Search - Echo of Murder on DVD

Interesting side of the Atlanta Child Murders

07/21/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is an interesting 'true-crime' movie. The infamous Atlanta Child murders of 1979-1981 were suspiciously all pinned on Wayne Williams. This film shows the journey of two reporters from Spin Magazine (not exactly a credible source of criminal investigation) who travel to Atlanta to look deeper into the case. Quite a few conspiracy theories emerge. One theory, based on testimony from the locals, is that the kids were all involved in a child porno ring connected with the city's leaders, and were all killed to keep it from being uncovered. The primary theory that the reporters pursue is the organization of a white-power, ku klux klan group that murdered the children out of racial bias. The controversy occurs when a lead detective throws this out because he thinks it will start a race war if it's true. There are interesting demographics here because Atlanta was a thriving city and had a black mayor.
Drawbacks to the movie are present. Hines and Belushi do a bang-up job of overacting and consistently threaten the story with their poor drama skills. Also, hardly anything is said about Williams and his conviction, so I couldn't really tell if the arguments being made had any value. Nonetheless, an interesting movie with lots of information."