Deranged (1974) User Reviews (101)

Ezra Cobb is a homicidal mamma's boy

[evilskip · 7/10 · 3 August 1999]

This is partly inspired by the real life murderer Ed Gein. Ezra is a middle aged momma's boy. He's also a pet moron.Mommy is a raving twisty herself as she is a zealot and always preaching about "dirty women"(finest kind).So when mom drops dead old Ez starts to get lonely.

Well Ezra starts hearing mom's voice after a year. She's lonely & so is he. He digs her up and brings her back home where everybody is happy.His neighbors try and set him up with a woman.This is a really funny scene as his date tries to seduce him. She's kind of crazy herself and tells Ez that her dead husband wants them to play beneath the sheets. Well, she winds up under the sheets permanently.

Ez starts digging up the graveyard and bringing mom some company.He also starts semi stalking a waitress.Finally he sandbags her, brings her back to his place and it gets wild from there.She finds herself trussed to a chair with a table full of rotting corpses.Ez is dressed in the skin of a dead woman.There is no way out of this house of hell.

Ez really goes off the deep end on a trip to town. It involves a rifle, a young girl and a harrowing chase through the woods.This is another gripping scene that spirals into complete madness.

There are a few drawbacks. This movie could have done without the narrator.When he popped up it seemed like we were in a different movie.Old Ezra is the most sympathetic person in the movie.Everyone else is cruel, stupid or as nutty as he is.

On the upside Roberts Blossom gives a great portrayal of Ezra. You feel for Ezra and can really understand his madness.There are many shocking and disturbing scenes in this movie. But it uses suggestion rather than out and out gore.It looks rather tame compared to slasher flicks but that's why this is better. I had to wait 25 years to see this film and all in all it was worth the wait.

Fun, but NOT for the whole family

[Tito-8 · 7/10 · 18 February 1999]

If you can stomach the plot of this movie, then I think that it's fair to say that you will like it. The bloodshed is kept to a minimum (considering the subject matter), but the film should still probably be avoided if you are squeamish or easily offended. However, for people like me who can enjoy a warped sense of humour and don't mind a little gore, it's a pleasant way to spend some time.

Nice and Twisted

[bensonmum2 · 7/10 · 13 May 2005]

• Deranged is a Ed Gein type story - a man takes care of his elderly mother and knows nothing else. After her death, he discovers he can't get on without her so he decides to dig her up and bring her home. She's been in the ground for over a year so she needs some work. In a matter of time, the graverobber discovers that fresh, living tissue will work better on Mama than dead tissue.

• I really enjoy it when I stumble across a film that I've somehow missed over the years. I finally picked-up the Motel Hell / Deranged disc from MGM. The reason was Motel Hell, not having heard much about Deranged. Discovering Deranged on the flip side of the disc was like finding money under a couch cushion - a very nice surprise. It's got most everything one could ask for in a horror movie - twisted characters, flowing blood, a familiar but compelling story, and dead bodies everywhere. But the thing that most impressed me was the acting. Roberts Blossom gives an outstanding performance as Ezra Cobb. There are actually moments when you forget you're watching an actor and really believe what the character is doing. Blossom did that for me. It was as if I was watching a real person. Mannerisms, facial expressions, voice, look, and actions seem absolutely real.

• Even though the MGM disc is cut, I still found many of the scenes very violent. I thought the waitress' death was brutal until I saw what Ezra had in store for the hardware clerk. It's not for the squeamish and not something you see in movies made today. It's raw and brutal. There's "real" violence without a happy ending. The movie is not, however, without a touch or two of comedy that work on some level. The best of these scenes is the contact with the spirit world scene. I actually laughed out loud.

• If you can find the Motel Hell / Deranged MGM disc, I would highly recommend it.

Forgotten horror classic.

