The Fear of 13

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.

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.

There are no words to express how deeply moving this documentary film is. I don't think there is an another actor or the like who could have told this story the way Nick Yarris tells it. He truly has a gift in this documentary that lures you deeper and deeper into the story. His expression of how some little things in life can change you and make you a better person and even stronger is spectacular. I truly hope that this documentary and Nick himself receives the recognition it so well deserves. I'll be watching this in the Academy Awards for best documentary category. I am an avid fan of true murder mystery documentaries and have watched countless over the years and I highly doubt that any other documentary will touch me how this one did. Nick Yarris is an incredibly strong man who is the hero in his own life.

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.

The first thing that struck me about this film was Mr Yarris's incredible story telling ability. It is non-fiction but I immediately had to IMDb it to check because I was sure he was an actor. His talent with words and elegance with delivery grows throughout the film. This, coupled with skillfully placed flash back scenes, completely immerse you into the story. Yarris's life could easily be argued as one of the most tragic ever to be lived. For a film which is essentially a 90 minute interview, I was completely blown away by how much it entertained me and moved me. A dark horse of quality film and story telling. Added to my repeat watch list and recommended to everyone I know.