Paranoiac - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Paranoiac



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
Hammer films, one of my favorite niche studios to review (and naturally watch), and Scream Factory, one of my favorite boutique horror studios come together for a Hammer film that is NOT super cheesy and full of vampires! Shocking, I know. Hammer was really known for being the Shaw Brothers of horror. Mostly cheesy schlocky films, but they pioneered an entire generation of Christopher Lee, Boris Karloff and even some older Bela Lugosi films. But one of my personal favorites is also one of their better done productions with Paranoiac, a slow paced (albeit short) thriller that drops you straight into the heart of madness.

I find it amusing that we have a film starring Oliver Reed, playing a man who is a raging alcoholic (Reed was infamous for being an out of control boozer in real life), but here we are with young Simon Ashby, a man with a drinking problem who is also about to inherit 600,000 pounds from his dead mother and father’s estate. He’s even gone so far as making his sister Eleanor (Janette Scott) feel like she’s going insane. His brother Tony is dead by suicide, and everything seems to be going his way for inheriting a fortune until Tony suddenly shows up out of the blue when Eleanor attempts suicide.

As you can probably guess, the family is a bit skeptical of Tony and who he is. Supposedly he committed suicide 8 years back by jumping off a cliff into the ocean, but no body was found. So even though Tony (Alexander Davion) seems to know all of the right things, something just doesn’t add up. But we all guessed it, Tony isn’t who he seems either. He’s got a few secrets of his own, but none can come close to the secrets hidden on the Ashby estates. Secrets that have slowly driven Simon mad over the years and his descent into lunacy very well may take his entire family with him.

First time Hammer director, legendary Freddie Francis, does an incredible job with a simple subject matter. He infuses classic Hammer Gothic horror with British melodrama, resulting in a slow burn thriller that keeps you guessing, and keeps the creep factor high the entire 80 minutes. Some things are guessed off the bat, but others are best left watching as they unfold in the taught thriller, as everyone watches Oliver Reed go bat nuts insane over the course of the film. It’s simple, mesmerizing, and a really fun flick to watch even today.

The film has several mini climaxes, with the first one happening only a few minutes into the movie, and the others near the end of the film. The mini climaxes allow the viewers to suspend their disbelief enough and layer it out over the course of the film so that it’s not TOO easily guessed. It’s a sort of misdirection if you will. Using sleight of hand to give you some obvious answers so that your eyes are off the target enough so that you can gloss over a few tidbits that most horror/thriller hounds would guess by themselves if they weren’t distracted. The movie isn’t exactly Hitchcock, but it’s a very VERY solid horror thriller that makes great use of Brit Melodramatic moments and creepy Gothic horror to craft a movie that just breezes by and leaves you feeling a bit sick to your stomach by the end.




Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

According to the Scream Factory press release Paranoiac was given a new 2K scan from the interpositive, and while I haven’t seen the Eureka disc for a few years, I noticed some slight vertical stretching that I didn’t notice in said Eureka release. The image looks generally good with some extra print debris and damage, but nothing that is going to stand out and shock you. Details are mostly pleasing, but the film has always been a bit soft. I WAS going to give it a 4/5 rating, but the slight vertical stretching had me downgrade it half a point. It’s not wild, but noticeable if you know what you’re looking for.









Audio:

The singular DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono track found on the disc is definitely showing it’s age, but not a bad experience by any stretch of the imagination. There’s some mild fuzziness and vocals sharpness, but otherwise this very dialog driven track is just fine. Clean voices, no really harsh highs, and the musical score comes through cleanly. All around good mix for a low budget 1960s Hammer flick.










Extras:

• NEW 2K RESTORATION FROM AN INTERPOSITIVE
• NEW Audio Commentary With Author/Film Historian Bruce G. Hallenbeck
• NEW Drink To Deception – An Interview With Author/Film Historian Kim Newman
• NEW A Toast To Terror – An Interview With Author/Film Historian Jonathan Rigby
• The Making Of Hammer's PARANOIAC Hosted By Author Wayne Kinsey
• Theatrical Trailer
• Still Gallery

Final Score: ​

Reed is really the highlight of the movie (and for good reason, he’s just purely insane and oozes over dramatic melodrama like no one else), but everyone else involved is very good as well. The film still holds up some 59 years later, and the new Scream Factory release has some great extras. Audio and video are weaker than I would have like, but considering even the previous Eureka release never looked THAT good, I’m going to have to chalk it up to source elements.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Janette Scott, Oliver Reed, Sheila Burrell, Maurice Denham, Alexander Davion
Directed by: Freddie Francis
Written by: Jimmy Sangster, Josephine Tey (novel)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Scream Factory
Rated: NR
Runtime: 80 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: January February 8th, 2022

Recommendation: Good Watch