They year was 1990 and I was at a point in my life were I was beginning to transition to seeing films based on directors rather than actors. Tim Burton had made some of my favorite movies up to this point, so I didn't allow the extremely strange name and story of the film to turn me away - and I'm glad I didn't because this movie is done brilliantly.
With a title like this it should come as no surprise that the story is a bit "out there." Edward is a synthetic human who was created rather than born by an eccentric member of a community who was an inventor of curios devices. Unfortunately the creator dies before he finishes Edward and thus he must live his life with sharp blades instead of fingers. He is discovered in the now derelict mansion by a kind-hearted member of the community who is a door-to-door Avon salesperson, who takes Edward home with her so that he doesn't have to be alone.
Thus begins the tale of how difficult it can be to fit into a new community and I suppose the fact that he has scissors for hands could be some sort of extreme metaphor. At first everyone welcomes him and he is actually extremely popular as it is discovered he has a penchant for cutting hair.
But for reasons that I will let you discover on your own, eventually the town turns on him and despite the fact that he can cut the bejesus out of you and can be considered a monster, he has very little in the way of evil going on inside him.
It is worth noting that Winona Ryder became the fantasy pin-up girl for every teenage boy in the world during this film. I was one of those people and I still kind of have a crush on her to this day despite her performance in the Aliens franchise.
The music in the movie is outstanding and this is the 4th time that Tim Burton and Danny Elfman have worked together. Both of them cite this film as being their favorite or at least "most personal" work that they have ever done.
This movie has tremendous rewatch value and the characters are perfectly cast. The movie is near flawless and even the things that are flawed such as the neighborhood seeming a bit "fake" was likely done intentionally.