Back in 2004 while doing a radio interview with director John Borowski, I first heard of his desire to make an Albert Fish movie. Now, 3 years later, I get to see it. Finally. I've been waiting for a while to see this flick. Was it worth the wait? Read on...

For starters, this movie has the same narrator as John's HH Holmes film, Tony Jay. He's got a really good deep creepy voice (sadly, he passed away shortly after narrating this film). The sound is great, the camera work is great, and all in all, it's a really good documentary.

So..on to the movie.

The flick starts out with the Grace Budd kidnapping and murder. I don't know where the movie was shot, but it looks like it was filmed in the 30's. The show goes pretty in depth about the Budd murder, even as far as showing the actual letter that Fish sent to the Budd family, that is considered to be the sickest letter ever written. The letter itself is now in artist Joe Coleman's "Odditorium" collection. The story of how he came to get it is pretty cool. I wish I could have the same luck as he did.

After the Budd murders and Fish's arrest the show goes on to tell about Fish's childhood & life up until the murders. It also goes pretty in depth on the letters he would send to random women from the want ad's, giving a good insight into the sick mind that he had.

The one thing that I really didn't like about the movie was the voice used for Fish. The actor that plays him does a fine job, but the voice over actor for his voice just didn't seem to fit. The voice used seems like a younger guy. I always pictured fish to have a creepy Vincent Price-ish voice. But all in all, it doesn't distract from the quality of the film.

The DVD also has some great bonus features. Including interviews with the band Macabre's lead singer, French cannibal and grave robber Nicolas Claux, and a behind the scenes interview with the film-maker John Borowski. Also included are trailers for the film, a breakdown of Joe Coleman's Albert Fish painting, a complete reading of the Budd & Gaffney letters, a still gallery, outtakes and cut scenes, and a live performance of Albert Was Worse Than Any Fish In The Sea by Macabre. The first 1000 DVD's sold include a signed (by the filmmaker) and numbered X-Ray of Albert Fish showing all the needles he inserted into his groin.

This is the first time I've seen a documentary on Albert Fish anywhere, and it does him justice. As innocent and frail as Fish looked in many of the photos you see of him, John's film shows him to be an extremely creepy man. Kinda like that weird guy you see walking through town, the guy that makes you want to walk on the other side of the street...

On a scale of one to ten, I'd give this show a 9. Had the voice-over been different, it would very well be a 10.

For the bonus features, they get a 9 as well. I was kinda let down during the interview with Nico. I've heard other interviews with him and he speaks English very well, but in the interview he talks in French and it's subtitled in English. Either way, the bonus features are just as good as the movie.

So now that you're done reading, follow these links to find out more information about buying your own copy of Albert Fish today!

Albert Fish Homepage

John Borowski's Homepage

Buy A Copy Now!


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