[Dr.Kelvinstein]

Ed Gein isn't really violent, but there are pieces of the victims nailed to the wall, etc. The special effects are pretty much done to mirror the actual crime scene photos.


Deranged gets a bit gooey at times. The suff with Ezra Cobb (the Ed character in the movie) robbing graves of body parts is a bit unsettling, but it's so over the top that it's kinda hard to take seriously. There's a scene of blood spilling over a girl's bare breasts at the end that was cut from most theatrical prints and all the first video editions--not because it was especially violent, but because the blood and the nudity were considered an unhealthy mix. Whatever.

Both films are worth watching if you're interested in Gein--especially Deranged, which has a brilliant performance from character actor Roberts Blossom. You can also get it real cheap on a double-feature disc with Motel Hell (also groovy).

The best Ed Gein-related fiction, however, is the Cormac McCarthy novel Child Of God. It's a beautiful southern Gothic about Lester Ballard, a poor white-trash outcast in rural Tennessee who loses his home and is completely shunned by everyone in his community. He starts collecting dead women for companionship and is soon dressing in their clothes and braying at the moon. What's really clever about the novel is that you don't hate or fear Lester as you do Leather Face or Hannibal Lector. You simply pity him. He's a really sad individual who just needs to be loved. A very touching book, and McCarthy's prose is like reading poetry. Beautiful stuff.

The absolute worst of Gein-related fiction is the horrible movie Three on a Meathook (gotta admit, though--it's a great title for an exploitation film).