my very brief thoughts on.... 'Deranged'

Ed Gein has been written about, puzzled over, studied, and portrayed on film in many different ways.... not always as himself, but aspects of his life and crimes have been mixed in with other characters.... he's generally considered the first serial killer, however he was more of a grave robber than a killer.... he was only ever convicted of killing 2 people.... but the police think it may have been as many as 15.... therefore, he never qualified as a serial killer.... but regardless, that's the way he's remembered is as a murderer either way.... in 1974, they made probably the most accurate movie about the life of Ed Gein.... it's pretty melodramtic and dated, but if you've read the history of Ed Gein you'll see how closely they match up with the reality.... i've actually seen this movie twice.... not intentionally, it just kind of happened.... and the second time i wasn't sure until the very end that i'd already seen it.... i don't know if i liked it any better or worse the second time around, but i did get a little more out of it....

Ed Gein was a mama's boy.... he loved his mother more than anything else.... and when she died, he had an extremely difficult time coping with her death.... instead of moving on, he went and dug up her corpse and kept it in his home.... this wasn't the end of his graverobbing.... eventually he made it a regular thing.... and his home slowly turned into a museum of the macbre.... full of skulls, bones, severed body parts, lamps made of skin, a full skin body suit, and more.... things just get worse and worse with his obsession until he takes it to the next level and kills.... this proves to be a shocking revelation for the people of his small town.... the fact that a mama's boy like Eddie Gein could commit such horrific crimes....
there have been many better movies based on parts of Ed Gein's life and there may be more made at a later date.... i wouldn't be surprised.... but until that happens, this is the best one to date.... (stay away from the Kane Hodder movie 'Ed Gein: The Butcher of Plainfield'.... it's pure and utter shit.).... i gave this movie a 2 out of 5 star rating.... it's not a good movie overall.... it is what it is....Roberts Blossom does an amazing job of bringing Eddie to life.... he creates a living and breathing man out of a subpar script.... his commitment to the role is intense.... sometimes it's so over the top that you want to laugh, but he's such a presence that you can't stop watching and don't end up laughing.... currently it's not available to rent, but you can watch it OnDemand from Netflix.... that's how i saw it.... before you delve into his depraved world, please do some research on him first.... learn all the details and view the crime scene photos.... it brings the whole story to life and you can see how much time and effort was put into this recreation of his life.... no matter how dark and twisted it was.

if you watch this, then also check out these loosely based Ed Gein movies: 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' (1974), 'The Silence of the Lambs', and 'Psycho' (1960)

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'