The Waco Siege is an event in history that's always haunted me, even when knowing nothing about it. Ever since I was young, I vividly remembered the sight of the burning compound. Regardless of how I saw it, that haunting image stuck in my head forever. My quest for answers always led me to a dead-end; every story I heard was different. Throughout my life, I've heard various explanations for this event. Some classified it as a mass suicide; most were just as clueless as me. Eventually, I decided to move on; especially with acts of terrorism overtaking this one event in my mind.

I never revisited this memory until now, seeing an extensive documentary on the subject seemed like my dream come true. Frankly, I don't know how it took me this long to watch Rules of Engagement. I expected to learn a lot about the Waco Siege, and I did. What I didn't expect was Rules of Engagement being one of the bleakest, most horrific, depressing documentaries I've ever seen. Rules of Engagement was an experience that slowly broke me over its running time. I swept through various emotions, from unrestrained frustration to pure emotional pain, and by the end, I couldn't even move. While it's safe to brand the Davidians of Waco as "just another cult," the truth of the matter is far harsher than that.

Waco: Rules of Engagement is an investigative, journalistic documentary, and it does a fantastic job at that. It alternates through footage and photographs of the event, footage of the courts, interviews with people connected to the siege, and the Davidians themselves. The most unforgettable of which are interviews with Davidians who perished the day of the attack. The film strings all of these clips together seamlessly, all of them building off one another in an informative and emotional way. The transition to children of Waco waving to the camera was the most brutal on my emotions. I broke down so bad that I needed to pause the film to catch my bearings.

Despite the running time being longer than most documentaries I've seen, Rules of Engagement earns it whole-heartedly. Every piece of footage builds onto the information and the connection to the struggles of the Davidians and FBI/ATF; it'd be wrong to remove any of it. Rules of Engagement delves into all of the irresponsible decisions made by the FBI and ATF. For some, it only starts as poor judgments from the ATF. Regardless, the acts of the FBI are nothing but malice for David Koresh and his followers. The soul-crushingly slow descent into chaotic violence in Rules of Engagement is unforgettable. With all of the preventable measures that could've happened, the image of that burning compound haunts far more by the end.

Waco: Rules of Engagement decides to tell all of this tastefully as well. It shows itself through detached footage and recreations, yet it's not a dull lesson. We often experience the events through the eyes of Davidians then and now. Rules of Engagement also gives the audience an overview of what being a Davidian meant, only providing the necessary information before moving on. Despite the dissection of far-away infrared footage and the showcase of the various perspectives, that human connection is there throughout - to David Koresh, the followers, and everyone else involved.

It all leads to the chilling aftermath of the Waco Siege, and the response of government officials and survivors. As to not ruin the experience for the readers, I won't say anything more. As a whole, Rules of Engagement helped me understand the events that always stuck in my mind in ways I never anticipated. Regardless if I see it again anytime soon, it will stay in the back of my head like the event it documents. Not only for the images and events but the raw experience it provoked out of me. Whether or not everyone will find this one as heart-crushingly bleak as me, I can't say for sure. Either way, I need some time.