StunnaKrypto Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Borgarkeri A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

Tayloriona Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Tyreece Hulme One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

breakdownthatfilm-blogspot-com After the gruesome discovery residents of Plainfield had made when entering the house of Ed Gein, no one knew the genre of horror would change forever. With Robert Bloch publishing his thriller novel "Psycho" in 1959, Hollywood would end up taking the story and twisting it into various iterations. Alfred Hitchcock's adaptation of Psycho (1960) of the same name frightened many at the time. Skip a decade or so and Tobe Hooper would do the same thing in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974). Without Ed Gein or his contorted history, the stories of horror, fans have today to enjoy would not exist. It is unfortunate though that such events had to occur in order to develop such iconic creations. Up until that point though nobody had really made a movie based on the actual inspiration himself. Ed Gein had only been written about prior and was still alive up until the mid 1980s. Putting a production together that solely focused on the background / life of Ed Gein is just as intriguing as the other popular horror movies.The running time mainly follows Ed Gein (Steve Railsback) to the point of where he begins to commit his heinous acts that many never saw coming. Inserted at different points are flashback sequences that show what brought him to that point. These flashbacks pursue his upbringing from young boy to middle-aged adult. Living under the strict rule of his mother (Carrie Snodgress), Gein transforms from a timid adolescent, to a man with a distorted sense of reality. Writing the screenplay to this indie film was Stephen Johnston. For the most part, the story feels pretty solid. Certain scenes within the movie do contain moments that are unrealistic, but this appears when Gein has already hit his psychosis so it can be assumed that only he is seeing these things. However there are factual errors to the story. Certain names and events were changed. For example, the owner of the hardware store that Gein had killed was Bernice Worden. In this feature it was Collette Marshall (Carol Mansell). Maybe it was legal issue?Or the deputy who arrested Gein was named Arch Sly, but here his name is Sheriff Jim Stillwell (Pat Skipper). Even the way of which Gein's disgusting hobby was discovered has a slightly altered telling as to what other sources say. Perhaps director Chuck Parello modified these scenes to make it more dramatic. But why - a true story is way more convincing. Aside from this, the rest of the story execution is captivating enough. The subplot between Gein and Mary Hogan (Sally Champlin) is fascinating. Parello even delves into what might have happened to Ed's brother Henry (Brian Evers), since his death still remains unknown. This is by far the best personification of the life of Ed Gein in the most realistic fashion. From an upbringing with his religious mother, to his plunging mental health on his own. After this movie, Johnston also wrote for psychotic films like Bundy (2002) and The Hillside Strangler (2004). Parello is best known for directing this feature and Henry II: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1996). Gein is displayed as a truly lost individual with no clear sense of control or guidance. Steve Railsback as Ed Gein puts in the right amount of effort to show how much he studied the role. Railsback brings the deranged individual to life with quiet and restrained intent. There's enough to show that there's something not all there. Railsback has been in several film productions, his most famous being The X-Files and Lifeforce (1985). Carrie Snodgress as Augusta Gein is even more convincing being that she was the force that drove her son into lunacy. Citing biblical stories and forewarning her sons of the dangers of sinful people. Snodgress was also in other films like Easy Rider (1969) and Pale Rider (1985). The third actor that best fits the mold of their character was Sally Champlin as Mary Hogan. Not only did she fit the character visually but matched Hogan's described personality as well. All other cast members within the film work well too but do not stand out because their roles are not as prevalent.Being that this is an independent film, the visuals are not as perfected but help paint the story. Some of the digital effects look lightly rendered onto the picture, which isn't horrible but not great. There are practical effects though for the skin / bone cannibal like activities that Gein was interested in and what psychologists suspected. The cinematography shot by Vanja Cernjul worked for the film. It wasn't filmed in a wide aspect ratio, but it did get the needed shots in order to convey the correct atmosphere for how Plainfield might have felt at the time. Cernjul was also the cinematographer to American Psycho II: All American Girl (2002). For music, Robert McNaughton composed the film score. For an unreleased film score the music does its job efficiently. It's unfortunate that there was no main theme of any sort. McNaughton also scored both Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986), its sequel and is related to the director of the first; John McNaughton.By no means is it a gory horror film with the most recognizable icon. The script also adapts certain parts of the history correctly, while other times is misses the mark completely. No matter what though, the main leads fill the shoes professionally, the story is tempting to watch, the music fits the atmosphere as well as the visual style.

