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Paradise Lost 2: Revelations

Paradise Lost 2: Revelations

2000
Documentary
TV Movie
2h 10m
Paradise Lost 2: Revelations revisits the 1994 Arkansas murder of three 8-year-old boys and the three teenagers convicted of the crime. A follow up to Paradise Lost, Revelations features new interviews with the convicted men, as well as with the original judge and police investigators. While focusing on advocates who believe the young men are innocent Revelations also includes footage of the stepfather of one of the victims, who some suspect might be involved in the crime.
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Paradise Lost 2: Revelations

2000
Documentary
TV Movie
2h 10m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 62.59% from 311 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(311)
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Rated 14 Feb 2010
69
52nd
Starved of the unprecedented access allowed to the first documentary and saddled with inevitable (and understandable) bias, this lacks the impact or insight of the original. Some moments of interest, but most of these can be gleaned from a quick read of the cases aftermath. Focusing too much on the walking sideshow that is Byers also gives this a more sensationalist feel, however unintentional.
Rated 10 May 2018
75
80th
Byers was the Forrest Gump of this series so much I fully expected him to unintentionally stumble upon solving the case in the third entry. "Have you found Jesus yet, Byers?" John Mark Byers: "I didn't know I was supposed to be looking for him, sir."
Rated 18 Mar 2013
7
67th
I'm sick of people complaining about a lack of "objectivity" in a documentary that is clearly trying to argue a position. There is no rule which forbids a documentary from taking a stance on an issue. Concerning objectivity: If one is objective, one looks strictly at the reality of the situation without prejudice. Notice how this doesn't exclude an objective judgment from forming a conclusion. If being objective is sucking your thumb and saying "I don't know", then what the hell is the point?
Rated 24 Nov 2008
83
79th
An excellent follow-up documentary to the first Paradise Lost and it's utterly terrible to watch knowing that, even now, the West Memphis 3 have been in jail since their teen years for a crime that more and more evidence suggests they didn't do. One point I believe it does raise is that the father of one of the children, John Mark Byers, is often thought of as a killer due to how "weird" he comes across, which is the same reason the West Memphis 3 were placed in jail. Great documentary overall.
Rated 20 Aug 2017
70
75th
In "Revalations", Berlinger and Sinofsky discover the full 'observer effect' of their filmmaking. On the one hand, the first film had inspired a public movement to free the West Memphis 3; on the other hand, they're no longer welcome to film the retrial among other things. The defense casts further suspicion on John Mark Byers, and personally I grew to hate investigator Gary Gitchell and judge David Burnett even more. It's an upsetting but really great show.
Rated 15 Mar 2013
85
80th
Mark Byers is 100% guilty...of being a melodramatic douche. I'm happy for his wife for getting out of that relationship.
Rated 10 Jul 2010
82
61st
Not as well done nor as gripping as the original.
Rated 29 Nov 2011
70
76th
Wow, just wow. Mark Byers is one big freak. Watch the first part before you watch this. Crazy charachter development. And it's all in real life.
Rated 04 Sep 2011
70
65th
The questions concerning this infuriatingly poorly tried case remain equally compelling. The long-windedness of this sequel combined with the tragedy of the many horrific events (re-)referenced makes it a rather tough watch, however.
Rated 26 Nov 2016
40
39th
In hindsight, shifting the blame to someone else with as much prejudice and as little evidence, is not at all helpful. With the fixation on what turns out to be most likely turtle bite-marks, it would seem that everyone involved is as incompetent as each other.
Rated 06 Apr 2015
77
58th
Acho que gostei mais desse, especialmente por contrapor a irracionalidade (Byers) contra a razão (Echols) e como eles são vistos em lados diferentes da lei, sendo que ambos são o que chamaria de "peculiares".
Rated 16 Oct 2010
72
86th
Loses some of the punch of the first film but is still captivating, particularly the focus on the step-dad of one of the victims.
Rated 26 Jan 2012
50
46th
Paradise Lost 2 is both superior and inferior to its predecessor in many ways. As a documentary about the injustice of the justice system, Paradise Lost 2 offers almost nothing new or interesting regarding the three boys convicted of the Robin Hood Hills murders. As a portrait of two characters, Echols and Byers, the film gets some great moments from each that expand heavily upon the first film. Revelations largest issue is its accusatory stance of Byers with a complete lack of evidence.
Rated 16 Nov 2007
60
17th
More exploitative than the first, but still worth watching.
Rated 14 Feb 2012
7
68th
Not as well made as the original and not as interesting either. Has its shocking moments, most notably Byers' wife dying of mysterious causes but it really has nothing on the first. I really don't know what to believe anymore, the lie detector results really ruin what looked to be obvious (Byers killing the kids) to me having no clue, but I still don't think they did it. But hey at least they have been released from jail as of 2011.
