Review of Paranoiac (1963) by Bruce B — 12 Nov 2010

So far this has been by far my favorite venture into the world of Hammer horror. "Paranoiac" boasts an impeccable script (you think you know where the story might be going--and then five minutes later you find out you're wrong--and then forty minutes later you find out maybe you were right after all, but only sorta), tremendous performances (Scott is great, Davion has charm and a commanding presence, and Oliver Reed gives a performance that deserves to be mentioned alongside Orson Welles' Harry Lime and Robert Walker's Bruno in "Strangers on a Train"), and the direction is perfect: taught, suspenseful, and engaging.

The cinematography is eerie, lonely, and elegant in a way only black-and-white Cinemascope can be. There's almost never a false note in the film's perfectly paced eighty minutes. One of the great psychological thrillers.

Deserves far more recognition.