
James Hamrick	...	Damien Echols
Seth Meriwether	...	Jason Baldwin
Kristopher Higgins	...	Jessie Misskelley (as Kris Higgins)
Amy Ryan	...	Margaret Lax
Robert Baker	...	Detective Bryan Ridge
Collette Wolfe	...	Glori Shettles
Rex Linn	...	Chief Inspector Gitchell
Bruce Greenwood	...	Judge Burnett
Kristoffer Polaha	...	Val Price
Matt Letscher	...	Paul Ford
Michael Gladis	...	Dan Stidham
Stephen Moyer	...	John Fogleman

Storyline

Based on the actual events of the West Memphis Three, where three young boys were savagely murdered in West Memphis, Arkansas in 1993. Spurred on by the demand from a grieving town, the local police act quickly to bring three "devil-worshipping" teenagers to trial. With their lives hanging in the balance, investigator Ron Lax is trying to find the truth between the town's need for justice and the guilt of the accused.

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Plot Keywords:

west memphis three | year 1993 | angry mob | police interrogation | police investigation | 

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Taglines:

Based on the true story of The West Memphis Three. (US DVD cover artwork)

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Martin Henderson (in Bride & Prejudice (2004)) and Colin Firth (in Pride and Prejudice (1995) mini-series), both played Mr. Darcy, a character based on Jane Austen's novel "Pride and Prejudice".

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Goofs

During the daytime scene at the dead-end where police and media are gathering there is a news van with markings that read "KQWK 17 News - West Memphis." There are no TV stations based in West Memphis, Arkansas. West Memphis gets its local television news from Memphis, just six miles away, across the Mississippi River in Tennessee.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Stevie Branch: [sings] Well, that's all right, mama / That's all right for you / That's all right, mama, just any way you do.

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Connections

Referenced in La noche de...: La noche de... Condenados (2018)

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Soundtracks

Alter of Sacrifice
Written by Jeff Hanneman (as Jeffery John Hanneman) and Kerry King
Performed by Slayer
Courtesy of American Recordings, LLC
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Worth seeing but if you get a chance read & watch anything else on the West Memphis 3, you'll be more informed & more interested

"If you don't have a strong case the state is gonna kill 3 young men and I can't stand by and watch that happen." In 1993 three 8 year old boys were savagely murdered. The state tried three teenagers as adults for the killings and claimed they were murdered as part of a satanic cult ritual. This is the story of the trial and how Ron Lax (Firth) tried to help the defense and how one of the mother's (Witherspoon) dealt with the loss and aftermath. I knew very little of the actual story going in. This is a movie that reminded me of the Aviator in the way that I watched a documentary and read more about the events after it was over and found those to be better and more interesting then the movie. The cast is great and has many big names as well as 3 Oscar winners, but at best this felt like a made-for-TV movie. I found it hard to really get into and was disappointed especially with this cast. I'm not saying it's not worth seeing but if you get a chance read and watch anything else on the West Memphis Three, you will be more informed and more interested then you would if you watch this movie. Overall, not bad but could have been so much better. I give this a B-.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 March 2014 (Philippines)

Also Known As:

Devil's Knot

Filming Locations:

Morrow, Georgia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,033,154

Company Credits

Production Co:

Worldview Entertainment, Clear Pictures Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Datasat Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1