User:StarTrekker/sandbox/project 99

Influence of Ed Gein on horror cinema
 * User:StarTrekker/sandbox/project 98
 * User:StarTrekker/sandbox/project 100

Ed Gein was an American grave robber, kidnapper and murderer whose arrest in 1957 was widely reported and became the focus of considerable public shock and fascination due to the bizare nature of his crimes. Gein had previously been seen as somewhat of an odd but harmless figure of his town Plainfield, Wisconsin but upon the discovery of his house filled with a variety of works of art made from human remains he became known as the prototypical madman in contemporary culture. His story has had a profound influence on the art of cinema, with art historian Peter Hutchings stating; "Ed Gein has provided considerable inspiration for horror filmmakers and has become a distinctly American version of the psychopath."

Three horror icons
Film à clef

Norman Bates
Art professor Peter Hutchings.... he did note that he felt that the casting of a young and handsome actor like Anthony Perkins distanced the character somewhat from the unprepossessing Gein.

Other inspiration
Three on a Meathook from 1972

Filmmaker Errol Morris became inspired by Hitchcock's Psycho and visited Gein's hometown of Plainfield, Wisconsin in 1975 to research for his own project. He conducted multiple interviews with Gein at Mendota State Hospital in Madison. He later made plans with German film director Werner Herzog to return in the summer of 1975 to secretly open the grave of Gein's mother to test their theory that Gein himself had already dug her up. Herzog arrived on schedule, but Morris had second thoughts and was not there and Herzog did not open the grave. Morris later returned to Plainfield, this time staying for almost a year, conducting hundreds of hours of interviews. Although he had plans to make a film (which he would call Digging up the Past) he never completed the project. Herzog visited Plainfield again, this time to shoot part of his film Stroszek.