The Gray Man

THE GRAY MAN isn't the complete story of serial-murderer Albert Fish. It's mostly about his encounter with young Grace Budd in 1928, and the ensuing horror of that case. Fish's biography, as well as his unspeakable crimes, are well documented elsewhere.

This is presented as more of a cat and mouse police procedural / drama. Patrick Bauchau is quite good as Fish, a seemingly kind, gentle old man with astoundingly vile proclivities. A first-rate psychological thriller, TGM is also a useful starting point for anyone interested in further pursuing the exploits of this very disturbed / disturbing man...

Period detective movie with outstanding craft and style. Albert Fish was one of the first serial killers to live and die in America in the early part of the last century. Although he committed crimes beyond comprehension, his tale was relatively unknown, until now.

The story is based on a solid script with emphasis on plot and character rather than gore and violence. This is not to say that this is a family movie. It just avoids the temptation of gratuitous violence and instead focuses on the human dimensions of the protagonists. The story follows Detective King on his obsessive manhunt as he assembles the clues to establish the killer's identity. At the same time, it attempts to read into the mind of the killer, even portraying a bit of his human side.

There are great performances by Patrick Bauchau (Fish) and Jack Conley (Detective King). In addition, the stars of the movie was the stellar photography by Dave Rudd, and the production design by Jennifer Gentile. Given the modest budget, the film convincingly captures the feel of New York in the 1920s and 1930s. The art department went to great lengths to recreate the slightest period details. And yes, it was shot on actual 35 mm film, in unsurpassed color. A visual feast.

A solid thriller about Albert Fish (a very fine performance by Patrick Bauchau), the real life serial killer of children in 1930's America. Fish seemed a harmless old man, but in 1934 he was arrested as the murderer of several missing children he somehow duped their families into leaving him with (using an assumed name throughout). Part character study and part detective procedural, The Gray Man wisely avoids graphic horror and sensationalism (Fish's murders, for instance, are never shown on camera), and while it is rather conventional, it is nevertheless quite chilling nonetheless and it shows a director with a very keen sense of storytelling.

Although there's solid performances from the main cast, particularly Patrick Bacau who plays the notorious Albert Fish, this film seems to lack something - thus it's left like its title, grey. What could and should have been an excellent film becomes, because of bad direction, a lack of character development (the detective in particular is poorly developed), plus a poor script, an unsatisfying B movie which is at times tedious and plodding.

Regarding the subject matter, there's too much skipping over of important facts, and the characters are mainly one dimensional clichés. The lack of intimacy in the direction and cinematography - which is perhaps intentional - doesn't work. As a viewer, I'm left not drawn in enough to the characters to really know them, and at times, this left me bored. No time is taken to explore motives of anyone. The film is OK - but that's about it.

Considering that this film was supposed to tell the story about one of the most bizarre serial killers in history, it's absolutely amazing that the end result we get served is this tedious muck. Something is definitely wrong when you realize that the film you are watching easily can be labeled " a film for the whole family", a film the Hallmark channel would "proudly present." Instead of a thoroughly deep-dive into Mr. Fish's murky psyche, a proper probing into the mechanizations that drove this deranged specimen of a man, a both tell and show with the slaughter and cannibalizing of Grace Budd, what you get is a badly acted detective-story ( with film-noiresque monologue ), a lead that don't remotely look like Albert Fish, and a misplaced focus on the detective in charge. The gore is of course non-existent, and while this "tell, don't show" approach work excellently in films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Dahmer, here it is sorely missed. Inexcusable. Not to mention that certain liberties is being taken in regards to what really happened.

Bottom line; if you want a scary film for the kiddies ( age 3-12 ), go for this one!! On the other hand, if you want a properly nasty horror-film about good old Albert, you better keep your fingers crossed for a director that truly have the courage to handle this dark material the way it deserves! Hopefully soon one will come along......