Albert Fish: In Sin He Found Salvation

Albert Fish: In Sin He Found Salvation (2007)

** (out of 4)

Extremely disappointing documentary from John Borowski who had previously made H.H. HOLMES: AMERICA'S FIRST SERIAL KILLER. This one here takes a look at Albert Fish, a now notorious killer who not only brutally murdered people but he also ate them.

This is part documentary, part re-enacted drama but neither one really works and they certainly don't work together. I was really disappointed with this film because of its extremely slow-pacing, which just kept it from having a very good flow. What really hurt the film is the fact that the narration is way too dramatic for its own good and there's just not too much life to the picture.

There are some some very good moments scattered throughout including a confession that is read, which just shows how crazy and downright creepy this guy was. The film like to go for some shock value as there are well detailed accounts of the cannibalism and the violence towards children.

Ridiculously slow and corny as hell. I like serial killer documentaries but this was too awful to ever watch again let alone recommend. Reenactments of things that DID NOT need reenactment, and I'm not talking about anything gory just stupid stuff like him painting a wall with fake blood. It added nothing to the story and didn't even happen they just did props like that to be ridiculous in the film. I hated the narrators voice in which they tried to make the guy sound like he was from Jersey. The only thing remotely interesting was when they were showing a man cut up some obvious raw beef to try to make it look like it was a human. Well at least I got a good laugh out of it.

Albert Fish, the horrific true story of elderly cannibal, sadomasochist, and serial killer, who lured children to their deaths in Depression-era New York City.

While Fish is well-known among serial killer fanatics, I do not know if he is well-known to the general public. He should be, or at least he certainly should deserve the honor. For all the films that have been made based loosely on Ed Gein, it surprises me that Fish seems to influenced practically no one in the artistic world (beyond Joe Coleman).

The biggest complaint about this film from other reviewers is that it is slow and boring. I will grant that it is a little bit slow, but you are dealing with a subject that has limited photos and even fewer videos. To compile this, the director had to stretch things a bit. Maybe it would have been better as 60 minutes, but I am still impressed by the images they were able to find (some I had seen before, some I had not).

I also liked that Fredric Wertham plays a role in here. I was not aware he testified for the defense of Fish, as Wertham is better known (at least to me) for his crusade against comic books and television violence. There is some irony there, I suppose, that a man who defends the insane ends up battling comic books for their erosion of morals.

The story is so horrifying and gruesome, even by today's standards, that the director's attempts at dramatization add nothing and are more of a distraction. Multiple shots of roasting meat in the shape of ass? Really? And too much time is spent with two dubious "experts," one of whom proudly describes how he acquired Fish's confession letter in an act of larceny (anyone send a copy of this film to the cops in Westchester County?) and who creepily asserts that Fish MUST have loved Grace Buddd in order to do what he did to her. Huh? Anyone want to go dig around in THIS guy's backyard? And all of the religious motivation nonsense is completely at odds with what we know about sexual homicide. It's all about a toxic mix of extreme self absorption and the desire to control others with a nice positive feedback of orgasm. That's it folks. No religious motive here. The religious stuff may have helped him rationalize what he did and certainly sweetened the filth aspect for this guy, but that's probably it. Read Schecter's Deranged instead for a good Fish account.

This was a good little documentary that could have been much better but still, I enjoyed it quite a bit. I've always been fascinated with Albert Fish and other serial killers so it was very interesting to see documentary on the man. I was actually pretty disturbed through most of the film. I always say that I can watch any movie that I know is fake and it won't bother me, but when it's real, it really gets to me and this one did just that.

I loved the scenes where it just told the story of Albert Fish with a narrator. However, there were quite a few interviews with a bunch nobodies that no one cares about and those really annoyed me. I just want to hear the story, not a bunch of idiots babbling about how they know soooo much about Albert Fish. Other than that, it was very creepy the whole way through and completely chilling. Check it out.