Who payed the critics

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

This amateurish, utterly disturbing motion picture is likely the closest portrayal of the true account of infamous Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein put on film, at least until the Steve Railsback- starring movie made in 2000. No one could ever suspect or believe, in even their most horrific nightmares, what ghastly acts and atrocities the plain-looking Gein had perpetrated. The events and ramifications of his ghoulish activities continue to shock & sicken American more than 60 years later. The film is interesting and quite unsensational in many ways, but typical explicit shock & exploitation fare in so many others. Roberts Blossom is amazing in the lead role as Cobb. He is the kind of guy you see around town and probably know one or two fellas like him. You could never think such a shy, simple man could ever be capable of anything untoward, could you? That was the key to his "success" as a killer. Who'da thunk it of a fellow like Gein/Cobb. Blossom is an interesting-looking actor with a memorable face. Whether his mannerisms were specifically created for the role of Cobb or if they're simply a part of who Blossoms is, we may never know. Either way they add layers to what could otherwise be a one-note performance in the vein of "Leatherface" from Texas Chainsaw Massacre: memorable only for what he does. Cobb on the other hand was a character well before he went south. One you might actually find yourself liking! The rest of the film is ups & downs. The other actors, especially the woman, are amateurish and it hurts the film overall, particularly the over-the- top fat chick who foolishly tries to get into Cobb's pants. The neighbors who take pity on Ezra and are the closest things he has to friends are both pretty good. The production design is admirable. The dilapidated house Cobb and his mother occupy feels very earthy and real, not like a set. The gore effects are minimal but stomach- churning in their effectiveness. A young Tom Savini is credited with them, so that makes sense. For me the real misfire of the film is the annoying inclusion of a "news reporter" / narrator character. He's on-screen a few times and a voice-over in others. It would have been better to just tell the story straightforward without this guy, or else go the full documentary style approach but "Deranged" tries to straddle both sides of the fence and it really works particularly well.Overall rating: 9 out of 10.

"Deranged" is a classic rural shocker that stars the excellent character actor Roberts Blossom as Ezra Cobb - Ez, to his friends. Ez goes off the deep end when his beloved mother (Cosette Lee) dies. He can't bear to be apart from her, so he brings her corpse home from the cemetery. Realizing that her body is in bad shape, he starts robbing other graves to help treat her body the best that it can be treated; he also brings home corpses for the "company".Blossoms' superior performance, which enables one to sympathize, as much as is possible, with this insane person, makes this a must see. It's also noteworthy for being one of the earliest makeup effects credits for a young Tom Savini. Also on the makeup crew is the screenwriter Alan Ormsby. Ormsby and his co-director, Jeff Gillen, were associates of the filmmaker Bob Clark; they'd also done "Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things" and "Dead of Night" together. While the pacing is awfully slow at times, Ormsby and Gillen give "Deranged" wonderful rural atmosphere.The makeup effects on this show are pretty good for low budget fare; fans will be pleased to note that the recent Blu-ray release includes a long excised scene of eye / brain scooping.Ormsby based his screenplay on the real life exploits of the notorious Ed Gein, and apparently this version has been one of the most faithful to the true story for over 40 years now. Buffs, of course, are already aware that Gein also inspired such favourites as "Psycho", "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre", and "The Silence of the Lambs".The supporting cast - Robert Warner, Marcia Diamond, Robert McHeady ("Cannibal Girls"), Marian Waldman (the original "Black Christmas") - are good, but this is almost entirely Blossoms' show.Some people take issue with the presence of the newspaperman / narrator character Tom Sims (Leslie Carlson, "Videodrome"), which admittedly is not really a necessary element.Good stuff overall, but the ending is awfully abrupt.Seven out of 10.

Deranged is a horror comedy with a grim subtext, tracing the activities of Ezra Cobb, a yokel serial killer who likes his ladies nice and dead. The film combines the horror comedy of films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre with a much grimmer character study presaging works like Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer.Cobb is a man torn between his desire for women and the dictates of his deceased mother, a religious fanatic with an insane distrust of other women. His mother's misogyny combines with a fascination for corpses to produce horrific results.Robert Blossom's performance as Cobb makes this movie a minor classic. He captures both the comic aspects of Cobb, such as his naive statements of what he is doing to neighbors, along with the more disturbing aspects of his personality. Indeed, the last ten minutes of the film show Cobb wrestling with both his perverted desires and his Mother's commandments. In many respects, he turns Cobb into a sympathetic, if not an outright tragic figure haunted by childhood abuse.The film is complemented by some early effects work by Tom Savini. These effects are somewhat uneven, given the limited budget that Savini had to work with. Some of the corpses look better than others, and the blood is clearly red paint. However, Savini definitely shows his talent and early promise.The film's most divisive element is its narrative structure, which makes use of a reporter narrator (played by Videodrome's Les Carlson). On one hand, this device adds to the film's comic value, as Carlson calmly narrates in the same room as Cobb talking with a corpse. However, the narration also takes us out of the film, making it less disturbing than docudramas such as Henry.Overall, the film makes for a fun viewing and should be on the list of every horror fan.

Loosely based on the true horror story of Ed Gein, 'Deranged' will definitely make you question why you watch movies like this.A lonely, borderline retarded man digs up his mother's corpse and keeps her in the house and goes about trying to seduce women and lure them back to his house so he can kill them and make furniture out of the skin and bones.Some parts are so ridiculous I wasn't sure if they were supposed to be funny or not. Watch this movie, 'Psycho,' 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre,' and 'Silence of the Lambs,' to see how different filmmakers have used (or exploited) the Ed Gein crimes for their own artistic visions.