Ed Gein: The Ghoul of Plainfield (2004)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
This twenty-four minute documentary is actually a well-made piece that can be found on THE Texas CHAINSAW MASSACRE DVD/Blu-ray. I'm going to guess that a lot of people who were only familiar with that 2003 film probably hadn't heard of Gein so this documentary was certainly aimed at them. If you're familiar with Gein and his story then there's nothing new or ground-breaking here but the interviews are great and it's certainly fun to see the history shown in such a quick fashion.
John K. Russell, Hardold Schechter, author David Skal and PSYCHO writer Joseph Stefano are among the people interviewed as they discuss the story of Gein, the horrors that he committed and how his story became a part of popular culture. There are some great discussions about not only his case but how he was received in the 1950s and what impact his story had on films like PSYCHO, THE Texas CHAINSAW MASSACRE and THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS.
Again, there's nothing ground-breaking here but if you're a fan of the subject or are interested in learning more then there's some nice stuff here.
