I'd have to agree with Chadwick's review that this is the worst movie about Ed Gein. It doesn't appear that the producers or screenwriter have done enough research (or read Harold Schecter's Deviant). Film is not life. It is the essence of life, and they seem to have missed the real essence of Ed Gein's. That's what makes Psycho, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Silence of the Lambs such good movies. These movies capture the essence of Gein without trying to do a biography of his life (or a doco disguised as a feature film drama) Biographies are what books are for. The movie has the pace of a book, (which would be fine if it was a book).
The aspects that stick out as bad (tragic) in this film are:
(1)Ed's general cleanliness. For a bloke who has already robbed numerous graves, indulged in necrophilia with vulvas, and cannibalism, he looks as neat and tidy as a public servant.
(2)The order in the house. When the police arrived at the Gein house, even seasoned detectives were horrified, but there is little horror in this house. Even the lady who comes with the intention to swap farms is only slightly mortified.
(3) Ed's mother. She is too petite and bears little resemblance to either Mary Hogan or Bernice Worden, yet these were crucial psychological factors in Ed choosing them. Once again they have missed the essence of Ed Gein. Gein saw these woman as similar to his mother, both physically, and because they were both running successful businesses without the aid of a partner, which Augusta Gein did to buy the Plainfield farm. Also Augusta Gein's religious fanatacism was Methodist in origin, yet she is portrayed in the film as having a Catholic spirituality. Augusta Gein's puritan morality was a big factor in the formation of Ed's warped and twisted view of life, yet the essence of it is not captured in this film. Not enough attention is given to it, and this is undoubtedly a structural problem with the film. It appears that structure is the main problem with the film itself. (Where to start, where to end, and which bits of Ed's life to include, the last being the one they failed most miserably on).
I could go on and on about the problems with this film but I wont.
*(1 star) - Not even a good doco.
PS, I have never seen it (because I haven't been able to get a copy) but someone said that 'Deranged' is a good film about Old Ed.
