This isn’t exactly a review of the documentary Into the Abyss. For one thing, I am only a bit over halfway through it. And for another, it’s not the sort of thing that lends itself to review.

The basic idea is that legendary awesome German person Werner Herzog interviews the people involved with a triple homicide that took place in Conroe, Texas back in the early 2000’s. He talks to the killers, the families of the victims, the police officers who investigated the crime, and others.

The interviews are extraordinary. They are candid, honest, brutal, stark, succinct, and very human. I have no idea what magic Herzog uses to get such perfect footage. I literally cannot imagine how it could be better in terms of the demands of the documentary he was making.

The story could not be more bleak. Two teenage boys decided they wanted to steal a red Camaro (what is it about rednecks and Camaros?). First, they were going to con their way into the home of the person who owned the car and steal the keys and drive off. (Criminal masterminds, they were not. )

But that didn’t work, so they decided they would just kill the person instead. The person being a middle aged housewife who was in the middle of making cookies when she died.

Then then wrapped her in a sheet and dumped her in a lake. But oh no, when they drove back to the gated community where she lived, the gate was locked and they couldn’t get in.

So they murdered her son (and his friend) for the clicker to get the gate to open.

This could not possibly be a better example of the hard cold reality of the banality of brutality. There is absolutely nothing to admire or respect in the crime, nothing glamorous or daring or even intelligent.

It’s just two dumb boys with terrible backgrounds who decided they wanted that red Camaro.

And what do you know, they were between the ages of 18 and 25. (Want to know the real cause of crime? Males age 18-25. )

In every interview segment, you can just feel the bleakness of life in Conroe. This is a place where men going to jail is a regular occurrence. People treat it like it’s just one of those things that can happen to people. So is violence. One guy told of getting stabbed with a screwdriver all the way to the handle and not even bothering to go to the hospital after because he had to get to work.

And he talked about it in such a casual way, too. Like it’s just one of those things.

It is pretty much exactly what happens in the inner cities of the USA, except it’s in small town America.

You know… Real America.

I come from a place not entirely unlike Conroe. Summerside had its share of young men without futures because their chances of employment were so damned slim and their unstable upbringings have made them ill-prepared for life and full of anger at absent fathers and negligent mothers anyhow, so when they get jobs, they can’t keep them.

There’s not nearly as much violence and death, but then again, we’re not Americans. We’re not that crazy. My home town averages one murder per decade.

Honestly, most people just plain don’t have the ambition.

So I feel like I at least partially get Conroe and its residents. I know how that kind of life drives young men crazy. How they get stuck in this state of arrested development, never able to become real men because they can’t support themselves and the humiliation of that drives them into excesses of drugs, drinking, spousal abuse, child abuse, and all the other consequences of “working class” life.

It’s tough to be a working class person in a place with no work.

As you can tell, this is a very dark, depressing subject, and the documentary is certainly taking an emotional toll on me. And yet, I have to admit, I am really enjoying it.

And that’s…. not exactly normal. Part of it is simply my fascinating with crime and its roots. There is so much I want to know about this senseless act. What drives someone to say “Well then, we’ll just go kill her.”? And why these guys? What is it about them that made them capable of something so senseless for so petty a reason? There are a lot of alienated young men who are out of control in the world, but most of them wouldn’t kill anybody in cold blood like that.

But they wanted that shiny red Camaro. I am sure that in their minds, they felt that once they had such an awesome car, everything would be great. That is how young people think. Once you have a car like that, you will be invincible in your awesomeness. All your peers will be impressed, you will get girls, and life will be sweet.

So there is my fascination with crime. And in general, I am attracted to the dark like a reverse moth. I feel like I am the sort of person who can go to the dark places and do what needs to be done. Think the thoughts that need to be thought but that most people would rather not think. Examine the darkness and learn its ways so I can protect people from it. Etcetera.

But also, I think I find things like this documentary cathartic, and hence almost soothing. Something about going deep into the heart of darkness and dealing with the world’s pain and suffering helps me to externalize my own inner blackness.

Art can do that. It can express your inner thoughts for you so that you don’t have to remove that thorn from your side yourself. The natural desire to avoid things that are depressing or sad might just keep you from an experience that will really help you in the end.

Anyhow, that’s my ramble through the brambles for today. Seeya tomorrow folks!@