Albert Fish: In Sin He Found Salvation
August. 13,2007Albert Fish, the horrific true story of elderly cannibal, sadomasochist, and serial killer, who lured children to their deaths in Depression-era New York City. Distorting biblical tales, Albert Fish takes the themes of pain, torture, atonement and suffering literally as he preys on victims to torture and sacrifice.
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This was apparently made in 2007, but has a much much older feel. Pretty much all documentaries from the mid-80's and back have this same lowbrow over dramatic recreations.It has no proper flow, no credible basis for telling a story that is already written for them, and just generally insulted my intelligence. On several occasions while watching this I asked myself... do they think I'm some moron who's drooling on themselves? This could be used as an example of the worst way to document something on film.The maker of this, and anyone who likes this style of documentary, must live on a different planet than me, and may be even be a different species of human.
Albert Fish, the horrific true story of elderly cannibal, sadomasochist, and serial killer, who lured children to their deaths in Depression-era New York City.While Fish is well-known among serial killer fanatics, I do not know if he is well-known to the general public. He should be, or at least he certainly should deserve the honor. For all the films that have been made based loosely on Ed Gein, it surprises me that Fish seems to influenced practically no one in the artistic world (beyond Joe Coleman).The biggest complaint about this film from other reviewers is that it is slow and boring. I will grant that it is a little bit slow, but you are dealing with a subject that has limited photos and even fewer videos. To compile this, the director had to stretch things a bit. Maybe it would have been better as 60 minutes, but I am still impressed by the images they were able to find (some I had seen before, some I had not).I also liked that Fredric Wertham plays a role in here. I was not aware he testified for the defense of Fish, as Wertham is better known (at least to me) for his crusade against comic books and television violence. There is some irony there, I suppose, that a man who defends the insane ends up battling comic books for their erosion of morals.
The story is so horrifying and gruesome, even by today's standards, that the director's attempts at dramatization add nothing and are more of a distraction. Multiple shots of roasting meat in the shape of ass? Really? And too much time is spent with two dubious "experts," one of whom proudly describes how he acquired Fish's confession letter in an act of larceny (anyone send a copy of this film to the cops in Westchester County?) and who creepily asserts that Fish MUST have loved Grace Buddd in order to do what he did to her. Huh? Anyone want to go dig around in THIS guy's backyard? And all of the religious motivation nonsense is completely at odds with what we know about sexual homicide. It's all about a toxic mix of extreme self absorption and the desire to control others with a nice positive feedback of orgasm. That's it folks. No religious motive here. The religious stuff may have helped him rationalize what he did and certainly sweetened the filth aspect for this guy, but that's probably it. Read Schecter's Deranged instead for a good Fish account.
Albert Fish, like H.H. Holmes before him, was a serial killer before serial killers were commonplace names like Ted Bundy and the Son of Sam. Even as one of the first known serial killers in America, Fish was one of the most disgusting, perverted, and vicious murderers in history. He was a vile, sadistic, and despicable child murderer & cannibal and I would be hard pressed to find many more humans to be more disgusting in this world's history.However, this review is not for the horrible man that was Albert Fish, but for the documentary, 'Albert Fish: In Sin He Found Salvation.' Before viewing, one should realize what this documentary is about. I do not believe this film's main goal was to be informative. Much of the film was about the 'shock' of the events of Albert Fish's life and crimes. Information was regularly repeated, but in just more dramatic ways. The film itself was compiled well, however. The dramatizations are well done, the structure of the film flows well, and the narration is fantastic.If you're unfamiliar with the life of Albert Fish and looking for basic information with flair, this documentary is for you. However, if you already have done your research on the monster that is Albert Fish, watch this film for nothing more than seeing what you already know exhibited in new ways.Final Verdict: 7/10.-AP3-