ED GEIN (2007)

Directed by Michael Feifer. Starring Priscilla Barnes, Kane Hodder, Michael Berryman, Adrienne Frantz, Timothy Oman, Shawn Hoffman, Amy Lyndon. Horror/Drama/Gore/True Crime. Synopsis: Film based loosely on the real life serial killer Ed Gein, who killed, skinned, and cannibalized his victims in rural Wisconsin in the 1940's and '50's.

Its long been said that truth is stranger than fiction. In a lot of cases, such as the movie Ed Gein, truth is also a whole lot more interesting than fiction, too. Or at least, fiction based "loosely" on a true story.

Look, this is not a bad effort, not a bad effort at all. And the flick does not deserve placement in the "Duds" category, but, as much as I would like to, I can't really encourage anyone (not that any of you listen to me anyway...no hard feelings, I don't listen to myself most of the time) to pick up this flick. Good effort, nice intentions, some good actors, fertile story line. Just didn't work.

For those who are not familiar with the story of Ed Gein, he was one of the most vicious, if not prolific, serial killers in U.S. history, coming at a time before the term "serial killer" was in vogue. Over 50 when he was caught in 1957, Gein was a lifelong resident of north central Wisconsin who has an alcoholic father and a domineering mother who probably started him down the path to ruin with her talk about the evils of sex and alleged acts of humiliating her son (one story has it that she poured scalding water on his genitals after catching him engaged in self exploration as a child) Gein was a grave robber, cannibal, and also cut the skins off of his victims, mostly middle aged women) and had some skin suits in his filthy residence. He was tried for only two murders but was thought to have killed many more, including the murder of the mother of one of the deputies in the local sheriff's office.  He was found not guilty by reason of insanity and spent the rest of his life in a mental institution, dying in 1984. His story was part of the inspiration for such horror films as Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Psycho, and the "Buffalo Bill" character in Silence of the Lambs.  

Obviously, there is a lot to work with in this real life horror story. Unfortunately, Ed Gein falls flat because the story is, well, boring. The plot line is spread too thin among the ensemble cast, when the title character himself-or at least some focus on his motivation or morbid life style. Instead, Feifer focuses too much on the deputies involved but does not engage us or make them interesting enough for us.

Kane Hodder (Friday the 13th)  does a good job in his character, but that is part of the problem. This large, physically imposing actor is the opposite of the short, effeminate acting Gein. And, a picture of the real Gein during the opening credits doesn't help in this aspect as you can tell that the real butcher was not physically imposing at all, which adds to his madness and intrigue as well as helps explains how he was probably able to lure his victims to his remote home.

Michael Berryman (The Hills Have Eyes)  makes a brief appearance as Gein's brother, and Priscilla Barnes (The Devil's Rejects) is good but under utilized in her role as the mother of the deputy who falls victim to Gein. There is enough blood to satisfy fans of gore.

One other pet peeve: this film is set in northern Wisconsin in the 1950's, so why does almost the entire cast speak in southern accents and dialect (e.g. "y'all, "honey child")? I'm not trying to be too picky, but these are two distinct regions of the country-both of which I've spent time in-and the sounds are much different. I'm not saying there could not have been a transplanted southerner or two in this rural Wisconsin town, but almost everyone? If Feifer's next film is set in north central Georgia, will the cast be speaking with long "Os", hard consonants, and saying "eh" a lot? Or is it just the "Hollywood" assumption that all rural people everywhere all sound the same?

It's clear from the director's commentary that there was only basic familiarity with the real story by the cast and Feifer. Maybe that is not important to some viewers, but, to me, the whole reason to make a real life story into a movie is that it is interesting or important, so if you don't try to stay true to the real details, what's the point? Unless what you come up with in your "artistic license" product is compelling.

So, I can't recommend it, but if you do give it a chance, keep your expectations kind of low, which just might help you enjoy it more than I did.