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 Albert
Fish (2006)
R1 / NTSC DVD
Facets Video / 2007
Directed by John Borowski
Written by John Borowski
Cast: Tony Jay, Oto Brezina, Derek Gaspar, Cooney Horvath,
Harvey Fisher, Joe Coleman
Review by Vaughn Drake
Albert Fish; loving father, Christian, sadomasochist,
serial killer and cannibal. Albert Fish; the Bogeyman, the
Gray Man, the Werewolf of Wysteria. Albert Fish terrorized
the early parts of the twentieth century with his decades
long killing spree, highlighted in the kidnapping, murder
and finally cannibalization of young Grace Bud, a young girl
who willingly walked to her death with one of histories
sickest men. Well after her death, Fish mailed what can only
be described as the sickest letter ever written, to Grace’s
parents describing how he cooked and ate her.
Fish, portrayed in this documentary by Oto Brezina and
voiced superbly by Harvey Fisher, was the definition of
horror to his generation and had his antics not been
overshadowed by the Lindbergh baby kidnapping, Fish’s name
would be mentioned in the same sentence as Jack the Ripper
and Ted Bundy and as an icon of the roaring twenties. Tony
Jay, whose voice could grate cheese, was unbelievable as the
narrator in this, his last role before his death. The artist
Joe Coleman plays a surprisingly large role in the film,
discussing his acquisition of the famous Fish letter (a
pretty good story on its own merits) and discussing the case
as a whole.
How Hollywood managed to let his story slip through the
cracks is beyond me, but documentary filmmaker John Borowski
(H.H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer and the upcoming
Panzram) took it upon himself to create a loving snapshot of
his crimes and his impact on a generation. He used actors
for the recreations, and edited them between snapshots of
old New York, old photographs and props. |
