Pat Orr in Deranged (1974)

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Deranged (1974) is based on the life of serial killer Ed Gein. The story is narrated, and portrayed graphically, but the documentary style robbed any dramatic effect for me.

After the death of his father, Gein doted on his mother, and literally devoted his life to her after a stroke left her bed-ridden. This deeply disturbed woman taught him that women were evil, "The wages of sin are syphilis, gonorrhea and death." After her death, he became a recluse for a year, and then decided to bring mamma home. Unfortunately, after a year in the grave, she needed lots of fixing up to be presentable, so he started learning everything he could about embalming, taxidermy and tanning. He soon realized that he needed some fresher material to work with, so he robs recent corpses for spare parts. He also begins restoring others to keep her company. It was inevitable that he turn to the living for even fresher parts.

The narrative style is too matter-of-fact to involve me in the characters, but some of the images are rather graphic. Note that Hitchcock's Psycho was also based on Ed Gein. The film has some effective moments, but, on the whole, wasn't engaging. C-.

Nudity Report: Pat Orr, as his final victim, is hanged naked upside down for gutting. We see buns and breasts while he guts her.

IMDb Summary: IMDb rates this 6.5 of 10.


Written by Tuna…courtesy of Scoopy.net