Deranged

2/2/19741h 23m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ Pretty Sally Mae died a very unnatural death...But the worst hasn't happened to her yet! ~

Overview:

A man living in rural Wisconsin takes care of his bed-ridden mother, who is very domineering and teaches him that all women are evil. After she dies, he misses her, and a year later digs her up and takes her home. He learns about taxidermy and begins robbing graves to get materials to patch her up, and inevitably begins looking for fresher sources of materials. Based loosely on the true story of Ed Gein.

Director:

Jeff Gillen

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$200,000.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Key words:

necrophilia
wisconsin
dark comedy
murder
serial killer
reporter
slasher
dead mother
cannibal
incest
farmer
psychotic
black comedy

Cast

Roberts Blossom

~ as ~

Ezra Cobb

Cosette Lee

~ as ~

Ma Cobb

Leslie Carlson

~ as ~

Tom Sims

Robert Warner

~ as ~

Harlon Kootz

Marcia Diamond

~ as ~

Jenny Kootz

Brian Smeagle

~ as ~

Brad Kootz

Arlene Gillen

~ as ~

Miss Johnson

Robert McHeady

~ as ~

Sheriff

Marian Waldman

~ as ~

Maureen Selby

Micki Moore

~ as ~

Mary

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

John Chard
Written 11 year(s) ago
7
Mama? Mama?

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