Deranged

Deranged (1974)

Runtime: 84 minutes

Directed by: Jeff Gillen/Alan Ormsby

Starring: Roberts Blossom, Cosette Lee, Leslie Carlson, Robert Warner, Micki Moore

From: AIP

Yes, the release of Monster: The Ed Gein Story made it obvious that Deranged should finally be viewed then reviewed. I’m happy to avoid everything involving Ryan Murphy but a picture loosely based on Gein’s life is always in the cards. That includes one w/ involvement from Alan Ormsby and Bob Clark, and one with quite the performance from Roberts Blossom; as others have noted, perhaps this role was why he was cast as Old Man Marley in Home Alone.

The film is an oddity: a newspaper columnist character provides occasional diegetic narration as Ezra Cobb is followed. The story is similar to Gein: his mother was a religious fanatic who taught him to abhor every other woman. She dies, Ezra/Ed loses his mind, digs her up, brings her home, dug up other graves, killed women, etc.

The corpse in the room is that Deranged is also a rather dark comedy; I was concerned beforehand if it was in good taste to tell the Ed Gein story that way. I’m still conflicted—that said, laughter was still had. Gein can be seen as a pitiful figure-dominated by his mother even after her death, so plum crazy that he sliced off human skin to use as lampshades, slicing off faces to create masks, bowls out of human skulls, etc. The question of if you should be amused by a plot based on a real-life lunatic can be debated. I was amused by Ezra Cobb and how he (for example) called someone else crazy… as he was talking to his mother’s corpse. However, I shouldn’t worry too hard if I can laugh at other horror-comedies, even ones rather morbid.

My misgivings aside, this was well-made despite its low-budget. To be frank, the grubby, grimy feeling emblematic of 70’s low-budget movies was an asset w/ Deranged. That and the rural, snowy setting made the film just feel, well… deranged. However, its Blossom as Ezra who was the key in my giving the movie a high rating. He looked out of his gourd the entire time, the performance viciously effective. The direction and musical score are further assets. Deranged does have some scary moments along with the general feeling of dread and morbid humor. There’s even effects from Tom Savini, at the start of his career.

A movie like this won’t be for all tastes. However, for some it’ll be a gem. What a legacy Gein left behind: the inspiration for Psycho and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, one of the inspirations for The Silence of the Lambs. To make blind judgments, Monster: The Ed Gein Story will be far less imaginative and bold than Deranged.