By Katherine Ramsland

(Continued)

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The story is well-told, spare yet layered with numerous depictions from Fish's deviant life and confession.  He was young when his father died and his mother abandoned him at an orphanage.  He's the poster boy for issues arising from interrupted attachment, as during his vulnerable transition from safe harbor to authoritarian regime, he claimed to have witnessed the beatings of many boys.  He stated that these experiences contributed to his later predilections. 

I was invited to comment on Fish's life for this documentary and I accepted because I had seen Borowski's meticulous work on a prior film, the life and deeds of H. H. Holmes, one of America's earliest known serial murderers.  I found that just as Borowski brought Holmes's world alive with terrific footage, photos, and articles from the time period (and made Holmes's writings widely available), he'd done the same for Fish.  Viewers will definitely experience the period.  If I could have asked for more, it would have been further commentary from the records of Dr. Fredric Wertham, the psychiatrist who studied Fish in depth. 

H. H. Holmes DVD

Nevertheless, the 86-minute documentary offered a comprehensive exploration of Fish's most perverted ideas and actions.  Fish viewed himself as both Christ and Abraham, and his delusions are aptly conveyed through the juxtaposition of his debased self-indulgence with incandescent images from biblical art.  He was a self-described sacrificial figure with a craving for urine, blood, and rectums.  Unlike many sexual predators, he could sustain an erotic trance for days as he inflicted excruciating pain.  The fire consumed him, he said, and it's little wonder that his appetite for torture expanded.  If not for the way Borowski winds it down with Fish's execution, the film would probably leave viewers psychologically depleted.

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