🔗 Share this article The Monster Series: Ed Gein's Tale – A Review of the Producer's Dark Crime Drama You're probably familiar with the Hitchcock classic, the iconic thriller, and the horror staple. Perhaps you've also explored the original novels that inspired the first two films. Now prepare to meet the man behind Norman Bates, the serial killer, and Leatherface. The one and only Ed Gein! The first two seasons of this anthology series centered around the Milwaukee monster – an individual possessing widespread notoriety. This was followed by the sibling duo – a somewhat specialized story for dedicated true crime fans. Now the spotlight turns to the Butcher of Plainfield. While he may lack the household name status of Dahmer, Bundy, or Gacy, and only killed two people, his postmortem violations and gruesome creativity with female corpses have left a lasting mark. To this day, any media featuring dismembered remains, removed epidermis, or items crafted from human tissue probably owes a debt to his actions from over 70 years ago. A Tone of Flippancy Is my tone too casual? It's clearly the intended style of the production team. It's uncommon to witness a drama that dwells so eagerly on the worst depredations a person – and mankind – can commit. This includes a significant plotline devoted to Nazi atrocities, presented with minimal moral context. Structural and Stylistic Strengths In terms of construction and style, the show is impressive. The pacing is flawless, and the clever interweaving of past and present is executed brilliantly. We see the actor as Gein committing his crimes – the homicides, grave robberies, and assembling his collection. Simultaneously, the present-day narrative follows the creative minds as they develop Psycho from Bloch's Gein-inspired novel. The blending of factual elements – his devout parent and his fixation with women resembling her – and the unreal – lurid portrayals of Ilse Koch and Nazi party scenes – is executed proficiently. A Critical Shortcoming The missing element, and unforgivably so, is any moral dimension or meaningful analysis to counterbalance the lingering, loving shots of his immoral deeds. The show presents his rich inner world and frames him as a helpless individual of his controlling parent and an accomplice with dark interests. The implied message seems to be: What is a poor, schizophrenic guy to do? During a key moment, the novelist theorizes that without seeing certain images, Gein would have remained an unremarkable local. A Departure from Precedent One might contend that a show from this stable – renowned for glossy, high-camp style – is the wrong place for deep psychological exploration. But previous works like The People v OJ Simpson offered brilliant commentary on the press and the legal system. The Assassination of Gianni Versace explored celebrity and society. Impeachment examined systemic sexism. Thus, it is possible, and Murphy has done it. The Final Verdict Yet not in this case. The Ed Gein Story feels like an exploitation of a lesser-known criminal case. It asks for empathy for the individual responsible without offering genuine insight into how he became a monster. Aside from the reductive "devout parent" reasoning, there is little effort to comprehend the origins or prevent future cases. This is merely gratuitous spectacle to the basest instincts of the audience. The Nazi scenes do have excellent cinematography, though.