[7]
This movie may never get out from under the shadow of the legendary The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, which came out the same year and was also inspired by the horrific Ed Gein. And it’s too bad, because this is a remarkable little flick in its own right. Roberts Blossom (Home Alone, The Quick and the Dead) delivers a career-defining, wonderfully creepy performance as the Gein-like Ezra Cobb. Ezra is a hopeless mama’s boy whose life spirals into dark territory after dear old mama (Cosette Lee) passes away. Even though she’s dead, Ezra still hears her talking to him. So he keeps her corpse dressed up in her bed and soon starts collecting other corpses from the local cemetery to liven up their lonely days in a remote, dilapidated farmhouse. When Ezra starts killing live victims, it’s only a matter of time before the oblivious townsfolk discover his ghoulish lifestyle.
Like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Deranged is very low-budget and raw, which gives both films a vérité feeling of authenticity. Deranged is rougher around the edges and more theatrical, with several moments of Ed Wood-like staging and flat lighting that underline its amateurishness. But it’s also more a character study than TCM, effectively inviting us into the warped mind of its central killer, a man caught between the deeply religious convictions of his mother and his repressed sexual desires. There’s a very welcome sprinkling of dark comedy throughout the script, especially when Ezra opines about the beauty and trustworthiness of plump women.
The soundtrack features soft church organ music, which reflects the calm state of mind from which Ezra commits his heinous acts. The supporting cast are unfortunately what you’d expect from a low-budget affair, and there’s a narrating news reporter who sometimes deflates the movie’s enveloping sense of doom. Deranged is nevertheless a distinguished cult classic with a strong script and an uncommonly committed performance from Roberts Blossom.
Directed by Jeff Gillen and Alan Ormsby. Written by Alan Ormsby (Cat People, My Bodyguard). With Micki Moore, Pat Orr, Leslie Carlson, and Marian Waldman. Makeup effects superstar Tom Savini (Dawn of the Dead, Friday the 13th) is credited as one of the makeup artists.