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Deranged: Confessions of a Necrophile More at IMDbPro »Deranged (original title)

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66 reviews in total

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17 out of 17 people found the following review useful:
A true bone-chiller., 25 September 2005

Author: AngryChair from Brentwood, USA

Over the years there have been a number of films, both horror and thriller, that have been inspired by the real-life crimes of the infamous Ed Gein. Yet, this was the first film to be closely based on the real Ed Gein.

Reclusive old man loses his mind after the death of his mother and starts to rob graves. But that's just the beginning of terrors to come.

While In the Light of the Moon (2000) may be the more accurate film for the true story of Gein, Deranged is the most effectively frightening. Deranged is an example of low-budget film making at it's best. It sports a believably dark atmosphere and the feeling of chilling realism. In fact some sequences from this film (especially the midnight 'dinner' scene) are simply unforgettable.

The cast of the film is good, but the real highlight of it all is in it's star Robert Blossoms. Blossoms brings such a genuine believability to his crazed character and at times makes him quite sympathetic! That achievement alone is impressive.

Also of note, this was one of the early films for makeup FX artist Tom Savini and his creations for the film are well-done. Adding even more to the sheer spookiness of this film is it's musical score, which is comprised of religious songs.

While Deranged may not have the fame of other low-budgeters of it's day, it is none the less a masterful horror picture that deserves a place in the history of low-budget horror.

*** 1/2 out of ****

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15 out of 16 people found the following review useful:
One of the greatest movies depicting Ed Gein, 13 June 2002

Author: lthseldy1 from Norfolk, VA

Ok, we've seen "Texas Chainsaw Massacure", "Motel Hell" and that other newer film I forgot the name but all are not as good as this one. This movie tells the true story of cannible Ed Gein known in this movie as Ezra Cobb. Ez is a sympathetic character in this movie and I really do feel sorry for him as he takes care of his ailing mother and then she passes away. Ez kidnaps her corpse and sends her home and treats her as if she were alive again. During his state of dementia he finds himself being facinated with embolming bodies, cannibalism and things that are down right gross. This one is one that must be seen for those into real life crimes of the deranged.

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15 out of 17 people found the following review useful:
Forgotten horror classic., 25 July 2001
Author: INFOFREAKO from Perth, Australia

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.

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11 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
When the movie ends, the terror just begins!, 6 October 2001
Author: Chad Edwards (chadledwards@webtv.net) from cincinnati, ohio

Based on the diabolical doings of psycho-mama's boy Ed Gein, this film is guaranteed to leave you feeling uneasy for days after viewing. Some images are so horrific that they are fairly certain to haunt your dreams. Character actor Roberts Blossom in his best role ever is chillingly good as the overly devoted son who, not quite all there to begin with, goes completely round the bend when his beloved mother dies. He digs the old lady up, brings her back to the family farm, restores her corpse, and kills an occasional female passerby to keep her company. It's every bit as strange as it sounds. But when it's over, you can't simply shrug it off and say to yourself, "Oh well, it's only a movie", because it's based on the truth. Viewers familiar with the Ed Gein case will note that the filmmakers have, for the most part, stuck close to the facts. It leaves a strong impression, and, to put it mildly, a rather disturbing one. What's truly amazing is that the filmmakers have brought a sense of humor to these gruesome events and it ISN'T offensive. DERANGED is one of the best scary/funny movies I have ever seen. It is most definitely not for children. As for the adults, you"ll just have to take your chances.

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12 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
Ezra Cobb is a homicidal mamma's boy, 3 August 1999

Author: evilskip from whistling through the graveyard

This is partly inspired by the real life murderer Ed Gein. Ezra is a middle aged momma's boy. He's also a pet moron.Mommy is a raving twisty herself as she is a zealot and always preaching about "dirty women"(finest kind).So when mom drops dead old Ez starts to get lonely.

Well Ezra starts hearing mom's voice after a year. She's lonely & so is he. He digs her up and brings her back home where everybody is happy.His neighbors try and set him up with a woman.This is a really funny scene as his date tries to seduce him. She's kind of crazy herself and tells Ez that her dead husband wants them to play beneath the sheets. Well, she winds up under the sheets permanently.

