Netflix‘s latest installment of the Monsters series has sparked a major debate online, as people are questioning what the real Ed Gein’s voice sounded like.
If you’ve tuned into Monsters: The Ed Gein Story, you will instantly be struck by the strange tone actor Charlie Hunnam talks in.
Hunnam takes on the role of the Gein, who, despite only being convicted of two murders, became infamous for what he did with corpses.
Using bodies to make a disturbing collection of household items and clothing from human remains.
Gein’s story exposes the darkest aspects of human nature, and his deeply disturbed life has left a lasting impact on pop culture and film.
His case inspired Psycho, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and later, characters in The Silence of the Lambs and Ryan Murphy’s own American Horror Story: Asylum.
Gein’s crimes were so grotesque and unsettling that many of his actions have become somewhat of a myth.
Murphy’s anthology series Monsters reimagines real, true crime cases with heightened drama for viewers.
Murphy’s first season, which focused on Jeffrey Dahmer, and the second, centered on the Menendez Brothers, were largely praised for their accurate and compelling portrayals of the killers.
Yet viewers of The Ed Gein Story have been making one particular complaint – and it’s to do with the character’s ‘weird’ voice.
“I’m genuinely struggling to watch #MonsterTheEdGeinStory due to his stupid, Winnie-the-Pooh impression,” one viewer said.
“Can’t help but laugh every time he opens his mouth.”
Discussing the accent Hunnam uses when playing Gein, another wrote: “What is this voice? Ed Gein did not sound like that.”
“Ed Gein did not talk like this,” a third commented. “So disappointing they did this.”
“It’s so strange to hear Charlie do his voice like that,” another remarked.
So why was this a creative choice made, and what did Gein really sound like?
Hunnam, who has a north-east England voice, told Variety that Gein’s voice needed to be ‘distinctive.’
The actor added: “But I don’t think any of us really had an idea of what that was.”
Gein, who died in 1984, existed before the age of media, meaning recordings of him were rare.
However, some do exist.
Max Winkler, the director of six of the season’s eight episodes, said the tapes were almost impossible to obtain, stating that their best researchers weren’t successful.
“But Charlie got it, because he’s Charlie and he does crazy s***,” Winkler stated.
The director explained the choice for Hunnam to portray Gein with such a distinctive voice was a deliberate creative decision.
Winkler had imagined a combination of Mark Rylance’s tone in his Tony-winning role in Jerusalem and Michael Jackson.
Later, during Hunnam’s process of getting into the mind of the killer, he asked Joshua Kunau, the producer of the documentary Psycho: The Lost Tapes of Ed Gein, to share the audio of a 70-minute interview with Gein.
The tape was recorded the night he was arrested and was not legally admissible.
Hunnam was able to use them in preparation for the role: “I started to see him through a series of affectations to please his mother.
“That’s where the voice came from.”
James Buddy Day, director of Psycho: The Lost Tapes of Ed Gein’s, characterized the killer’s voice as ‘meek and mild.’
Despite some fans’ reactions to the Hunnams’ portrayal of Gein, the distinctive voice has left an impact.
Now, fans are rushing to find out what the ‘Butcher of Plainfield’ really sounded like.
In the comments of a YouTube video, one person writes: “How many other people came here after the new series of Monsters came out, to see if the voice matched.”
Another adds: “This video is gonna have a lot more views soon.”
Many others have flooded the comments sharing their reactions to hearing it for the first time.
One fan says: “Had to come check out the real voice because I knew damn well there was no way he sounded like Winnie-the-Pooh.”
A second comments: “I hate how infantilized his voice is in this Netflix show. They’re so wrong for that.”
“Just started watching the show. Came here to see if the voice matched, and now I’m not sure I can continue watching it,” a third quips.
“His voice is ridiculous on the show. No one talks like that!”
Listen to a recording of Ed Gein’s voice taken from Psycho: The Lost Tapes of Ed Gein below…
