The Fear of 13 [Movie Review]

[SPOILERS]

The Fear of 13 is a documentary about Nick Yarris, a man on death row for the murder of Linda Mae Craig. The hook to the tale is that he has asked for his execution to be hurried, and the viewer follows his explanation of his life and what led him to his decision.

And boy, it's tearjerking.

He speaks about solitary confinement after his trial. Yarris states, “You can still hear your mother crying after the trial...You can still smell the aftershave on the witnesses, man.” He goes on to say, "Every detail is just eating you alive" and describes the brutality he faced at the hands of prison guards. After getting caught after an escape, Yarris speaks of how he'd hit his head on the wall.

However, there are brighter, hopeful moments. An earlier story depicts two male lovers who could only find solace in prison in a time of rampant homophobia, and how, when one would be transferred, the other sang at the risk of physical violence, which was allowed by the prison lieutenant. Yarris also describes how not only music helps him, but after he started self-harming and needing to be treated for his injuries, a guard gave him books to read. Though Yarris struggled at first, he read approximately ten-thousand books that essentially saved his life. "True storytelling is the telling of life," he states as he gives the viewer the painful account of his life.

Overall, the documentary is engrossing and well-shot. I read a review that criticized Yarris's storytelling, but I cannot disagree more. His tale is a winding ride. Essentially, it's revealed that Yarris is innocent and a victim of child sexual trauma. Though he seems to not show bitterness because he is now thankfully free and can live life to its fullest, I cannot help but be bitter on his behalf because of all his suffering. Still, he did find kindness, and even in the film when he loses all of his material possessions, all of his books and drawings, he reasons, "If you're gonna take everything from me--okay then, instead, I think I'll give myself everything." It is a consolation to know that he is living the life he wants now, though it is still tragic that he was not only incarcerated for over two decades, but that Linda Mae Craig lost her life.

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