Touches You

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

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

There have been many films made that are either based on the case or simply the character of the real-life "Plainfield Ghoul" Ed Gein but this is the one that sticks the closest to the facts. Once again, Steve Railsback assumes the role of a notorious American criminal as he did once before as Charles Manson in "Helter Skelter" and he plays the role wonderfully. Mr. Railsback also served as producer of this film and apparently insisted that Carrie Snodgrass play the role of Mrs. Gein, Ed's mother which she did with gusto (as she does in any film that she is in Miss Snodgrass put on a great performance!). This is not an easy film to watch as the facts that surround this case are gruesome and grotesque and this film certainly does not shy away from that fact but for anyone who has seen "Silence of the Lambs", "Psycho", or "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and has ever wondered what the real story was all about this is the most accurate portrayal of the facts out there. Part of a series of films about serial killers such as "Bundy" "Gacy" and "Speck" this film is by far the very best of the bunch.

Surprisingly good umpteenth re-telling of Ed Gein seems to be the most on-track with how the notorious nutcase's life went down. There's a scene early on where a neighbor proclaims to Ed after going to the movie show with her son, "You guys are going to those horror movies all the time." Ed answers tellingly, "They're very educational." I think this film successfully lets us see what can happen to a man mentally wounded by the upbringing of an overbearing, fanatical mother. The film shows how she seems to be the guiding force behind the murders and cover-ups. For instance, mother(commandingly played by Carrie Snodgress)manipulatively commands Ed to kidnap and kill a bar matron named Mary(Sally Champlin)for dirty-mouthed hussies deserved to have their mouths washed out with poison. And, poor store clerk Collette(Carol Mansell)is singled out for no apparent reason but mainly perhaps she represents that lust that is dormant in Ed's heart. Somehow, despite mama Augusta's death, a huge part of her remains inside Ed's mind..a towering presence that can manipulate and order him to do things.If you see a loosely, but at times accurate film from the early 70's, DERANGED, both are similar in ways, but have a different feel towards the circumstances regarding Ed's situation. This film plays Ed's life more matter-of-factly without the dark humor that lay at the heart of DERANGED. This film wants to show us the way Ed was without winking at how absurd he was and his bizarre, sick habits regarding skinning victims and eating their innards..often feeding the unaware neighbors next door people they've know from the city. The film also shows how Augusta's insistent disgust towards "modern women" has penetrated Ed enough where he can not remain around females who are different from his mother. Her quoting from the bible, mainly Revelations, is often reverberating around in his skull bearing down on him to "do God's work" so that his mother could return to earth to be with him. Steve Railsback, a criminally underrated actor, again is perfect as another serial killer(he portrayed Charles Manson amazingly in "Helter Skelter" in 1976 made-for-TV effort)with Ed Gein. He seems to tap into the man's simple-mindedness and delusional, quiet madness. He makes him strange, but also deceptively harmless. We can see why we might be leery to hang around him, but trusting him doesn't seem that difficult. The film isn't that gory, but does show how he does the work mother tells him to do.

The completely abnormal characteristics that distinguish a serial killer from the common homicide, as well as the disturbing psychological behavior found in their cases, are probably the reasons of the people's old fascination with Serial Killers. As this fascination is fueled basically by the natural interest on the unknown, it's not a surprise that Serial Killers have become the source for fictional stories of many different genres, with of course, horror being the most representative. Among the many Serial Killers in history, Ed Gein is one of the most interesting, not only because of the horrid acts he committed, but because of the complex and disturbing mind behind them. A mind so deranged that served as inspiration for movies like "Psycho", "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Silence of the Lambs", and the theme of this film, which attempts to reconstruct the events that lead to his capture."In the Light of the Moon" (now renamed as simply "Ed Gein"), is the story of Ed Gein (Steve Railsback), based on the reports of his capture, accounts of witnesses and the interviews he gave after he was captured. Told from his perspective, we follow the quiet and apparently normal Ed Gein as his relatively simple life becomes drastically changed when his disturbing obsession with his dead mother, Augusta Gein (Carrie Snodgress), grows stronger and takes him to commit acts of grave robbery, necrophilia, and finally, the murders that made him tragically famous. We get a glimpse of his family history and the reasons that made Gein a killer, as well as a fairly realistic theory of how his schizophrenic mind worked and the way he devised the horrific methods of his murders.Written by Stephen Johnston (whose work has been focused on serial killers since "The Midnight Hour"), the film is a fairly accurate representation of Gein's case, and while some names were obviously changed, it's safe to say that it's one of the best documented films based on the case, as well as probably Johnston's best work. Probably because of the real pathetic melancholy of Gein's life, it's in this film where Johnston finally succeeds in creating a story where the main character is both likable and repulsive at the same time (something he attempted without the same success in "Ted Bundy" and "Starkweather"), to the point that one can feel sympathy for Gein, although not to the point of making him likable. It's a fine line that Johnston works out effectively, in a nicely done script.Director Chuck Parello, better known as the man behind the sequel to "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer", recreates Gein's life in a surprisingly restrained way. Rather than going the easy way out by building his film as a horror movie (after all, three classics of the genre were "inspired" by Geins' story), he creates a compelling docudrama that attempts to remain as accurate as his limited budget allows him to be. While nothing groundbreaking or original, Parello's slow paced and notoriously restrained approach works remarkably well with Johnston's script, and allows a slightly truer, more realistic glimpse to Gein's sad story.While it's true that both Johnston and Parello do good jobs, the true star of the film (and basically the reason to watch the film) is the outstanding performance by Steve Railsback as the title character. Railsbeck literally owns Gein's character making the sad, disturbed man alive in a haunting, realistic way. While Railsback is the highlight of the film, Carrie Snodgress also delivers a terrific performance as Geins' religious and dominant mother, and while her screen time is considerably smaller than Railsback's, she steals every scene she is in without problem. Sadly, the rest of the cast is not as convincing, although most do a fairly good job.The worst mistake one can make when watching "In the Ligh of the Moon" is to take it as a horror film (and even worse, to compare it to the 1974 classic, "Deranged"), as that approach will surely end up in a big disappointment; it's certainly better to see it as an attempt to make a dramatic biopic of a deranged man that became a monster, as that seems to be what Parello intended with his slow, subtle style. However, this is not to say that the film is perfect, far from it, as sometimes the same restrained approach that works effectively in some scenes, becomes painfully tiring at times. Still, like most independent films, this movie shows its biggest flaw in the very cheap special effects (they look as taken out of a cheap TV series) caused by the budget constrains. Once again, the low-budget hurts what otherwise could had been a much better film.To those familiar with Gein's life, this unpretentious film won't offer anything new, but will be a pleasant surprise due to its fairly accurate retelling of the story. Sure, this movie is nowhere near the level of "Psycho", "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" or "Silence of the Lambs", but as a serious docudrama of Ed Gein's life, it's a very effective film. Not really as bad as one may believe. 7/10