In Sin he Found Salvation
John Borowski
R1 DVD
Web: http://www.albertfishfilm.com
Albert
Fish was considered one of the most reviled killers of the early 20th
century. Child Killer, cannibal and violent sado-masochist, Fish appeared to
all who saw him to be a rather polite elderly gentleman and hence proved very
difficult to catch.
Fish
had a pathology which made him especially dangerous, he was able to hold down
various jobs and fulfil a relatively normal social role while living a double
life as a serial killer and cannibal. Fish was a loving father and never showed
any violence or even raised his voice to her children and yet in his other life
was a savage killer; his hatred of others was only matched with the masochistic
violence and hatred he showed towards himself.
Throughout
the 1920’s until he died in the eclectic chair in 1936, he lived a life
obsessed with religion and dominated by pain, suffering, cannibalism, torture
and murder. In the end he was charged with first degree murder and sent to the
electric chair. Fish stated that he looked forward to his electrocution as a
experience in pain he had not had before.
It
has been conservatively estimated that he killed between 5 and 15 children and
teens and attacked hundreds of others throughout most states in America. How
many he actually killed we will never know. He primarily attacked young and
poor teens and children as they were the easiest victims. During this period
the biggest fear was kidnapping for ransom and no one suspected a killer such
as Fish could exist, sadly, it may also be noted that the children of the poor
were not necessarily a high priority to the police.
Fish
mixed strange religious obsessions with his mental disturbance and this is what
makes Borowski's documentary so interesting. He doesn’t just outline the
history of the Fish case but explores its origins and the way in which it
combined with his religious extremism to create a truly demented individual.
Fish took Christianity literally and hence became obsessed with its themes of
suffering, the evils of sex, death, sin and redemption. Stories such as the Old
Testament tale of Abraham’s sacrifice of his son (stopped just in time by an
angel) and the death of Christ became part of his sado-masochistic worldview.
Images such as St. Sebastian pieced by arrows and the communion rites where the
wine and bread literally become Christ’s blood were similarity interpreted.
Indeed, the communion rite became his justification for indulgence in
cannibalism.
This
is a superbly produced documentary using a wide range of source material, stills
and powerful re-enactments and with an excellent voice over by Tony Jay. The
re-enactments are very processional and confronting and at times brutal. The
intersection between his obsessions and religious mania make this film very
thought provoking. There are also excellent interviews with forensic
psychologist Katherine Ramsland and with outsider artist Joe Coleman.
The
use of excerpts from Fish’s letters are chilling and horrifying. Joe Coleman
has in his possession the original letter Albert Fish wrote to Grace Budd's
parents, six years after she went missing. It is hard to get a handle on just
how one would feel receiving such a letter..
"...On
Sunday June the 3, 1928 I called on you at 406 W 15 St. Brought you pot cheese,
strawberries. We had lunch. Grace sat in my lap and kissed me. I made up my
mind to eat her. On the pretence of taking her to a party. You said yes she
could go. I took her to an empty house in Westchester I had already picked out.
When we got there, I told her to remain outside. She picked wildflowers. I went
upstairs and stripped all my clothes off. I knew if I did not I would get her
blood on them. When all was ready I went to the window and called her. Then I
hid in a closet until she was in the room. When she saw me all naked she began
to cry and tried to run down the stairs. I grabbed her and she said she would
tell her mamma. First I stripped her naked. How she did kick, bite and scratch.
I choked her to death, then cut her in small pieces so I could take my meat to
my rooms. Cook and eat it. How sweet and tender her little ass was roasted in
the oven. It took me 9 days to eat her entire body. I did not fuck her tho I
could of had I wished. She died a virgin."
The
film works at a leisurely pace also proving solid background on the period in
which Fish lived, worked and killed, with discussions of the nature of family
life and the police service of that period. I found this especially significant
as it provided a context for the life of Albert Fish. Too often crime docos
focus on the killer and victims alone and we do not get a feel for the period
in which they live and possible causes for their behaviour. Certainly this does
not detract from the horrific nature of their crimes but it does give a deeper
understanding to their possible motives, especially in Fish’s case, when we
consider the violent abuse he had received in the orphanage in which he grew
up. At the same time Borowski makes no attempt to water down or cover up the
brutality of his crimes, there is no whitewash or on the other hand any
sensationalism, this is an honest portrayal of a vicious and demented serial
killer and it is for that reason that this is a very superior documentary which
stands out from many others made on similar subjects.
There
are some controversial aspects of the documentary and these mainly focus on Joe
Coleman. An eccentric outsider, Coleman offers some truly telling commentary on
the significance of religious ideas within Fish’s pathology and on Fish in
general.
The
DVD is packed with interesting features include multiple interviews, outtakes,
trailers, a rather comprehensive history of the electric chair (11 minutes) and
a interactive look at Joe Coleman's Fish portrait where you can click each
section for a larger view. There is also
a full reading on Fish’s letter on Grace Budd and Billy Gaffney and a stills
documentary.
Borowski’s
next film, already in production, is on Carl Panzram- Carl Panzram was in and
out of prisons all his life and was a hate-filled serial killer. Brutalized in
and out of various U.S. state prisons during 20th century America, Panzram
unleashed a rampage of revenge that resulted in over 20 murders and countless
acts of violent sodomy. A single act of kindness, by prison guard Henry Lesser,
sparked a friendship that eventually influenced Panzram to write his
autobiography. In 1930, Panzram was hanged for killing a laundry foreman at
Leavenworth prison.
“In
my lifetime I have murdered 21 human beings, I have committed thousands of
burglaries, robberies, larcenies, arsons and last but not least I have
committed sodomy on more than 1,000 male human beings. For all of these things
I am not the least bit sorry. I have no conscience so that does not worry me. I
don’t believe in man, God nor Devil. I hate the whole damned human race
including myself.”
Albert Fish Website:
Web: http://www.albertfishfilm.com
Carl Panzram Website: