Monster: The Ed Gein Story – Revealing The Plainfield Butcher

Another anthology segment emerged on Netflix by Ryan Murphy called Monster: The Ed Gein Story. This next tale portrays one of the most infamous and iconic serial killers of the United States: Ed Gein. This small-town farmer shook the nation with his bizarre and grotesque creations he crafted out of the remains of the dead.

Monster: The Ed Gein Story Synopsis

 

The eight-episode-long season follows the metamorphosis of Edward Theodore Gein from a shy man to an unstable desecrator of human morality. Set in the World War II era in Plainfield, Wisconsin, local weirdo Ed Gein comes off as a strange, soft-spoken man, played by the talented Charlie Hunnam. His religious mother, Augusta Gein, played by Laurie Metcalf, abuses Ed by verbally beating down his self-worth in their isolated home outside of town, sanitizing him to be a loyal mama’s boy.

After her sudden death, Ed spirals down a rabbit hole manifested from propaganda comics about Ilse Koch, a female Nazi officer, who has a habit of turning Jewish prisoners into furniture. This is fueled by a fellow oddball, Adeline Watkins (Suzanna Son), a girl who has an unhealthy interest in death and shares these macabre war comics and photos with Ed. The disembodied voice of his dead mother opens the gateway to his grave-robbing hobby, while the grotesque road is paved by the “Bitch of Buchenwald”.

Most of the skins he obtains are from his nightly visits to the graveyard; however, he also kills women he labels as sinners to his mother’s teachings, or unfortunate parties who got in his way. The police hardly suspect him as the missing persons pile up until one of his victims, Bernice Worden, the shopkeeper, leaves a clue. Ed’s collection gets exposed, landing him in a psych ward where he is later diagnosed with schizophrenia. He spent the remainder of his life living his days until he died in 1984.

Stomaching a Good Drama

 

Provocative, grotesque, disturbing, and all around, a great watch if you can stomach body mutilation. The casting was spot on with outstanding performances from Laurie Metcalf (Ed’s mother), Suzanna Son (Adeline Watkins), and especially Charlie Hunnam as the grave robbing killer himself. He holds a fantastic balance between a soft-spoken, polite country boy and a delusional, troubled person. Metcalf’s time as Augusta Gein, Ed’s mother, is every bit as stern and cruel as a person and as a voice-over.

Ryan Murphy has created another introspective experience with this installment into the mind of the infamous Ed Gein. The story is solid, has a steady pace, and, if you can withstand the body horror, is quite the binge-watchable series. The writing and performances feel natural, and none of the characters seemed like a throwaway in any of their times on screen. From the corner store to the slaughter barn, the designs and effects are excellent and unsettling enough to make your skin crawl (in awe and fear).

Influence in the World

 

The series isn’t just about Ed Gein’s origins but also the resulting ripple effect his story has in cinema. Murphy gives us a glimpse into Alfred Hitchcock’s development of his horror masterpiece, “Psycho,” and Tobe Hooper’s determination to create “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” There are also brief inserts on the character Buffalo Bill from “The Silence of the Lambs,” such as Bill’s female makeover scene.

Believe it or not, Gein’s branding as the Butcher of Plainfield touched lives outside of his victim pool. While Murphy lets us peek behind the silver screen, he also casts a spotlight onto some of the people who became the most infamous murderers in U.S. history. A few of those individuals were given a few scenes in “Monsters: The Ed Gein Story.” Below are lists of Gein-inspired monsters in films and real life:

Silver Screen Monsters:

• Leatherface (“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”)
• Norman Bates (“Psycho”)
• Buffalo Bill (“Silence of the Lambs”)

True-Crime Monsters:

• Jeffery Dahmer – The Milwaukee Cannibal
• Gary Heidnik – The House of Horrors Killer
• Robert Berdella Jr. – The Butcher of Kansas City
• Edmund Emil Kemper III – The Co-Ed Killer

The Corresponding Facts and Ideas

 

Like any crime drama, take “Monster: The Ed Gein Story” with a grain of salt. In the show, Ed commits disturbing acts such as peeping, assault, murder, grave robbing, body mutilation, and necrophilia. As for the real Gein, police confirmed that he murdered two women, grave robbed, and used the skins of his victims, but he wasn’t convicted of either cannibalism or necrophilia. Gein kept to himself; thus, he didn’t have an accomplice for his crimes and never communicated with the FBI or other killers.

Murphy used his imagined scenarios to explore the links that emerge because of Gein’s actions. The chainsaw dance Ed performs is a physical connection to Leatherface, and Hitchcock’s replication of Ed’s house is the fuel for Norman Bates’ personality. The themes of identity and sexuality are touched upon with Christine Jorgensen’s role. Her conversation with Ed about his mentality on gender identity and sexual orientation is explored properly, with her calling him a gynephilic instead of a transgender.

Murphy cuts open the surreal of Ed’s mental state throughout the episodes. Moments where he is about to kill his victims, Ed has a few words with figures who aren’t physically there or alive. Murphy brings it all to a head in the episode “Ham Radio,” where Ed’s doctor diagnoses him as a schizophrenic. By today’s standards, it’s a cliché reason; however, because this is based on a real person, it’s a sad, scary truth. The real Gein was a confirmed schizophrenic and spent the remainder of his days in a mental asylum.

Final Thoughts: Brilliant and Worth Every Minute

Ryan Murphy’s “Monster: The Ed Gein Story” is a cruel trip that travels with the disturbing mindset of a killer. The show portrays Ed Gein in a horrible and sympathetic light as we watch him spiral into various atrocities. With fantastic writing and amazing cast members, Murphy has made a realistically uneasy but engaging exploration while shedding some light on the topics of grief, isolation, identity, and mental health. It’s a neat presentation of Ed Gein that will make you sick, but too curious to look away.