[Infofreak · 25 July 2001]

FINALLY got to see 'Deranged' recently after wanting to for years, and what a surprise it is. Low budget yes, but takes its subject matter much more seriously than you would expect. There are some touches of black comedy in places, but overall this is no "funny" gorefest ala the 'Evil Dead' flicks. Roberts Blossom puts in an excellent performance as Ezra Cobb, the Ed Gein inspired protagonist. You may not totally understand why he ends up doing what he does, but Blossom successfully conveys Cobb's loneliness and isolation, which explodes into full blown delusional behaviour.

The only negative comment I have about 'Deranged' is the clumsy and unnecessary intrusions of the narrator into the plot. Without that we'd be looking at a complete classic. Even so, 'Deranged' is much more than a "video nasty" and deserves a much larger audience.

This was actually good even today...

[paul_haakonsen · 6/10 · 30 January 2022]

I have to say that I wasn't really expecting much from this 1974 movie from writer Alan Ormsby when I sat down in 2022 to watch it for the first time. Sure, I hadn't ever heard about the movie, but as I had the chance to watch it, of course I did so.

Turns out that "Deranged" was actually a rather wholesome and entertaining movie. Sure, it was a bit far out there, given the contents of its storyline, so it is not a movie that will appeal to just anyone in the audience. But take into consideration that this was made in 1974, so the movie is not so visually brutal as newer movies of the same genre.

What made "Deranged" work was a combination of the well-written storyline and the stellar performance by Roberts Blossom - playing Ezra Cobb. He was really nicely cast for that role, and he put on a good performance in bringing the deranged Ezra to life on the screen.

Sure, the movie is 48 years old already and the visual effects are definitely showing signs of aging. But luckily "Deranged" is not a movie that is really depending on visual effects to carry it, because of a properly written storyline and the acting performances.

I was genuinely entertained by "Deranged" from directors Jeff Gillen and Alan Ormsby.

My rating of the 1974 movie "Deranged" lands on a six out of ten stars.

A Great Telling of the Ed Gein Story

[gavin6942 · 7/10 · 24 June 2007]

Ezra Cobb (Roberts Blossom) loves his mother and is intimated by women. When his mother dies, he still hears her voice and decides to keep her around the house. But he does not want his mother to get lonely and has to get her some new friends...

Blossom is amazing as Ezra Cobb. You can say what you want about this film, but one thing you cannot say is that Blossom is a horrible actor -- he made Cobb come to life and seem as believable as such a character could be. Cobb, being the movie version of Ed Gein, is more or less exactly the way I picture Gein being. Blossom's facial expressions make this whole picture worthwhile.

I would like to commend them for the faithful version of this story. So many people take the Ed Gein story and add all these elements to it or just take a grain of it and run wild (as in "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" or "Silence of the Lambs"). While not all of this movie is factually what happened in Gein's life, the similarities are quite striking -- right down to the death of the hardware store clerk and the gutting of the woman like a deer.

Although this film is now almost forty years old, almost nothing is lost from the passage of time. In some ways, the film quality really adds to the setting (the story could only take place in the past). Another great feature is the narrator, who enters the story at random intervals to do an overview of the situation. Not only is he great, but watch the camera -- in one scene, the camera leaves Ezra in one room, goes to the narrator, and returns to Ezra in another room, in a seamless fashion (no cuts or edits) and visually showing the passage of time. It is quite well put together.

For a great Gein film, check this out. Whether Tobe Hooper admits to it or not, I do not know, but he owes a debt to this film (much as John Carpenter owes a debt to the late Bob Clark -- who coincidentally produced this). This film is plotted wonderfully, acted wonderfully, and flows wonderfully. With one small detail changed (the plastic looking blood) this would probably be considered a lost classic. Heck, maybe it already should be. (Okay, and maybe we should not be able to read the license plate saying Ontario.)

For a bonus: not only is the legendary Bob Clark an uncredited producer, but Tom Savini worked as a makeup artist for the film's corpses. This was Savini's first film, and the undisputed horror effects master is still going stronger today.

