Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
In the early-morning hours of July 23, 2007, in Cheshire, Conn., ex-convicts Steven Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky broke into the family home of William Petit, his wife, Jennifer, and their daughters, Michaela, 11, and Hayley, 17. Dr. Petit was beaten and tied to a pole in the basement. The three women were bound in their bedrooms while the men ransacked the house. The brutal ordeal continued throughout the morning, ending with rape, arson and a horrific triple homicide.
This HBO documentary examines the harrowing 2007 Cheshire home invasion murders with care and restraint, weaving together victim testimony, trial footage, and broader questions about the death penalty and justice. The narrative structure is solid but follows a fairly conventional true-crime documentary format. Cinematography is functional rather than distinctive — standard interview setups and archival footage without notable visual ambition. The subject matter is inherently compelling and the filmmakers show sensitivity toward the survivors, giving it above-average novelty within the genre for its moral inquiry angle. The ending, which grapples with the unresolved emotional aftermath and death-penalty debates, is thoughtful but somewhat inconclusive, leaving viewers without strong catharsis. There are no traditional 'actors' — participants are real people — so Acting is rated on the effectiveness of subjects' on-camera presence, which is raw and authentic but uneven across interviewees.