Pretty deranged

I just learned that Tobe Hooper has died at the age of 74. You might not know who that is, but I'm sure you have heard of his most famous movie: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974).

In a sense it's ironic because I intended to talk about a movie tied to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, due to the shared source of inspiration.

Movies like Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Silence of the Lambs and today's feature, are all inspired by or based on, the grave robbing, cannibalistic serial killer; Ed Gein.

Today's feature is Deranged (1974).

I have previously seen this movie, but thought I should re-watch it, and I'm glad I did. It's better than I remembered.

The story in a nutshell concerns Ezra, a man raised by his very old testament mother. When she dies, his mind breaks from loneliness and he starts robbing graves, ultimately graduating to murder.

It would be easy to dismiss this as yet another slasher flick with a killer who has mommy issues, but that would be wrong.

First off, the film actually does a good job of making Ezra more sad than vile. Yes, he is creepy and horrible, but you get to see why and that's important. You can't just dismiss him if you feel even a little bit sorry for him.

Secondly, the violence is toned down a great deal, so that it doesn't overwhelm the atmosphere. You see, the atmosphere is amazing here. The gloomy winter landscape, the dilapidated farm, and the music. The music deserves a mention, as it's ingeniously church music. Hymns without vocals adds the perfect feeling of the influence Ezra's mother still has on him from beyond the grave. Well, the house to be exact. He's a grave robber after all. The gore is muted but the creepy corpses scattered everywhere are all in your face. Keep this in mind if you intend to see this film.

Ultimately, Deranged is not an amazing movie, but it's creepy and realistic, at least more so than it's more famous cousin, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. If you think Deranged has gone too far, read a little about what Ed Gein actually did, and you'll quickly realize that this movie has actually toned down a great deal of what happened.

This is an underrated horror movie and no mistake. It does what it does very well, and I'd even go so far as to say horror fans really should see it. Non horror fans should probably give it a miss though, unless watching badly preserved corpses having dinner is your thing.

Until next time, have a wonderful week!