Porto-Slasher

[BandSAboutMovies · 6/10 · 27 October 2019]

Man, Alan Ormsby has done so much. In addition to working with Bob Clark on Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things and Death Dream, he wrote My Bodyguard and the remake of Cat People. Plus, he was the original director of Popcorn and the man behind Kenner's Hugo: Man of a Thousand Faces action figure.

He's the man behind Deranged, along with Jeff Gillen, who played Jeff in Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things and who you can see every Christmas Eve as Santa Claus in A Christmas Story.

Deranged is filmed as if it were a true story, with reporter Tom Simms (Leslie Carlson, Black Christmas) appearing within the events and narrating them. The whole thing was based on Ed Gein, the infamous real life Butcher of Plainfield, Wisconsin that The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Psycho are both based on.

It was produced by producer Tom Karr, a concert promoter for bands like Led Zeppelin and Three Dog Night who had been fascinated with Ed Gein and dreamed of making a film about his story.

Ezra Cobb (Roberts Blossom, Old Man Marley in Home Alone, how's that for a scary tie-in role?) is our Ed Gein stand-in, running a midwest farm with his mother Amanda (Cosette Lee, who played Raxl, Daughter of the Priestess of the Serpent on Strange Paradise, a Canadian occult soap opera created in the wake of Dark Shadows). Since he was a boy, she's taught him to hate women.

Once she dies, it takes a year for him to come out of his shell. When he finally snaps to it, he does what any loving and grieving son would do: he digs his mom up and puts her body together with fish skin and wax.

Ezra gets involved with an eccentric older woman who claims she's psychic named Maureen Shelby (Marian Waldman, Mrs. MacHenry from Black Christmas, and if you don't know who that is, please stop reading and start watching). They have a fumbling sexual encounter that ends with Ezra killing her and we're off to the races.

Ezra's next target is Mary Ransum (Mickie Moore, who is also in The Vindicator and is one of the Believers in, yes, The Believers), a waitress who he lures home, knocks out and dresses in just her underwear for dinner. Their nice meal is ruined by her trying to run, so he smashes her head with a femur bone. And then he takes out young Sally, which leads the police to his home, where they find him in the kitchen, enjoying a bowl of blood after skinning her.

Deranged is not an easy watch, as its subtitle, Confessions of a Necrophile, will tell you. It's also the second movie - after Deathdream - that Tom Savini ever worked his special effects magic on.

What the hell?

[LeaBlacks_Balls · 3/10 · 21 February 2010]

Loosely based on the true horror story of Ed Gein, 'Deranged' will definitely make you question why you watch movies like this.

A lonely, borderline retarded man digs up his mother's corpse and keeps her in the house and goes about trying to seduce women and lure them back to his house so he can kill them and make furniture out of the skin and bones.

Some parts are so ridiculous I wasn't sure if they were supposed to be funny or not. Watch this movie, 'Psycho,' 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre,' and 'Silence of the Lambs,' to see how different filmmakers have used (or exploited) the Ed Gein crimes for their own artistic visions.

A true bone-chiller.

[Nightman85 · 9/10 · 25 September 2005]

Over the years there have been a number of films, both horror and thriller, that have been inspired by the real-life crimes of the infamous Ed Gein. Yet, this was the first film to be closely based on the real Ed Gein.

Reclusive old man loses his mind after the death of his mother and starts to rob graves. But that's just the beginning of terrors to come.

While In the Light of the Moon (2000) may be the more accurate film for the true story of Gein, Deranged is the most effectively frightening. Deranged is an example of low-budget film making at it's best. It sports a believably dark atmosphere and the feeling of chilling realism. In fact some sequences from this film (especially the midnight 'dinner' scene) are simply unforgettable.

The cast of the film is good, but the real highlight of it all is in it's star Robert Blossoms. Blossoms brings such a genuine believability to his crazed character and at times makes him quite sympathetic! That achievement alone is impressive.

Also of note, this was one of the early films for makeup FX artist Tom Savini and his creations for the film are well-done. Adding even more to the sheer spookiness of this film is it's musical score, which is comprised of religious songs.

