One of the great creepy gems of 1970s drive-in cinema, Deranged is one of the closest depictions of the grisly crimes of infamous Wisconsin murderer Ed Gein, who had earlier inspired the novel Psycho. This Canadian-lensed production from much of the same team behind such films as Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things and Deathdream was overshadowed by another 1974 Gein-inspired release, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, despite a particularly lurid ad campaign from American International Pictures complete with the subtitle Confession of a Necrophile and the tagline, "Pretty Sally Mae died a very unnatural death!... but the worst hasn't happened to her yet!" Far too strong for mainstream TV channels, the film disappeared into obscurity for a few years; however, interest was gradually reignited in the horror community in the 1980s thanks to eye-catching write ups in such pivotal books as The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film and The Overlook Film Encyclopedia: Horror, creating demand for a film no one could easily see. Eventually it was released, of course, and thankfully it absolutely did not disappoint.

In the best true crime fashion, a reporter (Carlson) wearing a heavy jacket and glasses escorts the viewer through this lightly fictionalized look at our depraved main character, here named Ezra Cobb and played by unforgettable character actor Roberts Blossom (who later became the creepy seller of Christine). Deeply devoted to his ailing and deeply woman-hating mama (Lee), farmer Ezra really has no life to call his own. When his mother dies, Ezra's psyche gradually deteriorates as he copes with the loss by clinging onto her possessions. When that isn't enough, he digs her body up in the cemetery and resorts to gruesome ends involving other, fresher dead bodies to preserve her remains as well as possible. His nominal employer tries to set up Ezra on a date with an amateur medium that goes horrifically awry, setting off a chain of murderous events that would become the stuff of legend.

We've had plenty of other Gein-related movies both before and after this one (also including William Girdler's Three on a Meathook and a so-so biopic starring Steve Railsback), but this is easily one of the scariest. A heavy dose of quirky humor in the first half makes this feel like a black comedy at times (especially with the reporter casually stepping into frame at random intervals), and Blossom's befuddled reactions to the people around him generate some small amount of sympathy from the outset. However, in the second half the film pulls out all the steps with some of the creepiest set pieces in '70s cinema, one involving Ezra showing off his unorthodox fashion choices while cornering a potential victim. The relentlessly icy setting adds to the diseased, oppressive atmosphere of the film, which culminates in a particularly queasy final scene that sends the audience off with a shudder rather than a scream.

The first commercial release of Deranged was a 1993 VHS from Moore Video, who also turned out the first tape of Lemora: A Child's Tale of the Supernatural. Their presentation of this film has caused some confusion ever since as they decided to splice back in a scene featuring Ezra scooping out the brains from a cadaver's skull after sawing it open at his table. This brief scene had never been included in general release versions of the film, but the extended Moore release soon became referred to as the "unrated" version. The Moore tape also included a rough but interesting half-hour documentary, "Ed Gein: American Maniac," with police interviews and voiceover describing just a few of his misdeeds.

In 2002, MGM released Deranged as part of their "Midnite Movies" DVD line paired up with Motel Hell. The anamorphic transfer was a huge step up from the pale, fuzzy VHS version, though to some fans' chagrin, it contained the theatrical release version without the brain scene. Two years later, the German label Universum released a 30th anniversary DVD containing a transfer that slipped the extra scene (from the old Moore master) into the MGM version, creating an uncut composite now officially dubbed the "unrated version." That disc also contains the Gein "American Maniac" doc short (23m32s), a great behind-the-scenes Moore doc entitled "Deranged Chronicles: The Making of Deranged" (36m) with plenty of making-of footage, "The Ed Gein Story" (19m57s) with producer Tom Karr in Wisconsin touring through the real-life inspiration's stomping grounds, a short making-of with Tim Ritter (3m49s) covering the 1995 quasi-sequel Creep, and three trailers.

