Movie: Deranged (197)
Directed by Jeff Gillen and Alan Ormsby
As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL
Plot:
Ezra, devoted to his mother, can't cope with her death. His mind snaps and he turns rather ghoulish. Hilarity ensues.
Background and Reaction:
Long story short? Roberts Blossom should have gotten an Oscar for this portrayal of Ezra Cobb, a fictionalized version of real-life serial killer Ed Gein. Of course, the Academy doesn't give Oscars for low budget horror movies. Pity.
Knowing that this film, like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, was based on Gein, I was somewhat apprehensively expecting something like that well-known classic. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was very different. It appears to me that the best way to put it is that TCM was inspired by Gein while this is more of a retelling of his story, modified as appropriate.
This is one of those movies that really just gets under your skin -- Cannibal Holocaust is another example. It's creepy and disturbing, but also compelling. It's the kind of thing that anyone interested in the horror film genre should see. Blossom, as Cobb, is brilliant. His facial ticks and mannerisms were a work of art. The story-telling is paced really nicely, and the use of subtle irony for humor is good as a kind of pressure valve to relieve just enough tension.
What made this so great as a "ten" is that it was such a surprise. When Joe quipped that it was "an unexpected ten" I noted that "The unexpected tens are the tenniest tens of all."
Ratings:
Joe: 10
Dave: 9.8-9.9
Sean: 3 out of 4
Scott: 9
Me: 10
Ethan: 9.5
Bechdel:
Deranged fails the Bechdel test.
Just curious… If Ezra had IMAGINED (…or had “seen” in his …um, “Deranged” mind) two or more of the corpses at his tea party talking about something other than a man, would that have passed the Bechdel test? …Or, must the participants in the “Bechdel Testing” conversation actually be alive?
ReplyDeleteEither way, hilarity would ensue!
That's an interesting question, and one which would probably horrify Allison Bechdel if it were asked of her.
DeleteSadly, there are no official rules for the Bechdel Test; I don;t believe it was ever seriously put forward by Bechdel herself as a true "test" to be applied. It was more something that others came up with in response to her observations.
Or some such.