Deranged: Confessions of a Necrophile (1974)
"Deranged" (original title)

Based on the Ed Gein case, a deranged rural farmer becomes a grave robber and murderer after the death of his possessive mother whom he keeps her corpse, among others, as his companions in his decaying farmhouse

Directors:

Jeff Gillen, Alan Ormsby

Writer:

Alan Ormsby

Stars:

Roberts Blossom, Cosette Lee, Leslie Carlson

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Roberts Blossom	...	Ezra Cobb
Cosette Lee	...	Ma Cobb
Leslie Carlson	...	Tom Sims
Robert Warner	...	Harlon Kootz
Marcia Diamond	...	Jenny Kootz
Brian Smeagle	...	Brad Kootz
Arlene Gillen	...	Miss Johnson
Robert McHeady	...	Sheriff
Marian Waldman	...	Maureen Selby (as Marion Waldman)
Jack Mather	...	Drunk
Micki Moore	...	Mary
Pat Orr	...	Sally

Storyline

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, so a year later he 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 closely on the true story of Ed Gein.

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Plot Keywords:

grave | farmer | grave robber | wisconsin | corpse | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Crime | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

February 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

Deranged: Confessions of a Necrophile

Filming Locations:

Oshawa, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$200,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Karr International Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Writer/co-director Alan Ormsby cameos as the picture of Maureen Selby's late husband.

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Goofs

When Ezra is clubbing Mary Ransom, the blood is clearly coming from the club, not her head.

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Quotes

[explaining his deer-hunting philosophy]
Harlon Kootz: If we didn't shoot em, they'd just starve to death.

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Connections

Featured in Nightmares in Red, White and Blue: The Evolution of the American Horror Film (2009)

User Reviews

Forgotten horror classic.

FINALLY got to see 'Deranged' recently after wanting to for years, and what a surprise it is. Low budget yes, but takes its subject matter much more seriously than you would expect. There are some touches of black comedy in places, but overall this is no "funny" gorefest ala the 'Evil Dead' flicks. Roberts Blossom puts in an excellent performance as Ezra Cobb, the Ed Gein inspired protagonist. You may not totally understand why he ends up doing what he does, but Blossom successfully conveys Cobb's loneliness and isolation, which explodes into full blown delusional behaviour.

The only negative comment I have about 'Deranged' is the clumsy and unnecessary intrusions of the narrator into the plot. Without that we'd be looking at a complete classic. Even so, 'Deranged' is much more than a "video nasty" and deserves a much larger audience.