When cinematographer Michael Bauman began research for Netflix’s “Monster: The Ed Gein Story,” he got unique insight into the story.
The eight-part series, led by Charlie Hunnam, tapped into the serial killer who killed at least two women and exhumed several bodies for his heinous purposes in the 1950s. Raised by an evangelical mother whom he obsessed over, he desecrated human cadavers to make a skin suit — Gein and his story are rife with disturbing, unprecedented psychological drama. The case inspired movies such as “Psycho,” “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and “The Silence of the Lambs.”
Like Gein, Bauman hails from Wisconsin, so he was able to tap into family and friends who had vivid memories — down to how he walked through town.
Aside from hearing from primary sources, Bauman worked closely with showrunner Max Winkler in crafting the show’s eerie look and exploring how to utilize the architecture of the home to build tension.
The pair, who had previously worked together on “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” looked at over 300 visual references and films as they navigated how to shape certain reveals Winkler, Bauman says, was very adamant about where to up the tension throughout.
The sixth episode, titled “Buxom Bird,” sees two cops finding Gein’s house, filled with trash and swarming flies. Upon entering, the pair discover the horrors of bloody intestines, fingernails and a human heart boiling on the stove. As they make the gruesome discovery, the sheriff calls for backup. Composer Mac Quayle’s score plays a deep cello conveying deep dread.
Previous episodes had alluded to the horrors happening inside the home, but it all culminated in this moment.
“It was really about revealing parts of the story through light,” Bauman says. “Max and I always talked about how there’s bright sun and snow outside and it looks like it’s a gorgeous winter day — and inside this house, it is very dark and it’s very claustrophobic.”
As discoveries happen, “editor Adam Penn cuts to the officers and their faces and where they’re looking,” says Bauman. “As an audience, you’re thinking, ‘What am I looking at? Is that what I think it is?’ We were playing with that a lot.”
Bauman worked closely with the show’s chief lighting technician and gaffer, Manny Tapia, about how to make every detail as dark as possible and create mystery while still seeing “the reflective nature of their faces. It wasn’t about pushing a lot of light in.”
As for framing the cops in this scene, Bauman credits P. Scott Sakamoto, the Steadicam operator, who had previously worked on “Killers of the Flower Moon” and “A Complete Unknown.”
“He brought interesting ideas to the party,” says Bauman. “He said, ‘Let’s start farther away on them, and as they start to get closer to the realization of what they think is going on, get closer and closer.’”
And as one of the cops sees Gein’s mask, and the other pulls out the heart from the pot, a wide shot reveals the entire environment.
“It’s basically an externalization of Ed’s mind at the time,” Bauman explains.
Bauman shot on the Alexa 35 and used custom PV Kowa lenses.
“When they pan the flashlights around, it just had this interesting flare quality to it,” he says, adding that he also integrated in a vintage lens and a 50mm lens for wide shots. “It offers this really unusual shallow depth of field. And it’s kind of a cool way to build tension. Between those two things, lens-wise, it gave an interesting texture to the whole thing.”
Watch the video above.