An appreciation by Bob Ignizio
This 1974 drive-in shocker DERANGED
was until recently the most accurate account of the real life murder
and grave robbing spree of Wisconsin nut job Ed Gein. The
recent ED GEIN film starring Steve Railsback follows the
events a little more closely, but DERANGED is far more
enjoyable. Co-directors Jeff Gillen and Alan Ormsby had
previously worked with Bob (A CHRISTMAS STORY, PORKY'S)
Clark on his early horror films CHILDREN SHOULDN’T PLAY WITH
DEAD THINGS and DEATHDREAM. While they make some
missteps, the central performance by Roberts Blossom (probably best
known as McCully Culkin’s creepy old neighbor in HOME ALONE)
as “Ezra Cobb, the butcher of Woodside” keeps things from falling
apart.
Poor old Ezra is the quintessential
mama’s boy. When mother Cobb passes on, leaving him with a
final warning to avoid those awful dirty girls, Ezra’s mind snaps.
Before long, he digs up his mother’s body and takes it home.
To keep Mrs. Cobb in good condition, Ez is soon digging up other
corpses for “repairs”. Ezra also starts to crave the
company of living women, but unable to overcome his twisted
upbringing it’s not long before they join the collection of stiffs
in his farm house.
While all this certainly sounds grim
and depressing, DERANGED is lightened somewhat by the
effective use of gallows humor. The quality of the supporting
players varies, but none are so bad that they ruin the mood.
The main thing that prevents this from being a classic is the
boneheaded idea of using an onscreen narrator. Every time this
guy shows up, it turns the film into cheap melodrama. Still, if
you’re a fan of low budget 70’s horror you’ll want to check
this out
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