Rated 16 Jan 2013
4
55th
The objectivity of the original is sorely missed. This may be due to the limited field of coverage given to the team this time around, though.
Rated 15 May 2017
47
33rd
As it is mostly a footage of crazy dude zonked out on meds doing playacting, it doesn't offer any new insights into the case.
Rated 13 Jan 2011
70
46th
Too narrow of a scope on this one.
Rated 30 Mar 2012
75
44th
Paradise Lost 2 comes barreling in with an agenda and stock footage galore from the first film, and the movie suffers from both choices. However, there's enough human interest points and eccentric Byers rants to almost make up for it.
Rated 21 Aug 2011
80
77th
The John Mark Byers show
Rated 29 Jun 2012
70
88th
Following the controversy the original HBO documentary created there are less players involved in this follow-up (no cameras in court for the appeal, only one family prepared to speak) and therefore this is much more partisan, (understandably) supporting the convicted three's claim of lack of evidence leading to their incarceration. If John Mark Byers isn't the real guilty party then he does a damn fine job of making himself look it.
Rated 02 Jan 2013
73
44th
With this sequel, it seemed like the directors knew they had something to say but they didn't really know what it was. Perhaps it's the lack of trial footage, or maybe the over-emphasis on Byers, but this felt more like a footnote to the original movie than an entirely new movie.
Rated 09 Feb 2017
80
71st
Only a little less enjoyable then the first one. I liked the meta elements. Can't wait to see the rest
Rated 03 Aug 2010
70
56th
Keeps up with the quality of the first one, even when the crew has been denied access to film the hearings. Focuses slightly too much on the walking freak show that's John Mark Byers and hence, loses some of its appeal. Granted, the crew didn't really have to work at making him appear weird, he did that himself, but it makes the documentary feel much less neutral than the original. Still, it remains thought-provoking and well-paced throughout. An interesting (and disturbing) watch.
Rated 05 Dec 2014
47
3rd
More sensational and meandering than the original, and you have to wonder why they give Byers so much attention when he clearly relishes it. edit: After seeing 3, it almost seems irresponsible what they did to Byers in hindsight. It makes the intent of the filmmaker's clear: entertainment, not truth.
Rated 19 Jan 2012
55
31st
This had very little content - just watching Byers be a look-at-me retard ad nauseam and "supporters" coming off as douchy semi-weirdos. Glad part 3 was better.
Rated 31 Aug 2011
80
66th
Not quite as intriguing as the first entry in this documentary series, but sheds new light on the case. It's unclear if Mark Byers is just playing up the nutjob act for the cameras, but most of the runtime is spent focused on his erratic, suspicious behavior rather than the boys convicted of the crime. If you liked the first film, this follow-up is a must-see.
Rated 19 Feb 2024
70
63rd
This one gets really freaky, with Byers having totally lost his marbles in a number of years. The convicted, on the other hand, seem to develop positively. Regardless of whether they killed anyone or not, I can immediately pick out who I'd rather have as a roommate, and that carries over to compatriotism also.
Rated 17 Sep 2007
70
63rd
disturbing
Rated 17 Aug 2014
100
99th
The word "revelations" has never been used more fittingly for so many reasons. This movie not only peels back all the unanswered layers of the first film, watches omnisciently as these deeply wounded and dubiously complex people act and react with baffling possibilities toward their intentions, and creates an unfathomable portrait of loss and pain, but also unravels as a candidly alarming profile of a man who may or may not have gotten away with murder.
Rated 18 Aug 2014
45
29th
About 20 minutes of flashback filler from the original doc. Add in 30 minutes of self-congratulatory puff, plus 45 or so minutes of desperate accusations of the enigmatic (and hilarious) John Mark Byers, and what you've got is a relatively pointless documentary sequel that directly contradicts everything that was righteous and good about the original. Nice helicopter shots though guys.
Rated 30 Dec 2009
80
55th
Made me more frustrated than anything. Why won't they find that dude with the brain tumour guilty? He's such a total frackin' freak! That's basically all the followup shows you. My heart goes out to those kids in jail for a crime they absolutely (within a totally reasonable doubt) didn't do. If you're going to watch this one, watch the first one first, because you won't understand this film without seeing the first.
Rated 23 Nov 2021
50
28th
Nowhere near as good as the first one it loses it's focus and high ground by both focusing and attacking John Mark Byers for the same reasons the West Memphis 3 were convicted. Still has some quality moments in the documentary but is by far the weakest and less objective of the trilogy.
Rated 18 Apr 2022
1
2nd
This has the same problems as the original, but a striking lack of new content, so it is endlessly repetitive with too much from local dramatic figures who essentially say nothing of value. Sleep through it if you must "watch" it.

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