Ed Gein (2001)

This is the true story of America’s first famous serial killer. Everyone in small Plainfield, Wisconsin thought Ed was just a little different, a local oddity. But Ed was tormented and haunted by years of family abuse and repression which led him to the brutal murders and mutilations of countless victims and corpses. In a remote farmhouse filled with the stench of death, Ed is driven to do unspeakable acts to his victims, acts that have become legend and the basis for future films like "Psycho" and the "Texas Chainsaw Massacre." This film will shock you with its unflinching horror and unforgettable performances from Steve Railsback and Carrie Snodgrass. No one will ever forget the true story of "Ed Gein."

Buy it!

The 1st thing you have to ask yourself is: are you interested about real psycho killers? do you like psychology? If your answer is Yes to both questions then you will like this movie. Special effects are bad, it looks like one of those cheap movies with inexperienced actors. these are the bad things. Now, the good things: it's the history about one of the most important psychopath in the world. it's almost funny, because this man is considered a psychopath but he only killed a few people comparing him with the others. This is the Ed Gein's mental file on video. I love it so much because I had to study his personality when I was in high school, so I got so excited when I saw this release.
Talking about technical DVD details. it has good quality video and sound. the DVD content is: Trailer, spanish subtitles and, of course, the chapter breaks. Nothing special but actors/actress did a good work on this one. Remember your answer to the questions at the beginning of this review if you want to buy it. July 27, 2008

Ed Gein

Very insightful, makes you think very closely how you treat your children. It can make quite an impact. Very frightening how a parent can mold a child's character for good or evil. Gives you a lot to think about. February 5, 2008

Grisly but accurate!

This grisly but fairly accurate accounting of the heinous crimes of Ed Gein should be of interest to those who remember this weirdly bizarre incident of the mostly serene 1950s. It is quite gory and graphic but in checking out the accuracy of the events depicted I found it reflected newspaper accounts and biographical facts concerning Gein and his crimes. Ed Gein was a despicable and psychotically insane criminal. According to Wikipedia there are movies (Psycho and others) and songs written about him. I should add that this movie is not for those who hate gory subject matter. January 11, 2008

Sick ! But also Great ! Love this movie.

Very disturbing, hard to believe that the storie is real,.. very well acted, desgusting at times and scarie, but you want to keep watching! I think is one of the best I own. December 21, 2007

You wonder what happens to some people

I've been a horror fan for years, and have always had a fascination as to what drives some people to do the things they do. Ed Gein was just such a man. And I wasn't disappointed, as this was truly horrifying.

Ed was a simple man, a little strange, a little socially maladjusted. He grew up in a rural community in Wisconsin, with his parents and brother, doing thing that rural people do. He lead a simple life, a simple life that no one but his mother was there to mold and shape. Mother Gein spent all her time telling Ed that women were the root of all evil, that so called "loose" women would ruin him and his brother, and spent many hours reading the Bible to them. She used these often misused passages to justify her own views to her kids, and Ed was the one who listened closest.

Perhaps Ed wanted to be a woman. Perhaps he just wanted free of the love / hate relationship he and all children have with their parents at some point or another. Maybe he just wanted to be free of the confines he felt his existence was. Maybe he just wanted to be loved. Whatever the reason, Ed became a very, very disturbed man who became dangerous.

What made this movie so scary was that while we know today that people like him exist among us in the most unlikely of places, Ed lived in a more innocent time when we weren't exposed to the evils of the world so much. If there were people out there who did the same things that Ed would do, no one knew about them. He became the first true celebrity serial killer.

The only thing this movie neglected to do was show us Ed's life after he was caught and put into a psychiatric hospital for the rest of his life. Ironically, Ed probably lived better during those years than anytime before. And maybe, just maybe, he reclaimed some sanity there. Like Norman Bates (who was later based on Ed) said, after all, "We all go a little mad from time to time".
December 13, 2007

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