Ez starts digging up the graveyard and bringing mom some company.He also starts semi stalking a waitress.Finally he sandbags her, brings her back to his place and it gets wild from there.She finds herself trussed to a chair with a table full of rotting corpses.Ez is dressed in the skin of a dead woman.There is no way out of this house of hell.

Ez really goes off the deep end on a trip to town. It involves a rifle, a young girl and a harrowing chase through the woods.This is another gripping scene that spirals into complete madness.

There are a few drawbacks. This movie could have done without the narrator.When he popped up it seemed like we were in a different movie.Old Ezra is the most sympathetic person in the movie.Everyone else is cruel, stupid or as nutty as he is.

On the upside Roberts Blossom gives a great portrayal of Ezra. You feel for Ezra and can really understand his madness.There are many shocking and disturbing scenes in this movie. But it uses suggestion rather than out and out gore.It looks rather tame compared to slasher flicks but that's why this is better. I had to wait 25 years to see this film and all in all it was worth the wait.

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12 out of 16 people found the following review useful:
Fun, but NOT for the whole family, 18 February 1999

Author: Tito-8 from North Bay, Ontario

If you can stomach the plot of this movie, then I think that it's fair to say that you will like it. The bloodshed is kept to a minimum (considering the subject matter), but the film should still probably be avoided if you are squeamish or easily offended. However, for people like me who can enjoy a warped sense of humour and don't mind a little gore, it's a pleasant way to spend some time.

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10 out of 13 people found the following review useful:
Deranged indeed!, 5 January 2006

Author: The_Void from Beverley Hills, England

Deranged is an adaptation of the same story that inspired such horror classics as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Psycho and Silence of the Lambs, among others. It's the story of deranged psychotic Edward Gein, only in this film the story is a lot closer to how it actually happened than in any of the classics that it influenced. Deranged is a film not for the feint hearted. Shot on an extremely low budget of just two hundred thousand dollars, the directorial team of Jeff Gillen and Alan Ormsby have created one of the most vile and disgusting films that I've ever seen. Subtitled 'Confessions of a Necrophile' for the US market, Deranged tells the story of Ezra Cobb; a simple farm owner who lives with his domineering mother. After her death, Ezra gradually slips into insanity; starting with the unearthing of his yearlong dead mother from the grave. Ezra then decides that she needs patching up, and so embarks on unearthing more bodies for the task. It isn't long, however, before the psychopath is on the rampage for fresher victims...

Deranged goes all out to shock from the outset. The image of Ezra carrying his dead mother into her bedroom is sickening in a way that few movies manage. The amoral attitude of the character adds to this sickness, and ensures that most audience members will be uncomfortable watching this film. Deranged benefits from a superb lead performance courtesy of Roberts Blossom. Blossom does an amazing job of convincing us that he really is the psycho at the centre of the film. Usually in films like this, I am firmly on the side of the killer; not really caring about the victims - but Blossom is so vile in this film that I was actually praying he DIDN'T catch his prey! The film has a short running time, but this time is used excellently on a series of nasty and weird sequences, and the movie never really lets the pace go once it has set itself up. On the whole, this film has gained itself a cult following for a reason. It's certainly not for everyone's taste, and it's not as good as the most famous of the films that the story has influenced - but if you like your cinema to grisly and shocking; Deranged is a film that you should seek out!

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9 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
You can say that again! ...DeR@nG€d!!, 3 February 2006

Author: Coventry from the Draconian Swamp of Unholy Souls

Oh yeah! This is what us genre fans like to call a REAL horror film! "Deranged" is shocking, insensitive, cold-hearted and features a 'you-don't-like-it-go-to-hell'-honesty you can't possibly walk away from! This is the pretty damn factual, and therefore hugely disturbing, reconstruction of the case of Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein. This guy was crazier and far more dangerous than any fictional horror character could ever be and therefore he was a nearly endless source of inspiration for independent filmmakers who wanted to bring a horrific tale. "Deranged" appears to be very cheap and amateurish, but it's one of the rare films in which the low budget production values actually contribute in making the story more grim and realistic! Ed Gein really was a poor and simple-minded farmer who went absolutely berserk after the death of his beloved mother and he refused to accept her passing away by replacing her with cadavers that he kept in his house. The characters' names have been altered, as well as the timing of the story, but Ezra Cobb's actual crimes are frighteningly truthful and portrayed with a chilling eye for detail. The film's biggest trump is unquestionably the casting of the rather unknown actor Roberts Blossom whose impressive and straight-faced performance will make you more than once wonder whether he isn't a real madman! Other aspects that definitely increase the creepiness are the constant funeral music that guides the film and the colorless, depressing set pieces. "Deranged" is not a total gorefest (mainly due to the lack in budget) but the murders are nonetheless explicitly illustrated and quite bloody. Strangely enough, the film's devastating tone is regularly undercut with brilliant flashes of morbid black humor, like Ezra's encounter with an overweight widow who talks to her deceased husband. In short, "Deranged" is a typically 70's cult treasure that should be watched by every horror fan on this planet.

