Don't misunderstand my title. This isn't a horror movie - at least not in the sense of genre. But it is a truly frightening true story about the abuse of police power.
Basically, the story is quite simple. 12 year old Stephanie Crowe is brutally murdered in her own home in Escondido, California while her family sleeps. Without any real evidence, the police decide that her 14 year old brother Michael must be guilty, they ignore evidence pointing to another suspect and they coerce a confession from him after two days of non-stop questioning, filled with lies about what they supposedly "know," threats if he won't confess and promises of help if he will. Young Michael then becomes the object of a relentless prosecution by the District Attorney, who finally admits that there is no direct evidence but won't give up the case, instead dismissing it "without prejudice," thus leaving possible future prosecution hanging over Michael's head, and leaving the viewer wondering what's going to happen to this boy, until the final decision is revealed at the end.
This is truly an excellent, gripping movie. It takes a bit of getting into in the first few minutes, but once you're into it you're definitely hooked. Superb performances come from Ally Sheedy and Michael Riley as Michael's parents and - I'll use the phrase again - there's a positively frightening performance from John Bourgeois as Detective Claytor. Not to be overlooked is young Mark Rendall's performance as Michael. He brilliantly portrayed the fear and hopelessness this young boy must have felt. At times I thought he came across as a bit too mature in his portrayal, but, then again, maybe that was Michael.
This isn't a particularly well known movie, but everyone should see it.
9/10.
Basically, the story is quite simple. 12 year old Stephanie Crowe is brutally murdered in her own home in Escondido, California while her family sleeps. Without any real evidence, the police decide that her 14 year old brother Michael must be guilty, they ignore evidence pointing to another suspect and they coerce a confession from him after two days of non-stop questioning, filled with lies about what they supposedly "know," threats if he won't confess and promises of help if he will. Young Michael then becomes the object of a relentless prosecution by the District Attorney, who finally admits that there is no direct evidence but won't give up the case, instead dismissing it "without prejudice," thus leaving possible future prosecution hanging over Michael's head, and leaving the viewer wondering what's going to happen to this boy, until the final decision is revealed at the end.
This is truly an excellent, gripping movie. It takes a bit of getting into in the first few minutes, but once you're into it you're definitely hooked. Superb performances come from Ally Sheedy and Michael Riley as Michael's parents and - I'll use the phrase again - there's a positively frightening performance from John Bourgeois as Detective Claytor. Not to be overlooked is young Mark Rendall's performance as Michael. He brilliantly portrayed the fear and hopelessness this young boy must have felt. At times I thought he came across as a bit too mature in his portrayal, but, then again, maybe that was Michael.
This isn't a particularly well known movie, but everyone should see it.
9/10.