I put off seeing this for a while because I was lead to believe it would be made as a splatter and gore picture than a recreation of the real story. When I finally saw it, I was pleasantly surprised and impressed at the level of research that actually went into this. The recreations and re-enactments are filled with actual quotes ("Ed, why is it that every time someone vanishes you are around?") that it becomes almost how the way it must have happened. Steve Railsback, who once convinced us that he was Charlie Manson in "Helter Skelter," again convinces us that he is Ed Gein. His portrayal is very sympathetic and the score and flashbacks to certain key events in his life certainly augment the story as it moves along. Several of the characters in the movie, however, turn out to be representatives or amalgamations of characters of one or more characters. Berneice Worden is renamed Collette Marshall and her son Frank Worden is now Brian Hillman. Mary Hogan, however, is Mary Hogan because no living relatives could be found for her in order to get permission to use her in the movie. Of course, you can't overlook the numerous references that would later inspire Hitchcock's "Psycho." The preserved room, the voice of mother, the split personality and the sheer shock value all made their way to the fictional story of Norman Bates. Ed Gein/In The Light Of The Moon is basically what a true horror film should be. A highly intelligent plot with suspense and intrigue where the antagonist can be sympathetic and not just a ruthless killing machine in a hockey mask that does nothing but conjure blood and vomit.
Review of Ed Gein