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4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
One of the creepiest films ever, 27 August 2006

Author: sylvain gross from lyon france

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I've seen "Deranged" recently and it 's one of the most disturbing film ever done; It' nigh as macabre as TCM but it is not quite well as the same level , just one step under ; TCM relies on more on the viewer imagination although we really see these horrible things Gein has done;

The most shocking scene in the cut version is when Ez Cobb digs his mother out and embrace her already messed up and all cheesy body in his arms , i thought i was going to puke all over the place; but it's nearly nothing compared to the famous cut scene (which was on the DVD in bonus ) when he scalps a severed head with a saw and removes the jelly-like matter (the post-mortem collapsing brain) inside with a spoon !! This time i REALLY got to run to the John and spew my dinner out!

The creepiest scene is when a wondering victim to be arrives in the living room of Ez's home and find this collection of rotten corpses; yeah this is strange but the strangest is when Ez begin to play the organ with a corpse's top skull on his head ! We can really feel the insanity , the madness , the frustrations and the nastiness of the character , admirably played by Roberts Blossom , whose face and eyes are absolutely frightening in the film , the least we can say is that he physically fits well the character, but not only , because he has added this verbal and muscular tics ; for example the one he does the most is with his lower lip and this is very eerie. I think this is one of his most impressive performance and it's a shame producers underestimated him during his career (and now) cause the guy has talent.

My overall rating is 8 cause this is a unjustified forgotten little gem of the macabre and bizarre and (often subtle) black humor and gives one of the finest performances by an actor in the genre "psycho- horror" ;

SPOILER: don't watch it if you have a gastric indisposition of whatever sort , unless you have a big empty bucket nearby!

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3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Ahh, these dominating mothers, 7 November 2005

Author: Bjorn (jbjorns) from Iceland

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Just watched this movie an hour ago, maybe I should watch it some more to digest it properly, but what the hey; here's what I think.

This film is said to be the most faithful to the story of Ed Gein, called here Ezra Cobb. Raised by a dominating mother, Ezra is completely socially retarded and when his mother passes away Ezra's whole world crumbles. He digs her up and pretends she is alive but as if that weren't insane enough he has to get her some companions, dig them up as well or even provide fresh corpses. While all this is going on, nobody seems to suspect Ezra despite him leaving clues (mostly comments) all around him.

Alan Ormsby's script is nothing short of superb. Seeing the black humor behind Ed Gein's story, he incorporates it with great success. Apparently Gein showed his collection of corpses to children and told townspeople that he was more or less responsible for these actions, nobody believed him, quite simply thinking of him as eccentric and probably with a weird sense of humor. Ormsby (who also shares co-directing billing here) includes many downright hilarious scenes where Ezra (brilliantly played by Blosom) admits to his doings and isn't taken seriously.

The nasty bits are also all too well depicted. The movie is gruesome with some startling gore and some very disturbing moments showing the extent of Cobb's mania. When showing off his skills to a soon-to-be victim his collection of "man-made" objects, like a banjo made of human flesh... well, I just get the creeps. But nothing packs more of a wallup than the final scene where Ezra hunts down his last victim. This is shocking stuff indeed, and it's all true.

Orsmby, who also penned the excellent Deathdream, cooks up one hell of a story depicting one of the most notorious maniacs ever. By focusing largely on the humorous aspects the story the film is all the more memorable, but it's not for the squeamish.

I think it could be a little longer though, 80 minutes sure go by fast.

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