It has been more than 65 years since Ed Gein went from being known as an odd yet seemingly harmless man among his peers to one of the most well-known serial killers in United States history. Over the years, Gein and his crimes of body snatching and murder have influenced some of the best horror movies of all time, and the director of the new true crime docuseries, Psycho: The Lost Tapes of Ed Gein, has a feeling why the “Butcher of Plainfield” story was so impactful in pop culture and society.
During a conversation with CinemaBlend prior to the four-part docuseries’ debut on MGM+, director and producer James Buddy Day opened up about a number of topics ranging from how he created the series’ unique content warnings to why Ed Gein’s story continues to resonate all these decades later. In that chat, Day called the uncovering of Gein’s crimes an “inflection point” in true crime and horror, stating:
Well, I think Ed Gein’s crimes, and the movie Psycho, and the book, they are an inflection point in true crime and horror because that’s the first time in the history of America where you have someone who’s kind of being identified as what we would now call a serial killer; that term hadn’t been invented yet.
Day, who is also known for being the final journalist to interview Charles Manson prior to his death, pointed to the newspaper coverage of Gein, which led to headlines and nicknames like the “Mad Butcher of Plainfield” and the “Plainfield Ghoul” following his 1957 arrest. He also said the case was one of the first examples of the ripped-from-the-headline project considering Robert Bloch’s Psycho novel came out in 1959 with Alfred Hitchcock’s iconic movie being released one year after that.
Another reason Day feels Gein’s story became such a big sensation in the years following his arrest, as well as in the decades that have followed, is the “monster in plain sight” aspect of the whole situation, stating:
And his story is so scary because it’s a monster in plain sight. So, that kind of history really not only changed horror forever because that story of a monster in plain sight has been copied a million times since, but that also kind of became the beginning of true crime, which then evolved more in the ‘70s and going forward.
Though ‘70s horror movies like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which drew heavily from Gein’s story, had less of the “monster in plain sight” aspect, it was a completely different story for Psycho. Anthony Perkins’ Norman Bates not only had the real-life killer’s mental problems and deadly nature, but also an appearance that makes him seem harmless albeit strange and off-putting.
The impact of the “Plainfield Ghoul” on society and his influence on horror movies based on true stories are just two aspects covered in Psycho: The Lost Tapes of Ed Gein, one of the most unsettling shows on the 2023 TV schedule. The first two episodes are now streaming on MGM+, with the final two chapters being released at 10 p.m. the next two Sundays.