In case you're a fucking idiot: Ed Gein - also later known as "The Plainfield Butcher" - was a necrophiliac/cannibal/grave-robber/killer who was pegged for the murder of two local women around the mid-to-late 50's...
First and foremost, Steve Railsback pulls off a pretty fantastic Gein in this wacky, mentally disturbed and often sympathetic role. His awkward interactions with the other small town residents definitely give you some pertinent glimpses into a troubled mind and it was done well, in my humble opinion. They go into Gein's fucked up childhood pretty frequently - showing how much of an insane, Jesus-freak mother was and how lil' Eddie grew up all sexually repressed and distant. However, I DIDN'T like the whole mother-controlling-his-mind-from-beyond-the-grave angle they took during the Bernice Worden murder. That was a little ridiculous.
In terms of violence and gore, the film is very light. Most of it is implied, such as Gein being shown frying up gobbets of meat after Mary Hogan dies and another, very random shot of him decorating a 'severed' vagina with a bow. There's also the required scene of him dancing around in a flesh mask and human-titty shirt which is brief but kinda cool. Basically, it gives you what you'd expect from a biopic on Gein without being copiously 'abrasive' with the gore.
Overall, "Ed Gein" works as the more "official" cinematic rundown on the body collecting murderer, though the aforementioned films still reign supreme, of course. Check it out for Railsback's nutty, Gein-like performance and a fairly factual depiction of the true crimes he committed.
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