Ed Gein DVD > Reviews > Portrait Of A Serial Killer: But Not A Pretty One!

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Indifferent to it
Story	Satisfactory
Characters / Performances	Satisfactory
Special Effects	Good
How does it compare to similar films?	Satisfactory

Advantages:	A great performance by Carrie Snodgress
Disadvantages:	Dated, a bit dull and far too much sumising

Recommend to potential buyers:

no

Full review

A few years ago I began watching the movie Ed Gein, Ed Gein is a true life character whose exploits are said to have inspired movies The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Silence Of The lambs. I never saw the end of Ed Gein, but a recent documentary on Channel 4 inspired me to dig out my old DVD to have a proper look.

The documentary I had seen featured a large amount of newsreel footage showing people in the small town being amazed that Ed Gein had turned out to be a serial killer; and this is the first parallel odd of the movie. You see the movie was supposed to be the closest and most accurate detail to real events; yet the movie makes it clear that the residents of the town thought Ed to be more than a little odd. This is all made apparent within 10 minutes of the movie starting. I have done no research on Ed Gein the character, but obviously this is quite a confusing situation for someone to be in.

Putting the documentary aside and pushing on with the movie, as the feature starts it again features real footage of townsfolk saying they were surprised by the actions of Ed Gein. This is obviously set after the events that the movie tells us about.

The opening image shows Steve Railsback as the character Ed Gein digging up a body from a graveyard, this then cuts to a scene with Gein casting a spell almost on the body back at hid farmhouse. In this spell he announces that this woman was a woman of God and that by spending a life doing good he commands her to return to life, obviously this never happens.

We are then given various skits into the life of Ed Gein, his strange sense of humour (which is in fact the truth but everyone believes he is kidding), some strange behaviour, macabre scenes of his home parts of which are partitioned off, Ed's strange fits triggered off by various events usually laughing. But most importantly the odd relationship Ed had with his mother Augusta; portrayed by the late Carrie Snodgress. Augusta ruled over her children Ed and Henry with a rod of iron, each night preaching to them from the bible and condemning any lewd behaviour.

The movie shows a series of small trauma's from Ed's childhood, possibly paving the way for Ed's later behaviour. Ed for the most part seemed quite a normal child with the exception of his less than normal upbringing. Its not until Ed's father dies as a result of alcoholism that things obviously change. When Henry announces he is going to go and live with a woman and her children, and then mocks Augusta; Ed reacts in the only way he knows how, by striking Henry dead with one foul swoop. And this is where Ed's killing spree and obsession with the dead begins.

The movie is quite a slow burning tale, focusing on the causes of events. Which to me seem kind of fictionalised, the reason I state this is simply because a lot of scenes are played out in some detail with the victims or dead bodies. What the movie does make clear is that Ed Gein, while being a murderer is not quite the serial killer we are all lead to believe, and that many of the bodies are of victims that have already died. But in honesty this to me is the only surprise, the trouble with well publicised stories turned into movies is that we all know before viewing how they are going to end. This to me explains the lack of popularity for this style of movie. Between 1988 and this year a lot of stories of killers have been turned into movies Karla, Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer (2 movies both the same year), Ed Gein and Henry Lee Lucas (Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer, the only real successful movie of this type; but that was based on its graphic content instead of the story or the movies merits); with the exception of the last name all the movies were flops, either the content is too close to the bone for some, or they already know so much of the story that they need know anymore. Yet fictionalised stories that borrow from these events like Silence Of The Lambs and Texas Chainsaw Massacre both the most popular movies of their genre work because the ending is not known.

Ed Gein worse still is not a great movie, its based to much on events that nobody can be sure took place. And while the first 40 minutes are quite riveting viewing, the movie soon turns almost into a Friday The 13th style franchise picture with lots of psychological probing into what Ed is going through. The other commendation from my point of view is the performance of Carrie Snodgress as Augusta, Snodgress herself a woman with various "issues" in her real life, one of which caused her passing plays the role with tremendous strength and power. For her role alone I'd recommend seeing the movie; but in honesty for no other reason. I'd not recommend renting or purchasing this rather dated movie, however if you have access to Film Four then you might want to give it a glance.

Cast

Steve Railsback .... Ed Gein
Carrie Snodgress .... Augusta W, Gein
Carol Mansell .... Collette Marshall
Sally Champlin .... Mary Hogan
Steve Blackwood .... Brian
Nancy Linehan Charles .... Eleanor
Bill Cross .... George Gein
Travis McKenna .... Ronnie
Jan Hoag .... Irene Hill
Brian Evers .... Henry Gein
Pat Skipper .... Sheriff Jim Stillwell

Ed Gein is available on the Prism Leisure label RRP £4.99; or on the Tartan Extreme label priced £13.99.

Beware the shrunken heads!