Watch Ed Gein: The Butcher of Plainfield For Free

Sick Product of a Sick System

good back-story, and good acting

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Inspired by the true story of one of the most gruesome killers in American history...With big successes like "Psycho" and "Silence of the Lambs", the story of Ed Gein (in a highly fictionalized manner) has been told many times. The story was probably told best in a film called "Deranged". But this may be the runner-up.Clearly the writer-director did not want to tell the completely true story, because it there is enough deviation to show that this does not match up with Gein's life. There are some attempts, though -- such as his dead mother and brother, and at least they actually set the film in Plainfield (though being shot in California, it looks nothing like the place.)

I'd already read the reviews and board posts so I went into this movie knowing just two things: it had a bad title and Kane Hodder was the main character.Let's do the latter first. Kane Hodder really can act right down to realistic crying with tears. I thought he was especially menacing when doing mad-with-frustration. And maybe it's because I'm a Boomer, but I do believe Hodder gets hotter by the year, and I'm thrilled to see him in this role.Now about that title ... can a movie be renamed? It's a decent movie if you aren't in immediate need of fast-action cuts and head-to-toe gore, though there is plenty of that. I get that this is "in the same universe" as Ed Gein, but that doesn't make it an Ed Gein movie. It should have been presented as an alternate universe and "what if" fiction.If you can keep yourself planted in a fiction frame of mind, and you like slasher (kinda) movies then you might want to see this flick.Stars lost due to stupidity in title and false story presentation.

First the good points.This movie has a strong and effective atmosphere about it and does have an intensity about it. Thats about it. Ed Gein has a horrific and appalling history that is ultimately tragic, BUT, if you are into the history and cases of serial killers this movie is not for you. It is so far off the facts and story that it reminds me of a certain huge cartoon corporation that rewrites great literature to make it nice for the kiddies EXCEPT that in this movie the substitutions of facts for more horrific effect fails epically as they are rather less gruesome than the facts. Add to that the appalling acting and you have wasted 90 minutes that you could have been having fun in. I recommend reading the book instead.

I understand that Hollywood can't stick 100% to the facts, because reality isn't nearly as exciting as fiction. But this movie is just horrible. Kane Hodder was a horrible fit for this role. He was the same actor that played in a movie I saw about BTK, and in that role he was a perfect fit. Gein wasn't a raving psychotic mass murderer. And this movie portrays him as more of a "Jason Vorhees" type. The true story of Ed Gein is a very subdued and creepy story. Exceptionally psychological and pathological. I enjoy finding these types of films to try to understand a little bit more about the minds of these people and why they did the things they do. This movie won't give you any of that information. It's just a standard Hollywood bash and slash type horror film. If you're reading this review, and you haven't seen this film yet. Don't bother.