wes-connors Wisconsin weirdo Steve Railsback (as Ed, Eddy, Edward Gein) runs a small town eatery catering to overweight women. The twist is that the lucky ladies are on the menu! Yup, they get butchered and eaten. Everyone in town seems to know something is not quite kosher with the local fruitcake. In fact, he demonstrates all the characteristics of your average psycho. Folks are mostly disturbed by the fact that the beans-for-cereal killer dude never married. Gasp. Most women outside of this town would not be surprised.In an early scene, two teenagers are apparently killed during a make-out session. Then, the movie forgets about them. Next, two other teenagers are inexplicably left at Mr. Railsback's rat-infested abode for "babysitting" (huh?). While the older "baby" plays Go Fish with his host, younger "baby" discovers a bedroom full of shrunken heads and other body parts. For some reason, the babies decide to remain "mum" for the rest of the film. The ghost of mother Carrie Snodgress (as Augusta) probably rendered them mute.By the time Ms. Snodgress literally telephones Railsback at a murder scene and directs him to "Hurry, boy!" you could be laughing out loud. There is also a kabuki dance. "In the Light of the Moon" aka "Ed Gein" is more confusing than chuckle-inducing, however. The bar scenes are nicely done, with Sally Champlin (as Mary Hogan) neatly filling her bra shots, and Craig Zimmerman (as Pete Anderson) showing why someone should cast him as the lead in one of these pictures. And, give Railsback meatier roles.**** In the Light of the Moon (11/17/00) Chuck Parello ~ Steve Railsback, Carrie Snodgress, Sally Champlin, Craig Zimmerman

winner55 This was clearly made for the small screen, although I do remember it passing through western New York theaters briefly. I didn't see it on original release, because I happen to be somewhat fascinated by the Ed Gein story and have read up on it, and I was afraid the film would be a B-movie exploitation of one of the most bizarre episodes in the history of American crime. Gee, I wish it were.This film is really a pretty mediocre docu-drama that attempts to explain away the more disturbing aspects of the Gein story with cheap and easy Freudian references, down to having Gein see and listen to his dead mother urge him on to do "God's work" by "punishing" wicked women for their sexuality.Unfortunately, this explanation doesn't tell us anything at all about Gein's cannibalism, nor about his almost childish fascination for body parts. In one scene in a bar, Gein suddenly asks the other customers whether any of them know about sex-change operations. I take it this was cut into the movie to explain Gein's efforts to wear the skin of some of his victims, and certainly the real Gein was interested in the issue. What gets lost here is all the rich sense of transformation that might go into a sick fascination for donning the skin of another human being. This isn't simply changing one's sex - this is becoming something other than human.One other point - as a Freudian explanation, the film has Gein denying responsibility for his murders - either he can't remember them, or it was "mom's fault". Wait a minute - could Gein have just ignored all those body parts cluttering up his house? Obviously not; in fact the real Gein was aware of what he was doing - he just didn't think there was anything wrong with it. The only reason we know parts of his story is because he was able to give detailed descriptions of what he did. He approached murder, dismemberment, and cannibalism with a clinical disinterest in any of the moral implications of these acts. It was simply Gein's way of living in the world.Now that is truly frightening. The terrible thing about Gein was that he was utterly bland - he was the guy next door, the quiet neighbor, not very interesting, not much to say.Few films have managed to capture this quality about any serial killer. This film certainly hasn't. A real missed opportunity.

chard5588 I was just wondering if the title of this movie came from the Slayer song "Dead Skin Mask" which is about Ed Gein.The lyrics at one point go something like: "A pleasant fragrance In TheLight Of The Moon. Dance with the dead in my dreams. Listen to the hallowed screams. The dead have taken my soul. Temptation, lost all control."I would think the title could have most definitely come from the song, seeing as it was recorded in 1991, and the movie wasn't put out until 2000. The song is actually mentioned in the details of the movie on IMDb, and I would recommend that everyone check it out. The band is great, and the song is amazing as well.