While Deranged may not have the fame of other low-budgeters of it's day, it is none the less a masterful horror picture that deserves a place in the history of low-budget horror.

*** 1/2 out of ****

Newcomers to the horror genre will want to give it a look.

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 14 July 2015]

"Deranged" is a classic rural shocker that stars the excellent character actor Roberts Blossom as Ezra Cobb - Ez, to his friends. Ez goes off the deep end when his beloved mother (Cosette Lee) dies. He can't bear to be apart from her, so he brings her corpse home from the cemetery. Realizing that her body is in bad shape, he starts robbing other graves to help treat her body the best that it can be treated; he also brings home corpses for the "company".

Blossoms' superior performance, which enables one to sympathize, as much as is possible, with this insane person, makes this a must see. It's also noteworthy for being one of the earliest makeup effects credits for a young Tom Savini. Also on the makeup crew is the screenwriter Alan Ormsby. Ormsby and his co-director, Jeff Gillen, were associates of the filmmaker Bob Clark; they'd also done "Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things" and "Dead of Night" together. While the pacing is awfully slow at times, Ormsby and Gillen give "Deranged" wonderful rural atmosphere.

The makeup effects on this show are pretty good for low budget fare; fans will be pleased to note that the recent Blu-ray release includes a long excised scene of eye / brain scooping.

Ormsby based his screenplay on the real life exploits of the notorious Ed Gein, and apparently this version has been one of the most faithful to the true story for over 40 years now. Buffs, of course, are already aware that Gein also inspired such favourites as "Psycho", "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre", and "The Silence of the Lambs".

The supporting cast - Robert Warner, Marcia Diamond, Robert McHeady ("Cannibal Girls"), Marian Waldman (the original "Black Christmas") - are good, but this is almost entirely Blossoms' show.

Some people take issue with the presence of the newspaperman / narrator character Tom Sims (Leslie Carlson, "Videodrome"), which admittedly is not really a necessary element.

Good stuff overall, but the ending is awfully abrupt.

Seven out of 10.

Creepy & Dirty, 70s style

[Gafke · 5/10 · 25 March 2006]

Ezra Cobb has been taking care of his bed-ridden, domineering mother all his life and has been listening to her hateful rants against evil women and diseased sluts for about as long. When the nasty old cow finally dies, Ezra - in his own quiet way - finally loses it. He digs up her corpse and brings it back home, placing it back in bed and carrying on as though nothing has happened. But as Mother continues to rot and decay, Ez realizes that he must replace her skin. And so she won't get lonely, he brings home the corpses of recently deceased matrons to keep her company. Ez becomes quite adept at making skin masks and other nifty trinkets out of dead flesh and bone. But alas, grave robbing isn't enough for Ezra after a while. Soon, he's kidnapping and murdering live women. But nobody suspects the dumb and seemingly harmless Ezra who was once so devoted to his sick mother...at least, that is, until a young local girl goes missing and the trail leads right to Ez's house.

"Deranged" is based, obviously, on the true case of Ed Gein, and actually sticks pretty close to the facts. Roberts Blossom as Ezra is truly creepy with his Elmer Fudd appearance and wardrobe and his wide, freaky eyes. He's also rather pathetic, and even though he's committing some of the most reprehensible acts known to man, you can't help but feel terribly sorry for him. Micki Moore as Mary is also really good in her role of the promiscuous waitress that Ezra brings home to be his wife. She's cool and level headed, a rarity in a 70s horror movie. Some of the sets are cheap looking and some of the cast can't act, and the whole film suffers from a dreadful soundtrack featuring the world's most depressing funeral home organ, but it's not a bad little film, really. It's not something I'd watch over and over again,but I'm not sorry I sat down to watch it.

