IMDb > The Gray Man (2007)

The Gray Man (2007) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 6 | slideshow)

Overview

User Rating:
6.2/10   394 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?

Down 15% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.

Director:

Scott L. Flynn

Writer:

Lee Fontanella (screenplay)

Contact:

View company contact information for The Gray Man on IMDbPro.

Release Date:

2007 (USA) more

Genre:

Crime | Thriller more

Plot:

Obsessive manhunt to identify and capture a despicable serial killer. | full synopsis

NewsDesk:
(3 articles)

Monarch has War Wolves and Gray Man on DVD
 (From Fangoria. 10 April 2009, 1:42 PM, PDT)

American Film Market 2008, Part One: The Overview
 (From Fangoria. 2 December 2008, 2:51 PM, PST)

User Comments:

Ambitious and riveting more (6 total)


Cast

  (Credited cast)

Patrick Bauchau ... Albert Fish
Jack Conley ... Det. Will King

John Aylward ... Captain Ayers

Jillian Armenante ... Delia Budd

Silas Weir Mitchell ... Albert Fish, Jr.

Vyto Ruginis ... Detective Maher

Mollie Milligan ... Gertrude

Lexi Ainsworth ... Grace Budd
Shaun Senter ... Pale Boy

Ben Hall ... Albert Budd
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Colin Anderson ... Spanked Boy
Brett Bower ... Lee Sicowski

Morgan Brown ... Reporter #1
Jason Burkhart ... John DeMarco
George Campbell ... Coroner

Lisa Carnahan ... Maggie

Darryl Cox ... Desk Sargeant

Chamblee Ferguson ... Defense Attorney

Bill Flynn ... Frederic Wertham M.D.

Velinda Godfrey ... Nurse

Jeff Griffin ... Reporter

Christopher Hurt ... Newspaper Boy
Shawn Jefferson ... Officer Macdonald
Kent Jones ... Scoutmaster
Aaron Kozak ... Willie

Ian Leson ... Cop

Calley Luman ... Gloria DeMarco

Austin Majors ... Boy Scout (voice)

Cayman Mitchell ... Francis McDonnell

Joshua Morris ... News Vendor

Allison Nevins ... Mother #2

Dennis O'Neill ... Oscar Downey

Jackson Pace ... Billy Gaffney

Eric Parker ... Edward Budd
Lucas Ross ... Sailor
W. Jerome Stevenson ... Janitor
Heather Surdukan ... Mrs. Karlson

Paul T. Taylor ... Western Union Manager

Laurel Whitsett ... Miss Bruce
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:

Wisteria: The Story of Albert Fish (USA) (working title)
more

MPAA:

Rated R for disturbing violent content including graphic descriptions of aberrant behavior, and some language.

Runtime:

Canada:98 min (Ontario)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:R | Canada:14A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Guthrie, Oklahoma, USA more

Company:

Animationwerks more


FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful.
Ambitious and riveting, 4 August 2009
9/10
Author: oyason from Seattle

"The Gray Man" is an important addition to the horror genre. Director Scott Flynn chose to tell the story of Albert Fish, a serial murderer who is believed to have murdered and cannibalized several young children in the late 1920s and early 1930s in the environs of New York City. Fish worked as a handyman and painter in most of the neighborhoods he lived in, and was seen for the most part as a relatively inoffensive and grandfatherly individual by many people. In reality, he is said to have possessed a raging sociopathic pattern that knew its roots in the harsh treatment he received in state orphanages run by religious fanatics in the upper boroughs of the city. Flynn's film gives the viewer a slight background of Fish's character so that even the most offended audience member can understand Fish's motivation. The man remains genuinely creepy in depiction, however, simply due to the deep horror of life that true degeneracy, or "evil", if you must, rarely has a loud "telegraph". Albert Fish is scary because he looks like the earnest, hard working sort of character who you'd hire to repair your furnace.

"The Gray Man" is also a significant work in horror, because it puts to rest the idea that a grisly tale must rely upon grisly depiction in order to unsettle the viewer. Director Flynn has wisely chosen not to graphically re-create the murders, and does not bother with lurid presentations of children being dissected or disposed of as meat. It might seem ridiculous that I would even have to point this out, but anyone who knows contemporary horror understands how little credit all too many Gothic film makers lend the imagination of their public anymore. I don't want to belabor the point, suffice it to say that "The Gray Man" puts films like "Saw" and "Hostel" to shame. Very few things in this life are as terrifying as a child murderer, Flynn and his cast put this true story across without much reliance on the sensational. Why, they even rely on a few little tricks like "atmosphere" here. Imagine that.

Leading the cast is veteran actor Patrick Bauchau, who brings the character of Albert Fish himself a terrifying but not entirely unlikeable quality. His work in this film is a delicately balanced affair that is more effective than that of Anthony Hopkins in "The Silence of the Lambs". Hopkin's performance in that work is outstanding, of course, but it is relatively melodramatic and over- the- top compared to the craft and restraint Bauchau offers here.. Following Bauchau up as the intrepid Missing Persons investigator Will King is Jack Conley, whose world weary demeanor I found very welcome in this age of celluloid depictions of lantern jawed law enforcement officials who always know what to do. Conley's King is a man unsure in his surety, a gumshoe who's likable for the same reasons we like Jake Gittes in "Chinatown" and Sam Spade in "The Maltese Falcon". He's sort of an anti-bureaucratic bureaucrat.

The other supporting cast members are quite good, most notably the perpetually bemused children of Albert Fish, Gertrude and Albert Jr., who know him alternately as both solid family man and abusive personality. The roles are handled by Mollie Milligan and Silas Mitchell. Jillian Armaneni is powerful as the mother of Grace Budd, the victim of Fish whose disappearance finally put investigators on his trail, and Lexi Ainsworth is very fine as Grace herself. Ben Hall holds his own as Grace's brother Albert, and character actor Bill Flynn has an appearance as the notorious Dr. Frederick Wertham (yes, he of the controversial 1950s anti- comic book crusade) who was a defense witness at the Fish trial as Fish and his crew pleaded insanity.

As for accuracy, who knows? So much has been written about the case that, now, seventy five years after the events themselves, it's even more difficult to separate the folklore from the reality of the moment. Albert Fish has entered that realm of real-life bogeymen with a distinction known by few, so the scuttlebutt will continue to blossom. Be that as it may, "The Gray Man" is a finely crafted, ambitious and riveting horror film, one of the few in the contemporary samples from the genre that is worthy of the time it takes to view it.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more (6 total)

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Gray Man (2007)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
What was the meaning of the ghost boy? mrs_george_harrison
Would like to know where to purchase here in the USA? skubat
Gray or Brown? filmzrule
uk adamhall17
Film pulls its punch at the crucial moment (SPOILER) stuporstar-2
It's For Sale now. oklahoma-3
more

Recommendations

If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
- - - - -
Citizen X Zodiac El niño de barro The Hunt for the BTK Killer The Zodiac
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
Show more recommendations

Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits External reviews
News articles IMDb Crime section IMDb USA section
Add this title to MyMovies

You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.