4. Deranged (1974)
Ed Gein was an American murderer and body snatcher. He gained notoriety after authorities discovered that he had exhumed corpses from local graveyards and fashioned keepsakes out of skin and bone. After police found body parts in his house, Gein confessed to two murders. He was declared unfit to stand trial and sent to a mental hospital. He was later successfully tried and convicted for one murder and spent the rest of his life in a mental hospital. Deranged is maybe not the most accurate of films about the Ed Gein story but it is certainly the most frightening. This is low budget film making at its best - the low budget production values work in the film's favour as they make it look grim and realistic. The direction gives the film a creepy, sinister atmosphere. The murderer in this film is known as Ezra Cobb played by Roberts Blossom who gives a bravura performance and brings Gein's/Cobb's psychosis to life as he leads an existence of extreme alienation and isolation after his beloved mother dies. This is the event that prompted his ghoulish shenanigans. There are many shocking and disturbing moments in the film, but they are done by suggestion and not out and out gore. The film goes along at a steady pace - keeping the viewer riveted from beginning to end. Deranged has a loyal cult following and it is for a reason - principally, it is an excellent film. When you watch it, try to bear in mind it had a $2000 budget - you will be shocked at what it achieves on that budget.