Director and Executive Producer, James Buddy Day talks MGM+’s Psycho: The Lost Tapes of Ed Gein

James Buddy Day (Blumhouse’s Compendium of Horror, Fall River) directed and executive produced Psycho: The Lost Tapes of Ed Gein, an MGM+ original docuseries about “The Plainfield Ghoul” and “The Mad Butcher,” whose crimes inspired Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and The Silence of the Lambs. During press day for the series, I had time to chat with James about his role in the series and why certain particulars were important to include like his relationship with his mother.  

“We could take a true crime documentary and make it into essentially a horror series,” stated Day when asked what he wanted to see come from this project as the director. He and his team told the story of Ed Gein in a unique way. They take you through his life with his eccentric mother, his feelings towards her, and all the events that unfolded after her passing. 

Day expressed his belief that they had truly accomplished their goal by the end of the day.

When asked why his mom was a central theme throughout the series, James replied, “Everything goes back to her.” He described a scenario where a mother, driven by fanaticism, intentionally raised her son in isolation in a farmhouse devoid of electricity. You learn in the series that she preached to him his entire life about the evils of the world, which eventually led to him idolizing his mother in the most peculiar way. Day stated that Ed saw him and his mother as one, which strongly reminds me of Norman Bates, the character from Robert Bloch’s novel Psycho. Norman Bates was inspired by the revealed details about Ed Gein at that time.  

Day stated that true crime television shows and horror movies can all be traced back to this specific moment in time. Creating this series with a new lens and new uncovered information excited James because, as a horror movie buff, he sees how Ed’s story from back then has created a genre in television and film that follows a certain similar pattern and storyline today. He had the opportunity to engage in conversations with experts in the field, which provided him with valuable insights into the thought processes of individuals such as Ed Gain. This allows for us as viewers to go on a psychoanalytical journey in each episode as experts recount testimonies by Gein and the basis for his behavior at various moments.

“It’s true horror,” replied Day when I asked how he would describe this series before we ended our conversation.