Psycho: The Lost Tapes of Ed Gein

Had to put a small review after two episodes as I can't understand the low rating. If you like true crime then this is a good watch. They're not telling you anything we don't already know as such, it's just much more detailed and a 'deep dive into Geins crimes, mindset and family history. Also the impact on this quiet backwater town in Wisconsin which is forever known as 'Geinsville'. You also get to hear Geins voice for first time which is interesting. Anyway so far so good for me.

*edit* now watched all 4 episodes and it did dip slightly. The first episode remains the best one by far. That been said its still worth your time and a broad take on both him, his crimes and the impact the crimes made on cinema.

There is some interesting information - but is it enough, and compelling enough to put up with the annoying older pontificating gentlemen and their monotone lazy tongue speak? Nope. I made it thru almost two episodes before I just could no longer take it. And then they intermittently throw in a couple of younger bloggers and commentors, who try to dredge up excitement for this "fantastic find ", but fall exceptionally short and then they look exactly as they are - a little too happy to be included in this pile of nonsense with no substance to add to the conversation. Not really worth watching.

...as I found this 4-part documentary on Ed Gein VERY interesting! Sure, the guys from Last Podcast from the Left are annoying as hell but everyone else interviewed here has some interesting and informative things to say about this infamous man. Sure, I've seen all of the archival footage of Ed and know his story (found Harold Schechter's book "Deviant" to be excellent as well as a few other books) but the interviews of the current and former Plainfield residents, seeing the cemetery and the Gein family graves, seeing the town itself were all new to me.

In Chapter 4 now where the documentary is discussing "Psycho" (and will go on to "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "The Silence of the Lambs" I hope).

VERY interesting altogether!! Read the reviews but check this film out if you are at all interested in who spawned Norman Bates, Leatherface, and Buffalo Bill.

This is yet another so called "documentary" that relies on over-the-top dramatization to present a topic that would be so much more interesting if the filmmakers respected their audience. Notice all of the sinister background music. Why not just call it a horror film? Not to mention there is misinformation, and certain common rumors are presented as though they were true. One example is with the alleged occurrence of a human heart being found on Gein's stove in a frying pan. This is simply not true. The heart was found in a plastic bag on the floor near the stove. When Gein speaks you can barely hear his voice and these moments in the show are few and far between. Rather than forking out money for MGM+ go on YouTube and find a real Ed Gein Interview for free.

I was really looking forward to this mini series but am kind of disappointed. Actually hearing the bits of recordings of Ed answering questions was really the only parts of this worth watching. The first episode basically goes over everything and gives very few clips of his actual voice and you can hardly hear his voice but somehow you can hear the detective clearly. The second and third episodes were just like the first but with a few more audio clips. They have chopped the tapes and you'll hear one response and then in the next episode you'll find out it was actually the response to a different question and you don't really know if the answers they put up are from that actual conversation and I do not know why they would have mixed the recordings up like that. False accusations mentioned such as a perversion with his mother and a heart on the stove. I did not care for the podcast group they had as speakers. They were unnecessarily vulgar and making jokes, laughing and being disrespectful, childish and very inappropriate in their comments. Very few speakers with actual credibility, and half of them almost seemed to have a fascination with Ed Gein himself rather than the psychology behind his behavior. I felt like this could have been one film. Very repetitive and would have been better with less random discussion by irrelevant people and more of the true consistent recordings and actual photos or video recordings. Full of peoples different interpretations of who Gein was, disappointed.