Surprisingly good umpteenth re-telling of Ed Gein seems to be the most on-track with how the notorious nutcase's life went down. There's a scene early on where a neighbor proclaims to Ed after going to the movie show with her son, "You guys are going to those horror movies all the time." Ed answers tellingly, "They're very educational." I think this film successfully lets us see what can happen to a man mentally wounded by the upbringing of an overbearing, fanatical mother. The film shows how she seems to be the guiding force behind the murders and cover-ups. For instance, mother(commandingly played by Carrie Snodgress)manipulatively commands Ed to kidnap and kill a bar matron named Mary(Sally Champlin)for dirty-mouthed hussies deserved to have their mouths washed out with poison. And, poor store clerk Collette(Carol Mansell)is singled out for no apparent reason but mainly perhaps she represents that lust that is dormant in Ed's heart. Somehow, despite mama Augusta's death, a huge part of her remains inside Ed's mind..a towering presence that can manipulate and order him to do things.
If you see a loosely, but at times accurate film from the early 70's, DERANGED, both are similar in ways, but have a different feel towards the circumstances regarding Ed's situation. This film plays Ed's life more matter-of-factly without the dark humor that lay at the heart of DERANGED. This film wants to show us the way Ed was without winking at how absurd he was and his bizarre, sick habits regarding skinning victims and eating their innards..often feeding the unaware neighbors next door people they've know from the city. The film also shows how Augusta's insistent disgust towards "modern women" has penetrated Ed enough where he can not remain around females who are different from his mother. Her quoting from the bible, mainly Revelations, is often reverberating around in his skull bearing down on him to "do God's work" so that his mother could return to earth to be with him. Steve Railsback, a criminally underrated actor, again is perfect as another serial killer(he portrayed Charles Manson amazingly in "Helter Skelter" in 1976 made-for-TV effort)with Ed Gein. He seems to tap into the man's simple-mindedness and delusional, quiet madness. He makes him strange, but also deceptively harmless. We can see why we might be leery to hang around him, but trusting him doesn't seem that difficult. The film isn't that gory, but does show how he does the work mother tells him to do.
If you see a loosely, but at times accurate film from the early 70's, DERANGED, both are similar in ways, but have a different feel towards the circumstances regarding Ed's situation. This film plays Ed's life more matter-of-factly without the dark humor that lay at the heart of DERANGED. This film wants to show us the way Ed was without winking at how absurd he was and his bizarre, sick habits regarding skinning victims and eating their innards..often feeding the unaware neighbors next door people they've know from the city. The film also shows how Augusta's insistent disgust towards "modern women" has penetrated Ed enough where he can not remain around females who are different from his mother. Her quoting from the bible, mainly Revelations, is often reverberating around in his skull bearing down on him to "do God's work" so that his mother could return to earth to be with him. Steve Railsback, a criminally underrated actor, again is perfect as another serial killer(he portrayed Charles Manson amazingly in "Helter Skelter" in 1976 made-for-TV effort)with Ed Gein. He seems to tap into the man's simple-mindedness and delusional, quiet madness. He makes him strange, but also deceptively harmless. We can see why we might be leery to hang around him, but trusting him doesn't seem that difficult. The film isn't that gory, but does show how he does the work mother tells him to do.