trashgang
This flick came out the same year as Texas Chainsaw Massacre but as TCM became an instant hit this became a creeper that slowly turned into a classic because so far up to this writing, this is the closest story to the real life events of serial killer Ed Gein. There were a lot of flicks about insane Ed, Psycho (1960) maybe also coming close but Deranged even as it isn't that gory after all tells us the story in details. But it's also Robert Blossom (Ezra Cobb) who gave a convincing performance that made this flick watchable. Also this was Tom Savini's second flick were he did special effects. And it shows because it took years before this flick came out full uncut. By this writing it's finally out on Blu Ray worldwide in a stunning version with lots of extra's and also full uncut which means that the brain-scooping scene is here to watch.It doesn't stand up to today's standards which Texas Chainsaw Massacre still does but it do has a few 'deranged' scene's. The blood is so typical of that era, thick red stuff running and it even runs from a nude girl hanging upside down. One of the notorious scene's and even killings of Ed Gein. Pat Orr played the full nude part and was never seen again in another flick. And I must say that she gave an excellent performance as Sally. This flick is only watchable for freaks out there who like stories about serial killers and also for those who liked the old school horrors made just before the gore came in in the slasher era. I can't say that it's slow but the horror lays in the story itself. Worth picking up.Gore 1/5 Nudity 0,5/5 Effects 2/5 Story 4/5 Comedy 0/5
movieman_kev
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.
brando647
DERANGED is exactly what you'd expect for a 70's horror film: campy, creepy, and entertaining despite its obsoleteness. The movie was a pet project for successful concert promoter Tom Karr and, for a while, it remained the most accurate portrayal of American serial killer Ed Gein. The names and locations have been changed and a bit of artistic license has been taken, but the core of the Gein story remains intact. The film is portrayed as a special news report or some sort of P.S.A. with host Tom Sims (Leslie Carlson) popping in every so often to feed us more details and transition to the next phase of madness. Ezra Cobb (Roberts Blossom, and the film's Gein character) lives on a farm in small-town Wisconsin with his ailing mother (Cosette Lee) who fills his head with Bible-born hatred for the sins of the world and, more specifically, the women that perpetuate them. When his mother dies, Ezra's mind snaps. He maintains some semblance of normal life with an ongoing friendship with the Kootz family and the occasional odd job, but there's a new Ezra that the town doesn't see. He removes his mother's corpse from the graveyard, brings her home, and patches her up with parts from other bodies. As his madness deepens, his obsession shifts to finding a wife and the women of this small town are in for trouble. This is a great bit of 70's exploitation with the scantily clad women and horror/violence that we've come to expect.I love that this film wastes no time in trying to gross out its audience. The sole purpose of this film is to make its viewers squirm, and it succeeds. When Ma Cobb is dying, the filmmakers were sure to give us a stomach-churning close up of the blood and thick green soup sputtering from her mouth. It doesn't sound like much, but it's a pretty gnarly sight. It only gets better as the film continues and Ezra discovers his passion for turning human body parts into trinkets. Granted, this was an exploitation film from the mid-70s with a mere $200,000 budget so the effects aren't exactly the greatest. The blood effects look like thick red paint and the corpses and bones bend and flex. None of it really comes off as real or threatening to modern audiences but I imagine people in the 70s might've been more affected. There are still some parts that can give me the creeps; when Mary is searching Ezra's house and comes to Ma's room, loaded with dressed up corpses, and finds him blending in among them with a skin mask
it's probably the creepiest scene in the entire movie. Honestly, this movie isn't going to do much to scare a contemporary audience but it's fun.Roberts Blossom as Ezra is the only one here that seems to be taking his job seriously. He actually does a really awesome job. He gives Ezra extra charisma as the town's simpleton and, for a while, Ezra's too dumb/naïve to really hate (of course, that's only until he starts carving up women). Blossom's performance is the only thing that really keeps this moving from being your average throwaway exploitation movie. He's stupid and slowly goes insane without going too over the top. The majority of the supporting cast, on the other hand, fail. Cosette Lee is laughable in her one and only real scene. It's a shame because it's her death in the beginning of the film and it's supposed to be a moment where the audience learns just how messed up Ezra's upbringing was. Lee, Marian Waldman, and Robert McHeady are the film's biggest culprit of upping the camp. I just wish the movie had taken itself more seriously as a whole (but keep Tom Sims) and think it might've been a better movie for it.
LeaBlacks_Balls
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.