'Netflix's Ed Gein drama was sick and disturbing - so why do I feel sorry for killer?'

Netflix really did outdo itself with the latest in itsMonster series. While casting Charlie Hunnam as serial killer Ed Gein was a masterstroke, the way the story played with a viewer's emotion may not have been.

Loner Gein's crimes are up there with some of the worst in history. So much so, the world of theatre changed forever when the likes of Alfred Hitchcock used them to traumatised audiences with the creation of films such as Psycho.

And, according to the new drama, his atrocities helped to create a new breed of monsters, all of whom put Gein on a pedestal. However, for such a disturbing tale, the dramatisation of Gein's gruesome story left me feeling uneasy.

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Why was I have tinges of sadness towards one of the most gruesome names in history? Why did it leave me feeling sorry for him when the crimes came to light and the years that followed following his incarceration? For the producers to create this mix-up simply didn't - and still doesn't - sit well with me.

Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan's third Monster instalment sees Hunnam portray the unassuming Ed Gein whose life was seemingly devoted to his mother, who appeared to rule with an iron fist. Following her death, Gein appears lost and is desperately seeking the interaction from the outside world.

His connection with Adeline Watkins (Suzanna Son), a fellow outcast in their Wisconsin hometown, grows stronger and viewers watch on as she seemingly leads him on a path of destruction. After appearing to turn down Gein's advances, she turns him onto the world of necrophilia. She also introduces him to the horrific tales of Holocaust war criminal, Isla Koche - also known as the B**ch of Buchenwald - and thus grows his obsession for skinning his victims and corpses.

The tale intertwines Gein's ghoulish crimes at the time with how his life and atrocities become sensationalised. It cleverly meshes Gein's story with how Hitchcock based Norman Bates on him - and how the character's actor, Anthony Perkins' real life as a closeted gay man in 1950s Hollywood. The influence on iconic horrors such as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre are also showcased.

But it again takes you on an emotional rollercoaster as it shows his time in Mendota Mental Health Institute, where he was sent after being deemed unfit to stand trial for his crimes.

So why does it play with the emotions? Let's not forget how in real life detectives uncovered masks made from female faces and an entire severed head in a sack. Among other sickening items found at Gein's home were a wastebasket made of human skin, kitchen bowls made from human skulls, and a corset made from a female torso skinned from shoulders to waist to name just a few. There were also vulvas from teenage girls discovered, as well as a belt made from female body parts - most of which was shown in the Netflix production.

How, or more importantly why, did producers decide to portray Gein in such a way that there was mixed emotions? Yes, he was clearly a troubled man as his later diagnosis showed. But, with so many atrocities, was it the right move to push the boundaries and tread this fine line. For me, perhaps not.

Away from the emotive battle inside my own head, Hunnam's exquisite dive into the character deserves enormous recognition. From shedding almost 30 pounds in an extreme transformation to look scarily like the killer,to perfecting his vocal pattern and tone, Hunnam proved to be an excellent choice for the main man.

He was able to grip the viewers within the extraordinarily bizarre story and deserves all the plaudits that will come his way.

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