Now we jump forward to 2013 with the best release by a long shot, the UK Region B Blu-ray from Arrow with a DVD counterpart as well. The HD transfer of the film aired a few years earlier on MGM HD wasn't all that impressive, but this disc was better all around. The DTS-HD mono track sounds very good but doesn't have to make any major leaps considering the sparse nature of the source material, including a minimalist score by Carl Zittrer (Black Christmas). And yes, this is the long version of the film with the brain scene in much, much better quality than before, with the reddish colors finally adjusted to match the rest of the film and all the damage finally cleaned up. On the extras front the release begins with a brisk, very entertaining audio commentary with "certified horror legend" Tom Savini and moderator Calum Waddell covering the FX guru's early work on the film and his memories of hanging out with the cast and crew. Other topics include a potential remake of this film, the coldness of the shoot, the hyperbole of '70s horror marketing, and some of the lessons learned here and their effect on Martin. "A Blossoming Brilliance" (10m22s) spotlights horror director and fan Scott Spiegel talking about a few subjects related to the film including working with Blossom on The Quick and the Dead (and giving him a copy of this film which he quickly returned), Tom Savini, uncredited producer Bob Clark, and other Gein portrayals on film. "Ed Gein: From Murderer to Movies" (14m52s) offers a chat with Laurence R. Harvey about the real Gein and this version, which he feels is "nastier and grittier" than some of the other tales based on his antics, and well as Blossom's influence on Harvey's indelible performance in Human Centipede II. "The Wages of Sin" (12m) takes a look back at the making of the film, essentially adapting the behind-the-scenes footage and Gillen interview from "Deranged Chronicles" into a new, HD-friendly presentation with tighter editing, less Savini (since he's represented elsewhere on the disc now), and a clearer overall narrative (including the full "scoop" behind the eyeball scene). Also included is a still gallery, the theatrical trailer, and a Trailers from Hell version of the trailer featuring an intro and commentary from The Dark Backward director Adam Rifkin. The reversible packaging features striking cover art by Nat Marsh opposite the original poster design, with a liner notes booklet featuring an essay by the great Stephen Thrower (Nightmare USA) and a vintage Q&A with Bob Clark. In 2015, Kino Lorber bowed the film on U.S. Blu-ray featuring two commentaries: one with Ormsby, who has great recall and goes into every shred of detail about the production including his work with Clark and repeat actors from their repertory company, and the always incisive Richard Harland Smith who covers all the Gein-iana you could want and its connection to the rural horrors that proliferated in the 1970s. You also get the trailer and a video interview with Karr (17m19s) essentially updating what was made for the Moore release.

If you thought those two Blu-rays were the final word on Deranged (which in the interim went on to have a strong influence on Ti West's excellent Pearl), Vinegar Syndrome had quite the upgrade in store with a 4K UHD and Blu-ray edition in 2025 centered around a new 4K scan from the 35mm camera negative that easily blows every prior presentation out of the water. Much improved black levels, a significant amount of image info on the sides, finer detail, and richer color timing all make for a great viewing experience, with the UHD looking especially eye- and (skull-)popping throughout. The DTS-HD MA English 2.0 mono track is also in excellent shape, with optional English SDH subtitles provided. All of the prior commentary tracks (Ormsby, Savini, and Smith) are finally collected here in one place, plus the previous Karr interview, a fleeting 15s Savini intro, four trailers, a TV spot, a 54s image gallery, and a 13-minute cut of the Moore making-of featurette. You also get three new featurettes here starting with "Very Unnatural Deaths" (12m33s), in which Savini looks back even more at his second film and chats about the trial and error process used in creating the cadaverous horrors in the wilds of Canada. In "It Was a Fun Time!" (11m48s), actor Brian Smegal chats about his memories of playing young townie suitor Brad and coming in as a total newbie on his first feature (originally called Necromania) after some theater work. Finally in "Disturbed, Demented, Deranged" (24m3s), Thrower makes his second appearance on record about the film but here in front of the camera pointing out the pertinent facts about Gein and the movie's finer points as a chilling piece of North American '70s fact-based horror.

VINEGAR SYNDROME (UHD)

ARROW VIDEO (Blu-ray)

UNIVERSUM (DVD)

Updated review on March 9, 2025