The Fear of 13

As equally terrifying as it was captivating a horrific true story so eloquently told that I felt like I was living it through merely watching him say their retelling the events something rarely done to this effect. Definitely worth a watch even if slightly haunting.

The story of Nick Yarris was completely alien to me before I saw this documentary. The first impression I got when introduced to him was that of great sadness and loss. His face and body looked tired, drained from whatever he had experienced - at the end I understood why.

The Fear of 13 does not necessarily tackle new issues; nor does it highlight anything one hasn't seen before. The struggles of convicts, their fight for survival inside a maximum security prison is no new genre. However, this story sucks you in from the beginning and keeps you listening all the way to the end. Stripping the documentary down to the bare essentials keeps it intriguing. Atmospheric music complements Yarris' somber voice with recreated scenes as he opens up about his past. And although the narrative of death row inmates have been shared before, there is an eloquence about Yarris that makes his story unique. There are times when I doubted the authenticity of certain professed anecdotes, but it was hard to disagree with the vigor in which he spoke about them.

I have no patience for documentaries that aim to tug a variety of heart-strings and make it obvious from the first few frames. Nick Yarris's story is different, perhaps mostly because it's treated objectively by the film's director. Instead of an hour and a half of old morality play, we simply sit and listen to a guy tell his incredible tale. At no point does Yarrow pretend to be anyone other than himself; at no point does he ask us to see him differently. He just tells us what happened to him, the good and the terrible, and does not ask us to judge, convict, or even forgive.

It is for that reason that I found his story so compelling and emotionally evocative. It is, perhaps, a reminder that we all have amazing, emotional stories to tell and that we should all try to sit back and listen more often.

Nick Yarris was convicted of a horrible crime and sentenced to death – this is his story. It is basically Nick telling the story of his life to camera and mostly done in a chronological fashion. There is some re enactment of his past life as a child but that is a small part of the film.

For a film that basically just has one man talking to the camera for the majority of the time, this is incredibly powerful. It is an amazing, sad and moving story and I challenge anyone not to be moved by it. I watched it over a week ago and have only just decided to write a review to see if the film had lost any of its potency and nope it has not.

To say any more runs the risk of spoiling the story so I will demur, this is recommended to anyone who appreciates the uniqueness that real life can portray and who appreciate quality in their film making.

I've watched many documentaries about crime and listened to people who have committed crimes.

I don't usually rate documentaries because they provide different information that is important across the board and I can't put a rating on that.

This is my first ever review and the reason why I chose to review this film is because it's one of the most captivating and detailed story I've ever listened to, about crimes someone have committed. Throughout the film, I kept asking myself, why is this (former) prisoner so good at storytelling and why was he in prison, it is almost like you almost can't believe that the story actually happened because of the way he was conveying it. The cinematics were just enough to compliment Nick Yarris' story which made it all together very engaging and beautiful. Even though he went back and forth in history while he told his story, it was still easy to understand because it all came together as he spoke.

A wonderful story that everyone should hear.