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Should you pass Michael in the streets, you probably wouldn't even take
special notice of him - no disrespect, he just looks like a very regular
guy. Now would you know a little more about him, like he has some real
life (well, dead) skulls in his basement, and has once received a postcard
from Charles Manson (late in Manson's life, from prison), you might have
second thoughts about him. And then you watch this documentary about him
(and his hobby), and you'd probably like to sit down with him and talk
more. You see, Michael is not a violent man by any definition of the word,
but he has a weird fascination for serial murders, which is expressed in
him collecting serialkiller memorabilia, be it letters from Ted Bundy,
paintings from John Wayne Gacy, outfits, bibles, and whatnot from
who-knows-who, all neatly documented and tucked away in his private Museum
of Madness, framed by (perfectly legally obtained) human skulls. And
all of this has nothing to do with killer worship as Michael is as
interested in their victims, just with a certain fascination with death
and the own evanescence as such, which is also why Michael was penpals
with many psycho-killers doing life. Now collecting murder memorabilia
sure is an unusual hobby - but it doesn't make one a weirdo ... As
with most of René Wiesner's documentaries, this one revolves around a
macabre topic, and as with most, the filmmaker tries to approach the topic
as objectively as possible, showing even the most spectacular exhibits in
Michael's museum without much sensationalism, instead lets the man make
his own case - and that approach just works very well, for one because
Michael's well-spoken, but also because the interview seems very un-biased
and very honest, and normally under-represented topics (like the respect
for victims) is given plenty of room. In all, a fascinating documentary
that might change one's perception of quite some things ...
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