Review #314: 'Deranged' (1974)

The world had been introduced to the concept of the serial killer in the late 19th century, most famously with Jack the Ripper, and the lesser known H. H. Holmes. However, in the late 1950's the world was introduced to something wholly different. In a small town in Wisconsin, authorities were alerted to a thoroughly macabre scene, in Ed Gein's run-down farmhouse. To begin with the body of store owner Bernice Warden was hung upside down, headless, and gutted like a slaughtered animal. However, this was only the beginning, as police searched the house, body parts were found, fashioned into furniture and other such objects. Gein was not classed as a serial killer, as he only killed 2, however, he also had an obsession with exhuming bodies from graves. For the horror genre, this one incident was to totally revolutionised it, changing the horror from the uncanny to the very ordinary. Gein's crimes influenced, most notably, Psycho (1960), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), and Silence of the Lambs (1991).

Deranged takes a more direct influence from the story, and only changes the names of the characters and place. The film begins with the death of Ezra Cobb's (Roberts Blossom) over-bearing, God-fearing mother (Cosette Lee). Having been dominated by his mother, Ezra is practically a child, and knows nothing of the world. After exhuming his mother, the process of decomposition is gradually relieved as Ezra collects other bodies to both patch her up and keep them company. This inevitably leads to murder.

The film is narrated by a mock reporter, who addresses the audience through both voice-over and orating directly to the camera. This device is clearly in place to give the narrative some sense of realism, and therefore realistic gravitas. Blossoms performance as Cobb is funny, disturbing, and something exudes pathos (strangely). For it's exploitation limitations, the film is actually quite good. It is not overly gratuitous and has some dramatic tension. This kind of story and type of criminal is relatively commonplace, we are kind of desensitised to this specific kind of morbid scenario. And for my money, this film is far, far superior to the very disappointing Tartan release of Ed Gein (2000), which felt more like the horror equivalent of a sci-fi channel movie of the week.


Directed by: Jeff Gillen, Alan Ormsby
Starring: Roberts Blossom, Cosette Lee, Leslie Carlson
Country: Canada/USA

Rating: ***

Marc Ivamy