Rating: 
Summary: Superb
Review: What makes this movie great is that it isn't just another slasher movie; in fact, almost all of the violence takes place off screen. The film does a fantastic job of documenting the life of one of the most bizzare serial killers of all time. Worth every penny!
Rating: 
Summary: LISTEN UP!
Review: AN ex-tra-ordinary labor of love [if one can call it that] by Mr. Railsback ~ such an underrated and unappreciated actor. This one is it folks - a chilling look [without unnecessary gore and muck] at the genesis for Norman, Bill, so many more .....Another winner? Carrie Snodgress as Mama .... also cast aside by the mill, BUT BESIDES that if you want a view into something very disturbing [that .... moonlight dance ..... Now, 'Silence' didn't dare to enter THAT territory .... and remember - this IS fact!] OK! Enough gushing ... this one's all about obsession, loss and {somewhat} gain .... err Gein .... Once seen - never forgotten .... Just hope that Mr. Railsback continues [SUCH an unappreciated artist]. Production values are economic but appropriate - smatters slightly of Terry {'Bad Lands'} Malick's early works .... well worth seeing ... it's really all about loss? [The big-budget one's don't come close to this one!]
Rating:
Summary: Well Made but Somewhat a Hit and Miss Film.
Review: A Man in his late forties, who lived in a Small Community of Plainfield, Wisconsin. A local oddity by the name of Ed Gein (Steve Railsback), who is just a little different from that town. Ed was tormented and abused years ago by his parents, especially his Mother (Carrie Snodgress). Since Ed's Repression brought out the worst of him, which lead to brutal muders and countless mutilations from his Victims and Corpses. Directed by Chuck Parello made a Horrific, Unflinching Horror film. Which is Based on a True Story of America's First Famous Serial Killer. Railsback, who played a Mass Murderer before in Helter Skelter back in 1976 for a two-part TV movie, which he gived a Vivid Performance. Railsback is Perfect as Ed Gein but not just as memorable as he did with the Manson's role, he did back nearly three decades ago. Oddly Enough, there's a better Ed Gein movie back Three Decades Ago-which is titled "Deranged". DVD has an sharp Pan & Scan (1.33:1) transfer and an fine-Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound. DVD only extra is a Trailer, but this DVD could've used more features of this fascinating true-life story. Railsback is also One of the Executive Producers. A Curio Film. The film was Originally Titled "In the Light of the Mood". Grade:B+.
Rating: 
Summary: Ed Gein deserves better
Review: Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein proved to be one of the defining figures in the annals of American criminology, his crimes inspiring such classic films as "Psycho," "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," "The Silence of the Lambs," and even "American Psycho" (but more so the novel than the movie). At this point, though, a flat-out documentary on the man seems almost redundant, but "Ed Gein" at least TRIES... ...and ultimately fails. While historically accurate, this movie is limited by its low budget and an incapable supporting cast. The Midwest setting is convincing, however, and Steve Railsback (who played Charles Manson in "Helter Skelter") is excellent as Gein, who grew up with a religious-kook mother (Carrie Snodgress, who poorly imitates Piper Laurie's character in "Carrie") and views his murders as 'God's good work.' Gein's life story is indeed one worthy of celluloid, but any fans or curiosity seekers will probably be left cold by this film. The acting is mostly horrible, the flashbacks are unconvincing, and the grisly details are poorly rendered (I blame the low budget for that). I only give it two stars for Railsback's excellent portrayal, but other than that you'd be better off renting one of the movies I mentioned earlier.
Rating:
Summary: Ed Gein, up close and personal
Review: The strange case of cannibal killer and all around fruitcake Ed Gein of Plainfield, Wisconsin makes for an interesting book or movie, although it is not the sort of story you're likely to see as a network feature of the week. We've already seen several films based on the Gein phenomenon, like Robert Bloch's book (and Hitchcock's subsequent film version) "Psycho" and Tobe Hooper's "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre." Neither of these films attempts to tell the real story of Gein's numerous psychopathologies and actual crimes, and no film did until "Deranged" came out in the early 1970s. Even that movie, closer to what Ed Gein actually did but still fanciful in respects, couldn't capture the truly depraved incidents that unfolded in Plainfield during the 1950s. Finally, we were told in no uncertain terms, the film "Ed Gein" would peel the curtain back and really show us the actual monstrosities of the cannibal killer. Yeah, right. No film will truly show us the behaviors Ed Gein engaged in because no one knows for certain all of the atrocities he committed. Debate still rages today over whether the man was a raving lunatic or a cold, shrewdly intelligent beast fully aware of his actions.
