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1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 "If you want to roast an Irishman ... " Dec 02, 2011
By E. Hernandez
WHO KILLED ATLANTA'S CHILDREN? (released as ECHO OF MURDER, writ./dir. Charles Robert Carner, 2000, 105 minutes, for Showtime television) is a sad sort of attempt at exposition of facts. In the most lackluster performances I've ever seen, Gregory Hines is Ron Larson and Jim Belushi is Pat Laughlin, "Spin" magazine reporters from New York, investigating the Atlanta child murders that occurred between 1979 and 1981. The trouble with films like these is the skill and cinematic considerations mean nothing compared to the subject. And that's always a license to do everything badly.
As some may recall - I vividly do - during a twenty-three month period between 1979 and 1981, over 30 black children, nearly all boys, were murdered in Atlanta. In July, 1980, after 14 children (possibly more) had been murdered, the mothers of some of the victims formed the Committee to Stop the Children's Murders. The group claimed genocide was taking place, and they gave the Atlanta PD a hard time. A child would disappear about every 25 days. People, especially residents of the Techwood housing project, believed the KKK was responsible.
This rattle-trap of a movie, then, follows our two intrepid investigators as they probe the killings, the APD, even the Georgia Bureau of Investigation in an effort to apparently exonerate Wayne Williams. It's sort of a pathetic ruse as presented here. What they discover is a KKK plot to start a race war, giving everyone an excuse to kill all blacks. They uncover GBI cover-ups, gagged agents, moles in the KKK and KKK moles among the authorities. The film is compelling, a bit of a horror show with the dead bodies shown, and somewhat tough to prove.
It doesn't help that the acting is so bad I actually shouted at the TV (then again I often do that). The cinematography is good, with some innovative details that have inspired filmmaking. Trouble is, the acting and the story don't bear under the weight. That is always the director's fault, and here you can see everyone was in a hurry to shoot the scene and get the hell out of Atlanta. Sad. Yet it is a story that interests, frightens and angers.
Is any of it at all true? I found news mentions of a large family, KKK members, who are portrayed in this film. They are believed to be the KKK death squad that tried to start a race war and may have murdered over 100 boys from 1979 to well beyond 1983. This is all speculation. Wayne Williams, the convicted killer, remains in jail serving consecutive life terms.
Not much is out there to study. In July 2000, snotty "Time" magazine reporter Richard Corliss wrote: "The case of the Atlanta child murders [in which] 29 young blacks killed ... was grisly, compelling and pertinent. So why isn't the tale of two "Spin" journalists, who later wrote a story implicating white racists in the crimes, a potent TV movie? Because Charles Robert Carner, the writer-director, blithely shuffles fact and innuendo ... his idea of cinematic action is to have people walk briskly and talk loudly while the camera jitters ... Because Gregory Hines and Jim Belushi, as the "Spin" sleuths, are ... cop-bad cop. And because the white suspects are yokels .... Your Honor, please, can we have a little order in this courtroom drama?" Well, no one can accuse Corliss of being Walter Cronkite or William Shakespeare.
Incredibly, all this has led to nothing but more theories. Hashed and rehashed, backward, silly theories. CNN reported in June of 2010 that 11 deaths were presented to the jury in Williams' trial. He wasn't charged, but he was convicted in the murder of two adults whose bodies were found in 1981.
CNN reported that Williams had to be guilty, simultaneously expressing the idea that it was hard to believe he was the only guilty party. It's Silly season again, and we cannot afford to play this type of kick-ball with such horrid crimes. In any case the film ends in 1992, with a GBI agent getting some heat for destroying evidence of a KKK sting (because he was a member). What I hated most is the film actually expresses the idea that it is presenting us with hard facts. Williams remains in jail.
So I say get this film, swallow hard and recall it is not the best of filmmaking. Something like this could never be made today, and it has technical merits if nothing else. Watch the story, decide for yourself what's valid and what's bacon lard. I cannot help thinking this film was forced on everyone involved.
I award one star for effort and one for the technical merits.
3 of 4 found the following review helpful:
 Echo of Murder Feb 10, 2010
By TREND700
"TREND700"
In the early 1980's there was someone killing the children of Atlanta. Eventually a single man was caught and convicted in one of the largest manhunts in our nation's history. Ever since the case has been closed until four years later two reporters investigate charges that the original investigation was filled with errors and tainted evidence. They seek to find the truth behind the Atlanta Child Murders. This movie is incredible. It tells the true story of two reporters as they try to uncover a conspiracy concerning the murders of young African American children from poverty-stricken areas of Atlanta. The actors are superb but yet manage to keep you focused on the heart-wrenching story of innocence lost without letting you stray from the point at hand.
2 of 3 found the following review helpful:
 Movie and Service Apr 14, 2010
By D. McCammon
This movie is pretty great. It takes place a few years after The Atlanta Child Murders case was "solved" and goes into a secret investigation of the KKK's connection to the case. The main characters are a reporter and a magazine editor who initially were just looking for a story and ended up finding a lot more than they bargained for.
The movie is based off the article in the September 1986 edition of SPIN magazine.
The DVD was delivered in a timely fashion, and I was very satisfied with it.
3 of 5 found the following review helpful:
Interesting side of the Atlanta Child Murders Jul 21, 2002
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.
2 of 6 found the following review helpful:
 A Wannabe Oliver Stone Conspiracy Flick But More Absurd Than JFK Apr 30, 2009
By Bellerophon
The movie fails to advance its theory that Wayne Williams was not responsible for the murders. In fact, the producers are only interested in ignoring facts in favor of any scenario, no matter how improbable, that absolves Williams as the sole person responsible for the crimes. Since the arrest of Williams, the murders stopped. Why would this sci-fi flick want to address that fact? But those who get a kick out of mediocre acting and conspiracy woo should find it to their taste.
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