One of the greatest movies depicting Ed Gein

[lthseldy1 · 10/10 · 13 June 2002]

Ok, we've seen "Texas Chainsaw Massacure", "Motel Hell" and that other newer film I forgot the name but all are not as good as this one. This movie tells the true story of cannible Ed Gein known in this movie as Ezra Cobb. Ez is a sympathetic character in this movie and I really do feel sorry for him as he takes care of his ailing mother and then she passes away. Ez kidnaps her corpse and sends her home and treats her as if she were alive again. During his state of dementia he finds himself being facinated with embolming bodies, cannibalism and things that are down right gross. This one is one that must be seen for those into real life crimes of the deranged.

No one deserves to be lonely.

[michaelRokeefe · 6/10 · 5 August 2006]

This is one of the most accurate movies inspired by the cannibalistic activities of a deranged farmer named Ed Gein. Ezra Cobb(Roberts Blossom)becomes a grave robber after the death of his domineering mother(Cosette Lee). He had lived just for her and after a year in the grave, Ezra dug up his mother and brought her home. He robbed other graves to use 'parts' to reconstruct his beloved mother; and then he proceeded to bring home corpses just for the companionship. Cobb ended up stalking women to kill and bring to his rotting farmhouse.

Blosson is amazingly believable in his portrayal of the necrophile. Others in the cast: Robert McHeady, Marian Waldman, Robert Warner, Micki Moore and Pat Orr.

least of the Ed Gein inspired films

[Zod-2 · 3/10 · 28 November 2002]

Deranged is a frustrating movie. It's so close to being good that I feel bad that I can't give it a better rating.

The first half of the film is pretty bad, campy and boring. It has a few interesting moments, although very brief, and a couple of laughs to sustain the viewer until the movie gets going in the second half. Unfortunately the second half isn't that much better. It does do an about-face however and starts to take itself more seriously. There is a nice scene where Ezra brings a pretty girl home, however, that is the high point of the movie.

What Deranged is lacking is a focus. Ed Gein wasn't a very prolific killer and neither is Ezra Cobb so there isn't much suspense in his stalking of victims. However, there also isn't much done about his use of dead human flesh and bone in making furniture etc. (which is what Gein did) other then in the scene with the pretty girl mentioned above. Deranged needed to focus on the bizarre hobby Ezra Cobb had instead of focusing on how unassuming he was and why nobody would ever peg him for a killer. Ezra was a dull country bumpkin, which makes the movie dull too.

Deranged is far too campy for the first 40 minutes for it to be totally enjoyable. Roberts Blossom does a nice job as Ezra, adding a bit of comedy to the film, however he's not very imposing and therefore not scary. While it has a couple of moments of interest, on the whole Deranged is a pretty dull movie, lacking in suspense, scares or insight into the life of Ezra Cobb. Deranged rates a 3 out of 10.

When the movie ends, the terror just begins!

[chadledwards · 6 October 2001]

Based on the diabolical doings of psycho-mama's boy Ed Gein, this film is guaranteed to leave you feeling uneasy for days after viewing. Some images are so horrific that they are fairly certain to haunt your dreams. Character actor Roberts Blossom in his best role ever is chillingly good as the overly devoted son who, not quite all there to begin with, goes completely round the bend when his beloved mother dies. He digs the old lady up, brings her back to the family farm, restores her corpse, and kills an occasional female passerby to keep her company. It's every bit as strange as it sounds. But when it's over, you can't simply shrug it off and say to yourself, "Oh well, it's only a movie", because it's based on the truth. Viewers familiar with the Ed Gein case will note that the filmmakers have, for the most part, stuck close to the facts. It leaves a strong impression, and, to put it mildly, a rather disturbing one. What's truly amazing is that the filmmakers have brought a sense of humor to these gruesome events and it ISN'T offensive. DERANGED is one of the best scary/funny movies I have ever seen. It is most definitely not for children. As for the adults, you"ll just have to take your chances.

Another Ed Gein Story

[matildawoodworm · 7/10 · 29 April 2022]

Serial killer Ed Gein becomes the inspiration for yet another film about a psychotic mama's boy who kills women and turns their skin into material to play dress up. This is more character driven than Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but has a moment or two just as frightening as anything out of that movie.

