User Reviews

A bizarre unknown little horror/thriller from the late 1980s, "Deranged" (under the same title as another 1974 horror film) is a really interesting movie. The film revolves around Joyce, a pregnant and mentally disturbed New York housewife, with a semi-estranged husband, Frank, and an overbearing stepsister and a prim-and-proper mother. While Frank is on a business trip, Joyce receives a surprise baby shower from her friends and family, but begins to hear voices and experience hallucinations again. Upon returning home, Joyce is violently attacked by a burglar in her apartment, and she ends up murdering him in self-defense, but loses her child in the violent struggle. This traumatic event sends Joyce into a fit of schizophrenia, where she returns to a childlike state and begins have numerous hallucinations all around her apartment, and begins to murder anyone who comes near her.

This film is apparently very similar to Roman Polanski's film "Repulsion", but I can't compare the two because I've never seen it, so I will have to give my review without referencing that film (although I may want to see it after seeing this film). Anyway, "Deranged" was actually a bit of a surprise to me. I was expecting a fairly cheap '80s film, and in some ways it was, but what the filmmakers did with this film (on presumably a low budget) was very stunning. With the main cast and director being previous workers in porn films, this is quite a surprising movie because it's actually done very well. The story is interesting at the beginning and gets more and more so as more odd things happen and Joyce's hallucinations and visions become more and more disturbing - some involving her incestuous past relationship with her deceased father, and her stepsister's love affair with her husband.

The camera-work is really nice as well, and was one of the nicest things about the movie. About ninety percent of the film takes place in an apartment, and is filmed in the similar fashion of a stage play, but this doesn't hurt the film at all. There are some great surprise moments and I have to say that the orchestration of the people in Joyce's hallucinations (the actors going in and out of frame) was handled well and the camera-work was pretty impressive. The lead role, played by Jane Hamilton (also know as Veronica Hart, her porn star name) was very well performed, and was even more impressive considering all she'd done before were adult films. Her performance as the disturbed housewife was very well done and believable. The supporting cast was also not bad, and there were quite a handful of really creepy and disturbing moments and bizarre occurrences that really disorientate the viewer (and shock on some occasions), almost putting us in Joyce's altered point of view. It's quite interesting to watch her go through the numerous mind games with those who she's already, in reality, murdered, but are still talking to her and attacking her. It makes me wonder if there are actually people with illnesses that see things quite like this. The human mind can really be a scary thing, that's for sure.

Overall, "Deranged" is an unknown little psychological horror film that really hasn't gotten much attention (seeing as there are only currently a total of eight user comments on this page). But, it honestly does deserve some more recognition, because it is an intelligent and disturbing horror movie. It's not perfect, but all things considered, it's very nicely done and thoroughly interesting. I enjoyed it, and would recommend it to fans of '80s horror films. Too bad it hasn't received a DVD release yet, maybe then some more people would be aware that it even exists. 7/10.

With having recently discovered the work of "Adult film star" Veronica Hart,I was surprised to be told by a friend,that along with her "adult" roles and parts in the films of Paul Thomas Anderson,Hart had also starred in a "straight" Horror movie made by a number of big name "Adult" stars called Deranged.

Originally thinking that my friend meant she had a role in Jeff Gillen and Alan Ormsby infamous 1974 Horror Deranged,I was thrilled to discover that instead of being a gory Horror,Hart's film was a much more psychological chiller,which lead to me deciding to become derange with Veronica Hart!

The plot:

Returning from seeing her boyfriend Frank fly away to Britan for work related business,and also attending a family held Baby Shower,Joyce enters her high-rise apartment hoping to get into bed as soon as the doors are shut.

Prepairing for bed,Joyce suddenly comes face to face with a mask man who threatens to kill her.Doing everything she can to stay alive,Joyce quickly grabs a near by weapon and stabs the masked man until he is dead on the floor.Shaken up by the masked man's attempted murder,Joyce forgets to ring up the police and instead starts to have a psychological breakdown,which will lead Joyce to not being able to tell what is "reality" and what is in her head…

View on the film:

Using Bill Heller's dark sync score to give the viewer subtle notes on the reality scenes in the film, (with Heller's music tuned to a deafening silence for the "reality" scenes,which is contrasted by having Heller's score creep across the "Alt Reality" scenes taking place in Joyce's head)Art Director/producer/ director Chuck Vincent (who sadly died from AIDS age 51 in 1991) brilliantly emphasis the positives in connection to the films low budget,one location setting.

Keeping Joyce in the apartment for 95% of the movie,Vincent moves the camera tightly around Joyce in which help to create a strong, nerving atmosphere of the apartment crushing the life out of Joyce,which leads to Joyce increasing the problem by allowing her psychological fears to take near total control of everything that she knew to be "real".

Setting almost the whole movie in one location,the screenplay by Craig Horrall (who like Vincent,also tragically died from AIDS in 1991 age 37) avoids the risk of this terrific 83 minute running out of steam by gradually increasing the horrific people/monsters that Joyce "sees" in the flat,along with cleverly hinting at the real cause of Joyce's psychological problem,which Horrall expertly peels away to show a tragic,Horror film.

Featuring in every single scene of the movie,Veronica Hart gives a splendid performance which shows that she is much more than "just" a very pretty "Adult star" face.Opening the movie by showing Joyce to be someone who is unsure about herself,Hart uses the closed in location to dig her nails into Joyce's psych,and pulls each layer of "safety" from Joyce's life,until the only thing left is a raw,deranged mental breakdown.

I agree with the other posters who compared this to 'Repulsion.' This film does borrow much from that landmark Roman Polanski film, right down to the rotting skinned rabbit symbolism (though potatoes here), but this film is unique in its own way. It's like a filmed stage play; with almost all of the action taking place in one small apartment. Jane Hamilton (aka porn star Veronica Hart) is Joyce Peters, a wealthy, pregnant and mentally disturbed New York City socialite on the fringes of her shallow subculture. With her husband (supposedly) away on business, and finding no support from her money-hungry mother and sister, she's attacked by an intruder, kills him, loses her baby and retreats into a delusional world that mixes the past/flashbacks, the present and troubling fantasy. Given the overall ambition and maturity of this project, it's hard to believe that much of the cast and crew came from the world of porn. The direction of Chuck Vincent, a man best known for adult films and R-rated sex comedies, is shockingly inspired at times, especially for the obvious low budget range, and particularly impressive is Hamilton/Hart, who gives a genuinely wrenching tour de force performance. 'Deranged' is bleak, depressing, claustrophobic and disturbing, and not a movie for everyone, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.