Jenn and I are in the midst of tackling all of the fictional adaptations of Ed Gein on Murder Made Fiction podcast, following past coverage on Psycho, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The Silence of the Lambs, House of 1000 Corpses, and, most recently, Monster: The Ed Gein Story.
There are two more prominent texts to cover, so this week we’re looking at Alan Ormsby and Jeff Gillen‘s 1974 Canuxploitation film, Deranged.
One of the film’s intriguing stylistic choices is character Tom Simms (Leslie Carlson) who breaks the fourth wall to narrate parts of the film and provide context on Ezra Cobb (Robert Blossom). The middle aged man is a clear proxy for Ed Gein, starting with his unhealthy relationship with mother, Amanda (Cosette Lee).
When she dies shortly after the film begins, Ezra is left alone on the farm. His sole source of human contact is neighboring family, the Kootzs, which includes Harlon (Robert Wagner), Jenny (Marcia Diamond) and son Brad (Brian Smeagle). The kindly family takse pity on the odd man, but both husband and wife also encourage Ezra to find a woman and settle down.
Alas each time Ezra gets close – be it with widower and seance aficionado Maureen Selby (Marian Waldman), bawdry bartender Mary Ransum (Micki Moore), or even Brad’s comely girlfriend Sally Mae (Pat Orr) – his mother’s voice goes into overdrive with the religious hysteria in his mind. As a result, Ezra is driven to murder in increasingly depraved ways, until the point he only sees women as objects to kill and possess in his house of horrors.
While the film obviously changes the real life names and increases the real life number of victims by one, there’s a surprising amount of truth in Deranged‘s plot. It’s also a technically well-made film, from its sparse but effective practical FX to Blossom’s lead performance. Then there are the harrowing action sequences, such as when Ezra chases a half-naked Mary around his house or tracks a hysterical Sally Mae through the snow with a bear trap. They’re very well done.
Deranged was new to both Jenn and I, but we found plenty to like in this dark, macabre film. Don’t be like us and sleep on it!
If you want even more Murder Made Fiction, be sure to check out the pod’s Patreon feed which has episode by episode coverage of Netflix’s Monster: The Ed Gein Story, as well as Peacock’s Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy.
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