Brian Evers Movies

By day, Ed Gein was a quiet man who kept watch over the farm left to him by his late mother in Plainfield, a small rural community in Wisconsin. But by night, Gein was one of the most bizarre and dangerous psychopaths in recorded history. Raised by a violent alcoholic father and a mother with an obsessive fear of sin and hatred of sex, Gein had very few friends, and after the death of his parents, Gein was left to his own devices on the family farm (where, under a government subsidy program, he was paid not to grow crops), and his unhealthy obsessions eventually became ugly realities. Gein's crimes included murder, necrophilia, cannibalism, and grave robbing, with Gein using the flesh and bones of his victims to construct household objects, including a suit and mask made from human skin that Gein used when he wanted to dress up as a woman (it's been suggested that some of Gein's crimes stemmed from a twisted attempt to deal with his desire to change his gender). In 1957, two murders committed by Gein attracted the attention of the police, leading to Gein's arrest; near the end of that year, he was declared criminally insane and was committed for life to Wisconsin's Waupan State Hospital, where he stayed until his death in 1984. Gein's grisly story inspired a number of horror films, including Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Deranged, but Ed Gein is the first feature based strictly on the facts of Gein's case, using his real name as well as those of most of his victims. Ed Gein stars Steve Railsback in the title role, with Carrie Snodgrass as his mother Augusta, and Sally Champlin and Carol Mansell as two of his victims. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Director David Fincher's dark, stylish thriller ranks as one of the decade's most influential box-office successes. Set in a hellish vision of a New York-like city, where it is always raining and the air crackles with impending death, the film concerns Det. William Somerset (Morgan Freeman), a homicide specialist just one week from a well-deserved retirement. Every minute of his 32 years on the job is evident in Somerset's worn, exhausted face, and his soul aches with the pain that can only come from having seen and felt far too much. But Somerset's retirement must wait for one last case, for which he is teamed with young hotshot David Mills (Brad Pitt), the fiery detective set to replace him at the end of the week. Mills has talked his reluctant wife, Tracy (Gwyneth Paltrow), into moving to the big city so that he can tackle important cases, but his first and Somerset's last are more than either man has bargained for. A diabolical serial killer is staging grisly murders, choosing victims representing the seven deadly sins. First, an obese man is forced to eat until his stomach ruptures to represent gluttony, then a wealthy defense lawyer is made to cut off a pound of his own flesh as penance for greed. Somerset initially refuses to take the case, realizing that there will be five more murders, ghastly sermons about lust, sloth, pride, wrath, and envy presented by a madman to a sinful world. Somerset is correct, and something within him cannot let the case go, forcing the weary detective to team with Mills and see the case to its almost unspeakably horrible conclusion. The moody photography is by Darius Khondji; the nauseatingly vivid special effects are by makeup artist Rob Bottin, best known for more fantasy-oriented work in films like The Howling (1981). ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Norman Jewison directed Alvin Sargent's adaptation of Jerry Sterner's off-Broadway satire of the excess of the '80s, with Danny DeVito as corporate raider Lawrence Garfield -- or, as he is better known, Larry the Liquidator. Larry spends his waking hours searching for companies to take over. One morning he comes across New England Wire & Cable, a company that has seen better days but is not debt-ridden and contains plenty of cash. Licking his chops, Larry hopes to raid the company and strip its assets. But the company's president, Andrew Jorgenson (Gregory Peck), wants to continue in the wire and cable business. For help, Andrew seeks out his daughter-in-law, Kate Sullivan (Penelope Ann Miller), a New York attorney who is as obsessive about saving Andrew's company as Larry is about destroying it. When she walks into Larry's office, Larry immediately falls in love. But they are adversaries, and they have to decide if love or corporate buyouts come first. This all comes to a head during a shareholder's meeting inside the factory, where both Andrew and Larry state their cases regarding Andrew's beloved company. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

It is best not to suggest to the 500-pound, plaid-suited, humanoid alien Murray the Creature that he eat Italian for dinner because he is sure to take you literally as can soon be seen in this sci-fi parody. Before the film is through, Murray the meat-eater will have consumed 35 Italian residents of New York's little Italy. Investigating their bizarre disappearances is an Irish cop, who discovers their awful fate while waiting for a pizza in an Italian restaurant. Later he tries to get his superiors to believe his story, but of course they don't and the cop is left with no alternative but to try and dispatch Murray by himself. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide