Reviews

Some reviews here say it's not scary at all while others say there's an underlying threat in every scene. After seeing this movie, I have to assume the ones who think it's about nothing are white males. I honestly don't think they can comprehend just not feeling physically safe in day-to-day life. And that's not to say there's something inherently wrong with that, they've never had to feel scared or on guard in normal situations. But it'd be nice if they could recognize this as a blessing & have a little awareness that the rest of us aren't so lucky. Tyler was accutely aware that if something happened here, he was completely alone in the middle of nowhere.

No, nothing super major happens in this slice-of-life movie, but if you've ever second-guessed going to to a simple location bc you're concerned about your well-being, you'll recognize that the tension is high throughout this movie.

****SPOILERS***** And then he made the rookie mistake of letting his guard down & getting, like, wasted drunk.

Kudos to his friend (played by Christopher Abbott) for recognizing what Tyler needed in that moment - I applauded when he let Tyler have the room for the night & said "I'm locking the door behind me."

This was one of the most brilliant episodes of TV ever written & filmed. I am floored after just finishing this episode. I came on here expecting to see a nearly 10-star episode (Atlanta as a series has 8.4 stars!) How telling that this is one of the lowest rated episodes of the season... The mustacchioed man in the hotel bar towards the end is so spot on. "We were running from it, hiding from it. Now we're free." I think the point of this episode is that reparations, while terrifying for the white majority in this country, shouldn't be such a taboo subject. It's showing that even if the "worst" were to happen & some people in society had to pay a "reparations tax", we would get through it. Just like the black minority had to get through, not just slavery, but everything that came after.

Such an innovative, thought-provoking episode. Wow.

This is a well-made documentary that did a good job keeping me guessing: at the end of one episode I was convinced of his guilt, at the end of the next I was convinced of his innocence!

I think the whole point of this 5-episode series is that we can't be sure one way or the other, but the fact that the judge & prosecution did their best to not allow certain suspects & evidence to be heard or seen during the trial proves that the suspect did not receive a FAIR trial. A lot of the possible evidence related to Helena Stoeckley & the men she was (possibly) with that night was lost over time, as the investigative team felt they knew who did it & chose not to look anywhere (or for anyone) else. They also allowed over 2 dozen people to traipse all throughout the house before gathering evidence!

There doesn't seem to be any sort of a motive for him to have committed the crimes. I think it's possible that the doctor was somehow involved with these kids - he had been taking an amphetamine himself, some of the addicts were living on the Fort Bragg base, seeking drugs; it's entirely plausible that he had been dealing to them, or they were trying to convince him to deal to them. Maybe he had some culpability in them being in his home that night (IF they were in his home that night.)

Even Errol Morris admits he doesn't know for sure if the doctor is guilty or innocent, only that there were many mistakes made. When you're putting someone away for 50+ years of their life, there should be no doubt of their guilt, & the jury had the right to hear the defense's alternative theory. Aptly named, the handling of this case definitely contained a "wilderness of error."