Wednesday, May 5, 2010

my thoughts on.... 'Ed Gein: The Butcher of Plainfield'

well, here we go again.... another film from the same folks who brought you 'B.T.K.' and 'Bundy'.... and yet again, it's not really all that good.... i should have known.... and i did.... but i wanted to watch it anyway to see how off they were with the story.... and once again, they remade history.... i mean, some of the facts were right, but so much of it was made up and Kane Hodder as Ed Gein was a very poor choice.... Ed was a fairly lean and small older man, not some beefy younger guy who looks like he'll rip your head off.... i have no idea what they were thinking when they cast him.... but i didn't make the movie so i guess i can't bitch.

the story follows most of the real plot lines.... he was a loner who lived in Plainfield, WI and was a mama's boy even after she died.... he lived in the house he grew up in and kept to himself for the most part.... most people would say he was a nice man, but a bit odd.... Kane's Ed Gein doesn't carry that part off.... he liked to rob newly dug graves containing women who reminded him of his mother.... and do bad things to their bodies.... everything but having sex with them.... that he said he never did.... ("they smelled to bad.").... they don't show much of him with the corpses, which was the majority of his sickness.... he turned their parts into lapshades, chair covers, bowls, pull chains, etc.... in this movie they barely touch on that.... the only thing they show is the full skin suit that he made out of different women's skin and sewed them all together....

all in all, it kept my interest.... but Ed Gein only confessed to killing two people and they only tried and convicted him for one.... they never found that he killed anyone else.... in the movie, they show Ed killing a few more folks than just 2.... granted they show one of the real killings and elude to another.... however, it was just so hard to get past Kane Hodder in the role.... i mean, he did fine.... he proved he has some acting chops.... it just didn't work.... and the ending was just lame.... it's not something i would recommend that you watch.... unless you're a Kane fan or you just have a lot of time to kill....

2 out of 5 stars.... it's available on Netflix OnDemand right now.... so at least it's free.... i think i just know too much about the history of Ed Gein to allow myself to enjoy this movie for what it was, a piece of entertainment.... Ed is shown in the movie to be a serial killer, but the reality is.... he never was. a sicko and a messed up guy, but not a serial killer.... by definition, he would have to kill 3 or more people to qualify for that title.... but he did inspire a slew of characters based on his life and crimes that are the serial killers of little kids nightmares and ones that we all know and love.... so for that i guess he'll always be remembered.

if you dare watch this, make sure and watch these too: 'Deranged' (the much better Ed Gein story), 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' (1974) and 'The Silence of the Lambs'

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