Netflix has put the notorious serial killer Ed Gein squarely back into pop culture again with the latest installment in its Monster series, which has now covered three infamous criminals. In Monster: The Ed Gein Story, we revisit his gruesome crimes in the 1950s, when he was found guilty of killing one woman, hardware store owner Bernice Worden, and confessed to murdering a second, Mary Hogan. Upon arrest and interviews, he explained that he likely killed them due to their resemblance to his mother. Unfortunately, what made him famous was what the police found in his house: furniture made from human remains and a “woman suit” he could wear.

Netflix isn’t the first to be inspired by his horrific crimes, with some of the most notorious horror films, including Psycho and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, being inspired by the gory details. But in 1974, another overlooked movie also recounted Gein’s crimes in a fictional retelling in the same way Monster does. Deranged: Confessions of a Necrophile is probably one of the creepiest takes on the serial killer, and it went so under the radar that it practically disappeared from circulation for nearly 20 years.

‘Deranged’ Gives Us a Creepy but Not Entirely True Take On Ed Gein

The film opens with a narrator who claims everything shown is entirely true except for the names of people and locations, but this disclaimer isn’t entirely correct. For one, the subtitle isn’t necessarily true, since Gein was never proven to have committed necrophilia, with evidence only pointing towards him digging up buried bodies to use for furniture or clothing. Another glaring departure is that the film’s version of Gein, named Ezra Cobb (Roberts Blossom), exhumed his mother’s body after her funeral, something the real Gein never did. This grisly detail was likely inspired by Norman Bates’ (Anthony Perkins) actions in Psycho, who preserved his mother’s corpse in his house. Additionally, the film leaves out the speculations about Gein killing his brother and the woman who nearly married him before he was arrested, details that Monster includes. Thus, the team behind Deranged definitely took some creative liberties with a few truly nasty details, but what they did get right is representing the atrocity of his crimes.

Deranged follows Ezra as he struggles with the religious, celibate teachings of his mother and the increasing attraction he feels towards women. In the film, Ezra murders two women, the fictional counterpart of Hogan, represented as a bartender, and Worden, who is still a local store owner. Micki Moore‘s and Pat Orr‘s performances as these respective women flesh out the fear and horror surrounding these crimes, and Blossom’s performance really cinches the awful nature of this story. He eerily delivers the transition from the innocent son who his domineering mother emotionally abused to a bone-chilling serial killer. With an array of bodily spasms and a menacing, wide-eyed stare, Blossom ensures we never forget what Ezra is capable of, even throughout the more mundane scenes.

While the detail of exhuming his mother’s body wasn’t true, it does allow Deranged to keep the focus on Ezra’s potential motivations for his actions, a goal the faux-documentary narrator emphasizes in the opening scenes. We constantly revisit the decaying body of his mother’s corpse, which he urgently tried to preserve by grafting other people’s skin and limbs onto it. Cosette Lee‘s initial dialogue as his mother, delivered with acidity and green-pea spittle, continuously echoes through Ezra’s mind every time he feels sexual attraction towards a woman. So, even though there are details Deranged changed or overlooked, the film is a fascinating take on how Gein’s mother potentially impacted him, while still presenting his crimes with the absolute devastation they should evoke.

‘Deranged’ Disappeared For Over a Decade After Being Too Disturbing

But what’s just as interesting as Deranged’s approach to the true story is the fact that it essentially disappeared for two decades. Although there is no concrete reason why this happened, there are a few clues. The most notable one is all the roadblocks producer Tom Karr faced just in trying to get the film released. The final cut was passed on multiple times by different distributors, including William Morris Agency, Crown International, and Fanfare, before American International Pictures finally agreed to release the film. But that only happened once they earned an R-rating by cutting out a lengthy sequence of Ezra dissecting and eating the brains of one of his victims. Before its limited theatrical release in 1974, Deranged already had a reputation for being too disturbing to watch, and the word “necrophile” in the subtitle probably didn’t sit too well with audiences either.

On top of this, Deranged was released the same year The Texas Chain Saw Massacre premiered, another Gein-inspired horror that exploded upon release. It’s interesting that Deranged didn’t make as big a splash as Tobe Hooper‘s film did, considering they were inspired by the same criminal and both also faced censorship issues. Ultimately, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre simply cast too big a shadow for Deranged to succeed. As such, after its theatrical release, Deranged was still technically in circulation but certainly did not have an audience. It wasn’t until its home release in 1994 that it started gaining some traction, but even now, it is still an overlooked film searching for its audience.

Before Monster was released, Deranged was probably one of the most accurate re-imaginings of Gein’s crimes, even with the creative liberties taken. It was also one of the creepiest, thanks to Blossom’s approach to Ezra’s character mixed with the low-budget ’70s special effects. Now that the clutches of censorship have released this faux-documentary, and that Gein’s crimes are being discussed again, Deranged is still a film yet to find its audience after nearly 20 years of being underground. So, if you’ve watched Monster and were particularly intrigued by the spine-tingling relationship between Gein and his mother, or simply want to re-watch the story with an even more sinister and quiet atmosphere, then Deranged has been patiently waiting for over 50 years to be noticed.