Blossom's performance alone makes this Ed Gein inspired movie rise above others of its ilk

[movieman_kev · 7/10 · 27 July 2012]

Alan Ormsby, who of course would write another B-movie cult classic decades later with "The Substitute", brings us this Brit flick loosely based on Ed Gein. In this version, Ezra Cobb (Robert Blossom, best known for Escape from Alcatraz and Home Alone) pretty much goes completely mental when she passes on.

Blossom is extremely suitably creepy throughout and anytime he's on camera the movie soars yet the flip side of that is the on screen narrator who's pretty useless and temporally brings the film to a screeching halt. Thankfully these scenes are seldom enough as to not ruin a memorable little slice of horror.

Ed Gein's most accurate facts!!

[elo-equipamentos · 7/10 · 29 June 2017]

Serial Killers always were a subject of studies around the world and this case was one of most famous bringing to screen the Ed Gein's history and according some sources the most accurate ever done, even a low budge movie is remarkable well made, Roberts Blossom incredible portrait of Ezra/Ed's character from this bizarre true facts happened in Wisconsin state and had final chapter when Ed Gein was arrested in 1957, a minor mistake is about Ed's sexuality which wasn't so clear in the movie, maybe l don't appropriately has been realized!!

Resume:

First watch: 2017 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.5

Boring 70s thriller

[grybop · 3/10 · 23 October 2013]

I'm not entirely sure that Deranged is what it claims it is - a thriller. There's nothing too frightening happening on screen and the agony is zero level, bar two scenes.

Then, there is the narrator. He destroys everything. If he'd just made a brief appearance at the beginning, he'd be tolerable, but no, he had to explain everything over and even enter the same scene as the killer at some point. Really bad direction choice.

The acting was awful - apart from Blossom, who was simply outstanding. His character was probably not meant to be scary really, but rather what the title says, deranged. Blossom's expressions, moves and mannerisms are spot-on, at least I was convinced. Basically, Blossom's performance is the only reason to see this.

One of the creepiest films ever

[sylvain gross · 8/10 · 27 August 2006]

I've seen "Deranged" recently and it 's one of the most disturbing film ever done; It' nigh as macabre as TCM but it is not quite well as the same level , just one step under ; TCM relies on more on the viewer imagination although we really see these horrible things Gein has done;

The most shocking scene in the cut version is when Ez Cobb digs his mother out and embrace her already messed up and all cheesy body in his arms , i thought i was going to puke all over the place; but it's nearly nothing compared to the famous cut scene (which was on the DVD in bonus ) when he scalps a severed head with a saw and removes the jelly-like matter (the post-mortem collapsing brain) inside with a spoon !! This time i REALLY got to run to the John and spew my dinner out!

The creepiest scene is when a wondering victim to be arrives in the living room of Ez's home and find this collection of rotten corpses; yeah this is strange but the strangest is when Ez begin to play the organ with a corpse's top skull on his head ! We can really feel the insanity , the madness , the frustrations and the nastiness of the character , admirably played by Roberts Blossom , whose face and eyes are absolutely frightening in the film , the least we can say is that he physically fits well the character, but not only , because he has added this verbal and muscular tics ; for example the one he does the most is with his lower lip and this is very eerie. I think this is one of his most impressive performance and it's a shame producers underestimated him during his career (and now) cause the guy has talent.

My overall rating is 8 cause this is a unjustified forgotten little gem of the macabre and bizarre and (often subtle) black humor and gives one of the finest performances by an actor in the genre "psycho- horror" ;

SPOILER: don't watch it if you have a gastric indisposition of whatever sort , unless you have a big empty bucket nearby!

Mama? Mama?

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 9 November 2014]

Deranged is brought to us by Alan Ormsby and Jeff Gillen. It's a telling of the Ed Gein story, the Plainfield Ghoul who in the 1950s shocked small town Americana to its very core.

The names have been changed to, protect, well no that's not true, it's a product of its time is why, but this is an Ed Gein film, and it's a troubling and worthy piece of art in equal measure.

