Memorable Roles in Horrific History - James Karen as Old Man Bender in Bender

I had the pleasure of interviewing director John Alexander around the time of his movie's debut. I was a news reporter at the time in Geary County, Kansas where the movie was filmed.
The movie Bender is a well-made independent film that both horror and history fans would appreciate. As George Lane pointed out in the Inde Spotlight Second of HorrorHound magazine issue #78, this was one of a few movies James Karen starred in before he passed away in 2018.
Karen was both a legendary actor, and a horror movie icon before starring here. He starred in classics like Poltergeist (1982), Return of the Living Dead  parts 1 and 2 (1985-1988), The Unborn (1991), and another movie I have my heart set on finding and watching - Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster (1965). Karen also starred in other cinematic masterpieces such as The Pursuit of Happyness and Revenge of the Nerds IV: Nerds in Love (sarcasm intended). He's a legend. There's no other way to say it.

Bender, which also stars Bruce Davison, tells the true story of America's first serial killing family, the Benders.
They were a family of homesteaders living out on a Labette County Kansas prairie, operating a bed and breakfast. Their bloody notoriety came about shortly after the Civil War as people started disappearing in their area.
Approximately 20 people fell victim to the Bender's when all was said and done.
James Karen's performance is so visual. His character is dead inside - void of compassion, feeling, human warmth. He's barely sentient at all. He reacts and kills, while merely going through the actions of daily life in the meantime.
Karen plays the part of this serial killer old man so well. His character murders impulsively. And such a person as Old Man Bender could only be a shell of a man with no sanctifying grace maintaining his humanity. He's just physically alive, and James Karen portrays such a dead man stunningly. His performance is in his face, his eyes, and his body language. Bender was a sick man, and Karen captures and conveys this man's inner torture, turmoil, and psychopathic mentality so well through his eyes and face.
His role in Bender is a fantastic nearly final bow (he had a couple more productions he was involved with before his death) to a rich and full acting career. I can imagine decades upon decades of his audience members giving him a tremendous standing ovation when the credits role at the end of this film. 
This role is worth remembering.