Lack of good storyline.

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

"Deranged," which follows a middle-aged farmer in the Midwest who goes on a psychotic killing spree after the death of his mother, had the misfortune of being released the same year as "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre," another film more loosely inspired by the same real-life subject: serial killer Ed Gein. I don't mean to suggest that "Deranged" is on-par with "Chainsaw" because it isn't (and few films are), but for what it is, it is a remarkably demented and strange take on the subject matter.Roberts Blossom, a character actor who many may recognize as the creepy neighbor in "Home Alone," plays the lead role of Ezra Cobb, and is really the primary reason the film is so effective. Blossom is by turns sympathetic and utterly morally deranged; as an audience member, you want to like him, but then you are forced to watch him clinically commit horrific acts of violence.Perhaps the most unique element of "Deranged" is its clinical storytelling method which includes narration from a reporter, often within the diegesis of scenes. It's one step further than "The Town That Dreaded Sundown" (another true-story film that featured voiceover narration as well as a clinical, detached presentation), and while the presence of the on-screen narrator might distract some, there is something strangely enjoyable about it. It perhaps dampens the gravity of the subject matter a bit, but that was probably the intention.The film ends on a bit of an abrupt edge, but it stays true to the Gein story and features a horrific chase sequence through the woods of a teenage girl. All in all, "Deranged" is an effective and thoroughly oddball true-crime film greatly enhanced by the snowy locations, cold and clinical storytelling, and Blossom's equally endearing and disturbed performance. 8/10.

Weird low budget AIP retelling of the Ed Gein case, though Roberts Blossom's serial killer character here has been renamed Ezra Cobb (Gein was actually still alive when this film was made). If you're not families with the Gein case, it's the same case that inspired "Psycho" (Gein dug up and taxidermied his mother) and also "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (Gein used human bones for bowls and decorations and made masks from female victims' skin, among other even worse of horrors). If the word deranged describes anyone, Gein would be it. This movie version takes a docudrama approach that doesn't really work, although Blossom's performance, despite a terrible script and dialogue, manages to make Ezra Cobb a compelling character and very nearly elevates this film above B-picture drive-in camp. And although the film is for the most part amateurishly made, it does have some moments that are truly chilling, such as (SPOILER ALERT!) when a woman discovers his Era's room of corpses and him dressed in a woman's skin, or the film's finale when the authorities find Cobb eating a very bloody dinner at his dinner table. Overall, this is a poorly made film, but Blossoms, who for a majority of his career was relegated to supporting parts, gives a very strong performance that transcends the many many weak points of the film.

I'm not entirely sure that Deranged is what it claims it is - a thriller. There's nothing too frightening happening on screen and the agony is zero level, bar two scenes. Then, there is the narrator. He destroys everything. If he'd just made a brief appearance at the beginning, he'd be tolerable, but no, he had to explain everything over and even enter the same scene as the killer at some point. Really bad direction choice. The acting was awful - apart from Blossom, who was simply outstanding. His character was probably not meant to be scary really, but rather what the title says, deranged. Blossom's expressions, moves and mannerisms are spot-on, at least I was convinced. Basically, Blossom's performance is the only reason to see this.

Deranged is a very low budget , but very effective and extremely creepy horror movie based on Wisconson serial killer Ed Gein. Other horror movies and thrillers have been loosely based on Ed Gein 's exploits , such as Psycho, Silence Of The Lambs and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.(which was released the same year as Deranged ) Deranged is heavily based on Ed Gein and is a character study of his psychosis and downward spiral. Ezra as he is called here is played wonderfully by Robert Blossom as he loses his mind after his mother 's death.Ezra goes from bad to worst from digging up women's graves to murder. This is far from as gory or extreme as the filmmakers can go with this. However, I found this to be very disturbing and creepy with a touch of dark humor for good measure. Definitely well done and I'm sure Deranged shocked audiences on its release in 1974.Great film.