Nonetheless, "Ed Gein" gives it the old college try. The movie spends a great amount of time examining the odd method of childrearing practiced in the Gein household. His mother Augusta (Carrie Snodgrass) is a woman dedicated to bible thumping and character assassination. The titular character (played by the always reliable Steve Railsback) and his older brother Henry (Brian Evers) spend most of their childhood and a significant amount of their adulthood sitting around Augusta listening to her drone on and on about her favorite biblical passages. Her greatest hits consist of those parts of the holy writings promising to bring justice and vengeance down upon the wicked, and for Augusta Gein the whole world is packed to the rafters with wicked people. Women especially come in for special scorn from this bitter old biddy, and she spends an inordinate amount of time warning her sons to avoid the "harlots" living in town. Her vitriol splashes on her husband too, an alcoholic largely reduced to surviving in a household you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy. After his passing, Augusta redoubles her efforts to teach the Lord's message to the boys. Henry tires of this nonsense, making plans to marry and move away. That he dies at the hand of his brother Ed during a hunting expedition is something the movie accepts as fact even though no one ever proved it.
Once Augusta Gein passes away, the tethers holding Ed to the earth break and drift away. He walls off her room like it is some sort of holy shrine, and he takes up reading books about concentration camp atrocities and primitive religious rituals. At some point Ed starts receiving mental messages from his deceased mother urging him to commit unspeakable atrocities, atrocities involving grave robbing and defilement. An inventive sort of chap, it's nothing for Ed to construct household items out of human bones and flesh after failing to resurrect the deceased through mental telepathy. Hmmm. But just as all human behaviors move to extremes unless checked, Gein's proclivity towards the bizarre soon escalates. Digging up corpses gives way to going out and procuring fresh bodies. Ed murders bar owner Mary Hogan (Sally Champlin) and drags her body back to his house for a whole new round of mayhem, an action fully justified in Gein's mind due to the woman's promiscuity. He later slays a local storeowner, a crime that is his undoing because of his own incompetence: he took the cash register and left a receipt book behind showing that he was the last customer to visit the store. The authorities discover a literal house of horrors when they enter the Gein farmhouse.
"Ed Gein" covers many of the smaller details of the Gein case. The movie even shows us a scene involving the two young boys who would come over to the farmhouse in order to pal around with Ed. On a much grimmer note, a very short scene reveals in horrific detail how Gein would dress up in clothing made from human skin, bang on a drum, and dance around outside at night. As yucky as this last situation is, it's about as horrific as the film gets. There are a few other unnerving sights and sounds, but "Ed Gein" is remarkably restrained considering the subject matter. The best aspect of the film has little to do with the gore and everything to do with the acting. Railsback does a good job in the role, capturing perfectly what all the written accounts of the man claimed: that Ed Gein often seemed like a child captured in a man's body. Carrie Snodgrass comes in for special mention, too. The late actress makes Augusta Gein look like the most frightening person on the planet. A few awkward moments in the film, in particular the cheesy CGI fire during Henry's death scene, doesn't take away from the performances turned in by Railsback and Snodgrass.
My impression of the movie is that the filmmakers strove to present a character study of this bizarre human being, with special emphasis on how he became such a depraved individual. The film also takes a position in the debate about Gein's mental state, namely that he knew his actions were wrong yet the voice of his mother he frequently heard in his mind overrode his inhibitions. "Ed Gein" brings us no closer to solving the enigma surrounding this aberrant person, but it's intriguing in that the movie is the closest thing we have on celluloid detailing his terrible crimes. Gorehounds, however, will probably express disappointment at the lack of grue.
Rating: 
Summary: Not as close to the truth as I would've liked
Review: Steve Railsback did wonderful as Ed Gein. But the script did not hold to many of the truths about Mr. Gein's life and crimes. They left out many things and added many things. They should've made this a regular horror/thriller movie and said it was BASED on the life of Ed Gein (and named it differently). Any Gein-obsessed lunatic will love to see any attempt at the crafty madman through the big screen (or in this case, the small screen). Texas Chainsaw Massacre took VERY few elements from Gein, Psycho took also very few elements on Gein, and Buffalo Bill (Silence Of The Lambs) also didn't do justice to the man. Sadly, though, the movies out on him (even "Ed Gein") are just like the various books--they hold only partial truths to what actually happened because they want to make it even more interesting. This film is quite a good film, if you're not looking for the truth. But enough about me nagging about how no one gives the true story. Let me just say that if you want the story of Ed with more twists so that it is more film-like and not documentary-like, then pick this one up. Regardless of the bad points, Steve Railsback is one hell of an actor in my opinion and makes this movie worth rental money. But so far, the most accurate book in mass market production that I know of on Ed Gein is "Deviant" by Harold Schechter. Check that out for some true Gein. This movie is just entertaining on an average level--no more, no less.
Rating:
Summary: LISTEN UP!
Review: Highlights of the movie include hilarious scenes with Ed, Ed'd older brother and their Mother reading them scripture as they grow up. The older brother grows very disinterested while Ed hangs on every word. When the two go hunting, Ed's brother tells Ed he is thinking of moving out of the house,(They are both well into their 40's), and Ed kills him. Another unforgettable scene: Ed dancing around with sewn on breasts and a vagina he cut from one of his victims. Not to mention also frying a vagina in a frying pan on his range.
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