Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four

Released Sep 14, 2016

1h 31m

Documentary

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100%

12 Reviews

Tomatometer

50%

50+ Ratings

Audience Score

After being wrongfully convicted of gang-raping two little girls during the Satanic Panic witch-hunt era of the '80s and '90s, four Latina lesbians fight against mythology, homophobia and prosecutorial fervor in their struggle for exoneration.

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Fandango at Home

Prime Video

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Candice Frederick

Reel Talk Online

Without the sloppy presentation of the confounding facts at the end of the film, it would have been a more impactful film. But what it does succeed at is bringing attention to a case that should never really be forgotten.

Rated: B-

Mar 22, 2017

Full Review

Robert Abele

Los Angeles Times

Tells a miscarriage of justice tale that practically bursts with societal issues to address: homophobia, socioeconomic inequality, child abuse, trial misconduct, tabloid hysteria, junk science and innocence advocacy.

Sep 29, 2016

Full Review

Sheila O'Malley

RogerEbert.com

A powerful act of advocacy.

Rated: 3/4

Sep 16, 2016

Full Review

David Bax

Battleship Pretension

See this movie not just for its astonishing story but as inspiration to find a way to help these people and the legion of misunderstood, unfairly judged outsiders just like them.

Jan 5, 2021

Full Review

Alexander Ryll

Gay Essential

This gut-wrenching real-life drama presents an unfiltered look at what a myopic and prejudiced is capable of.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 15, 2019

Full Review

Jennie Kermode

Eye for Film

Bringing together interviews with the main players, court transcripts and archive footage from the time, Southwest Of Salem is detailed and comprehensive but never drags. It's difficult viewing for all the right reasons.

Rated: 4/5

Nov 30, 2016

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Audience Member

Good. Just a little reminder of how careful you have to be around kids. I hope common sense will prevail in the future since these types of episodes can be frequent.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The documentary itself is rather bland and drags on, but it is a fascinating story. Four women wrongfully convicted of molesting two little girls. Their guilt based on junk science, hysteria about Satanists and blatant homophobia.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

Full Review

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Synopsis

After being wrongfully convicted of gang-raping two little girls during the Satanic Panic witch-hunt era of the '80s and '90s, four Latina lesbians fight against mythology, homophobia and prosecutorial fervor in their struggle for exoneration.

Director: Deborah Esquenazi
Producer: Jim Butterworth, Daniel J. Chalfen, Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements
Distributor: FilmRise
Production Co: Investigation Discovery, Naked Edge Films, Motto Pictures
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 14, 2016, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 9, 2017
Runtime: 1h 31m

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