All right! Deranged is my first real pleasant surprise of the month. "Pleasant" meaning I really liked the movie - the subject matter / film itself is decidedly unpleasant. But, considering this was on the flip-side of a disc featuring Motel Hell, I went in expecting some sort of horror comedy. But it's kind of hard for a movie based on serial killer Ed Gein to be comedic, I guess.
I had no idea what this film was really about at the outset - I rented the disc for Motel Hell, so this was as close to a blind watch as you can get. Plus, from afar the guy on the box art reminded me of David Hyde Pierce. Turns out it was just star Roberts Blossom wearing someone's face.
My synopsis: Ezra Cobb is a older, awkward gentleman - he lives on an isolated farm and takes care of his gravely ill mother. We meet her on her death bed - clearly crazy/religious/all fire-and-brimstone like. When she dies, Ezra is crushed, and just can't seem to move on with his life - he still talks to her, and eventually goes to great measures to bring her body back to the increasingly disgusting house. But that doesn't help matters, and he starts to venture outward into his small Wisconsin town to find victims for his new serial killing habit.
Overall: Super creepy and unsettling, with a little dark humor to keep you off balance.
It's hard to *not* compare Deranged to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. They both came out the same year, and are both based on the Ed Gein killings. And they both have a very gritty, grimy feel... you could say they look "cheap," but in both cases it adds to the overall unease. Also, both films use the isolated environs of a small farm, although Deranged takes place in small town Wisconsin. I guess that strikes a little closer to home for me (being a Minnesotan), and I dug the novelty of seeing snow on the ground and winter coats.
While Deranged isn't the iconic classic that Chainsaw is, it's kind of in the same league in my opinion. It's got that same nasty/rustic look and an almost documentary-feel; Deranged actually throws a reporter character in a few scenes, a weird choice that doesn't ruin anything but doesn't help much either.
You get a little closer to the killer as a character in Deranged too - you never feel sympathy for him, but there isn't an audience surrogate/potential victim either. In a way, this intimacy with the killer in this just makes it more disturbing - he feels more like an actual person and less like a chainsaw-wielding force of nature. And the performance by Roberts Blossom as Ezra Cobb is really good - he's got this kind of down-home friendly yet simple vibe going on, which is almost more troubling than the cold, calculated killer.
Deranged is never super gory - yeah, there's some blood for sure, but honestly the grossest thing for me was seeing dude feed his mom at the beginning of the film. I'm not sure why I'm so grossed out by closeups of people eating, but I am. But it's the sort of film that's "conceptually icky," if that makes any sense. You're sort of grossed out by the circumstances rather than what you actually see.
I guess if anything bothered me about the film it is the fact that you don't get an inkling of what was going with the law enforcement in this town when all this stuff was happening. There is a cop character introduced early on, but it serves as a quick scare for Cobb and nothing more. It's not like he kills a *ton* of people, but I would think there would be a little more of a police presence, you know?
But overall, I was really impressed with Deranged. It's not the sort of movie you have a good time with, but it's really effective and just downright creepy. I wouldn't say it's terribly well made or directed or anything - it's got just that right mix of gritty realism and low budget charm. It moves at a different pace and operates in totally different way than most horror films you see today, but the bottom line is that it works.
I would highly recommend this film.
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