Certain instances have been spruced up for poetic licence, but the core essence of Gein and his madness exists wholesale. Roberts Blossom plays Gein (as Ezra Cobb), a man so tied to his mama's apron strings that when she leaves the mortal coil he refuses to acknowledge said fact. Cue grave robbing, morbid scenario settings and murder.

Operating on a low budget, Gillen and Ormsby do a sterling job of not letting their film come off as cheap exploitation. Tom Savini's effects work is a little crude when viewed now (he would become a legend in his field soon afterwards), but this unfurls in stylish and professional manner. With great acting by Blossoms, nifty camera work, a dark sense of humour and a chilling underplaying of key scenes leading the way, this is a fine entry in the serial killer movie pantheon. 7/10

Not Hype Worthy

[arfdawg-1 · 3/10 · 3 June 2020]

Given the good reviews, the cult status and the hype, I thought this was going to be a way better exploitation flick.

It's not.

Its rather slow and boring.

A disappointment

You can say that again! ...DeR@nG€d!!

[Coventry · 10/10 · 3 February 2006]

Oh yeah! This is what us genre fans like to call a REAL horror film! "Deranged" is shocking, insensitive, cold-hearted and features a 'you-don't-like-it-go-to-hell'-honesty you can't possibly walk away from! This is the pretty damn factual, and therefore hugely disturbing, reconstruction of the case of Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein. This guy was crazier and far more dangerous than any fictional horror character could ever be and therefore he was a nearly endless source of inspiration for independent filmmakers who wanted to bring a horrific tale. "Deranged" appears to be very cheap and amateurish, but it's one of the rare films in which the low budget production values actually contribute in making the story more grim and realistic! Ed Gein really was a poor and simple-minded farmer who went absolutely berserk after the death of his beloved mother and he refused to accept her passing away by replacing her with cadavers that he kept in his house. The characters' names have been altered, as well as the timing of the story, but Ezra Cobb's actual crimes are frighteningly truthful and portrayed with a chilling eye for detail. The film's biggest trump is unquestionably the casting of the rather unknown actor Roberts Blossom whose impressive and straight-faced performance will make you more than once wonder whether he isn't a real madman! Other aspects that definitely increase the creepiness are the constant funeral music that guides the film and the colorless, depressing set pieces. "Deranged" is not a total gorefest (mainly due to the lack in budget) but the murders are nonetheless explicitly illustrated and quite bloody. Strangely enough, the film's devastating tone is regularly undercut with brilliant flashes of morbid black humor, like Ezra's encounter with an overweight widow who talks to her deceased husband. In short, "Deranged" is a typically 70's cult treasure that should be watched by every horror fan on this planet.

Definitive Ed Gein movie

[asaharris · 7/10 · 19 February 2022]

Unofficial biopic of Winsconsin serial killer Ed Gein (whose name here has been changed to Ezra Cobb) is morbid, grisly tale of a socially inept farmer who goes nuts when his domineering mother dies. While not as elegant as PSYCHO or as stylish as THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE, DERANGED is more disturbing than both, thanks to an outstanding central performance by Roberts Blossom and a genuinely repellent recreation of the private world of a psychopath. Featuring some graphic early effects work by Tom Savini, this is well worth a look.

hollywood goes to the lowest of the low in sad, sick, perverse film making!

[ccunning-73587 · 1/10 · 12 January 2020]

Hollywood goes to the lowest of the low in sad, sick, perverse film making! This movie is based on a really sick guy who actually killed people in a sick, sadistic manner & mutilated their bodies, i.e. real people died, & hollywood glamorizes this perverse event in a money making endeavor to sensationalize gore. Throw in the naked girl at the end &, "Voilà," hollywood makes money on the pain of others. This is a really sick movie, made by sick minded writers & producers and, if enjoyed, enjoyed by equally sick minded viewers... Garbage propaganda like this plants seeds for the easily influenced & sick minded to copy. hollywood's sick movies lead to more senseless violence & perverse behavior in America than any other one cause. They should be held accountable!