Good start, but then it gets ruined

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Blistering performances.

What a creep-out. I'll bet even Gein himself would cringe at this. I don't know who Roberts Blossom is, but his slobbering mouth merits some kind of acting award. In my many years of viewing, I've never seen a weirder guy given so much screen time. But then his cadaverous frame and skeletal face are perfect for the role. Based loosely on the demented obsessions of 1950's Ed Gein, the movie really delivers the goods. (So why the disclaimer about no intended relation to persons living or dead, when everything indicates Gein. For legal purposes, I guess.) The girls may be prettied up, but nothing else is. Those desolate rural settings underline the desolation of Ezra's's state of mind. No wonder he goes nutzoid. Though not played up, the real Gein apparently decorated his house interiors with human skin stolen from graveyards. But then the movie has enough to do with outfitting rotten corpses at the dinner table. And that's the horror-fest's weakest point. The death masks and skin effects are cheaply and poorly done. Then too, I've got mixed feelings about that sadistic chase scene at the end, but I guess they figured a bang-up climax was needed. And they got it, but in a stomach churning way. Surprisingly, this cheapo is very competently made, from the performances to the direction to the photography. All in all, I can see why it's apparently become a cult classic. And, oh yes, I won't be traveling in the woods anytime soon, thank goodness. Nor, for that matter, do I expect to see Blossom in a Hollywood picture book, though he certainly merits it.

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

Deranged is a very low budget , but very effective and extremely creepy horror movie based on Wisconson serial killer Ed Gein. Other horror movies and thrillers have been loosely based on Ed Gein 's exploits , such as Psycho, Silence Of The Lambs and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.(which was released the same year as Deranged ) Deranged is heavily based on Ed Gein and is a character study of his psychosis and downward spiral. Ezra as he is called here is played wonderfully by Robert Blossom as he loses his mind after his mother 's death.Ezra goes from bad to worst from digging up women's graves to murder. This is far from as gory or extreme as the filmmakers can go with this. However, I found this to be very disturbing and creepy with a touch of dark humor for good measure. Definitely well done and I'm sure Deranged shocked audiences on its release in 1974.Great film.

The inimitable Ezra Cobb (Blossom), a simple farm specimen in his fifties, dominated by his overbearing mother (Lee) with whom he has an Oedipus complex until one day he snaps and goes on a rampage of murder and then some. The "then some" part is what makes the "Deranged" story truly live up to its name. Loosely based on the Ed Gein murders in Wisconsin in the 1950's, the creators have borrowed wholesale from "Psycho" in portraying Ezra's morbid fascination with death and necrophile cannibalism. Not content to simply rob graves in search of decomposing body parts to decorate his home, Ezra escalates his crimes to live victims.A limited budget and basic production values is evident but gives this picture an authenticity it otherwise would not have enjoyed. While it might have some dry, dark comedy elements, there's nothing comical about "Deranged"; for all intents and purposes, it's a horror movie with an offbeat performance by Blossom, the actor who came to prominence years later in "Home Alone". Leslie Carlson is also a familiar Canadian actor, and he provides the on-screen narration which is another quirky feature of this film.The final scene is quite harrowing, from the long shot to the barn (its contents quite graphic) to the slow motion pan into the house, it's the film's piece-de-resistance, but not for the faint-hearted. While "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" garners more attention on the theme, "Deranged" is a gripping little Canadian shocker of comparable production quality and an in depth characterisation by Blossom. Eccentric and claustrophobic, it's a worthy companion for those who like to mix murder with haute cuisine.