Melanie Bouvet The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Griff Lees Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

MartinHafer The film is about a dysfunctional English family who make the folks on the Jerry Springer show seem very normal in comparison! It seems that many years earlier, two rich parents were killed in a traffic accident--leaving their three children to be raised by a nutty aunt. However, only a few years later, one of the sons apparently kills himself--leaving a flaky and emotionally fragile daughter and a son who is a spoiled little monster. This spoiled monster is played by Oliver Reed and he looked like he was having fun with this vivid role--drinking, being emotionally unstable and being an all-around jerk! The sister, never the poster child for sound mental health, begins insisting that she's seen and heard the other brother--even though he is dead. When he actually turns up alive some time later, you are left wondering if this really is the dead brother or if it's a con man. Due to this return, however, Reed begins acting much more unstable and kooky--as this reappearance has apparently pushed him over the edge of sanity.How all this is resolved will keep you guessing and the film is a lot of fun even though it isn't exactly subtle. And, when the mysteries are all unraveled, you probably will like the the nice twists and turns. In many ways, the movie seems inspired by films such as PSYCHO and PARANOIAC in turn seems to be, at least in part, the inspiration for future films like STRAIGHT-JACKET--all shrill but exciting suspense films.

Scarecrow-88 An impostor claiming to be Tony(Alexander Davion), a young man who had been recorded as having thrown himself over a cliff many years ago, shakes the already fragile foundation of a family riddled with psychological turmoil. Aunt Harriet(Sheila Burrell)has been trying to keep what's left of the Ashby family together despite obvious problems stemming from the loss of parents and Tony, a young 15 year old deemed as so depressed he committed suicide from sadness. Simon Ashby has spent practically his entire inheritance on booze and a fancy sports car & wants sister Eleanor's(Janette Scott)share of wealth as well. Since Tony's demise, Eleanor, who was very close to him, has been battling mental health issues. Simon has been yearning for her to completely slip off the deep end so he can gain her inheritance if the poor girl was locked away in an asylum. Meanwhile, Harriet tries to keep Simon from ruining himself on liquor among other things. As this man claiming to be Tony shows up into the picture, Simon really begins to teeter on the brink and we watch as he plans to murder his brother..and Eleanor..when his alternatives in gaining extra cash seem skittish at best.Hammer tries their hand at a psychological family tragedy where deception and attempts at murder weigh heavy in the story. Acting is the key ingredient..that and a little twist concerning Tony. Tony's ghost haunts this film throughout as every character, including the impostor, can not shake his looming shadow overhead. Something's got to give as Simon is so sociopathic and greedy..yet, there's something in this story, regarding Tony, that has him even wound tighter. The film has another interesting aspect that plays out as it continues..the impostor is falling in love with Eleanor, and it's easy to see why because Janette Scott imbues her with so many wonderful traits such as her innocence, gentleness & warmth..and, it doesn't hurt that she's quite striking on the eyes.Oliver Reed is so intense as Simon, someone clearly with a few screws that have loosened over the years, he's a force-of-nature. He IS the movie as the alcoholic basketcase willing to do whatever it takes to seize on an inheritance others stand in his way of receiving.But, the film is ultimately about, to me anyway, the inability to escape your guilt regarding past acts and undiscovered secrets that suffocate you. The avarice of greed is also a heavy theme as Simon would do anything to gain that extra bit to supply his alcohol habit which will drown away iniquities of the past.

Steamcarrot The first of Hammer's psycho thrillers but not one it's best. Maybe I shouldn't have watched it so soon after the excellent 'Nightmare', or indeed before it but there you go. Similar to 'Nightmare' in that it was scripted by Jimmy Sangster and directed by Freddie Francis, and again a plot revolving around who is mad, and who isn't, the film is only effective occasionally. There's cash to be inherited and Oliver Reed wants it, and he doesn't want to share it with his sister, Jeanette Scott. When Scott apparently sees her long-dead brother at a memorial service for her parents, Reed sees this as the excuse he needs to declare her insane and keep all the cash for himself. But to throw a spanner in the works, the dead brother turns up...... This is a competent film but needed a bit more. Francis makes the film look too bright, a few more dark corners and shadows would have helped build the atmosphere some. Reed's acting doesn't shift from 'intense' mode, which is fine but a bit more ambiguity would have helped in this type of film. The plot plods along at times and could have done with being tightened; there's also plot lines that simply disappear as if Sangster had forgotten about them. At the end of the day a mediocre Hammer. Watch Nightmare to see how it should have been done.

José Luis Rivera Mendoza (jluis1984) Freddie Francis has built up an amazing career in cinematography earning multiple prizes and awards thanks to his excellent visual work in movies like "The Elephant Man" (1980) and "The Straight Story" (1999), but he also has a less known (but not less interesting) career as a director that started in 1962 when he co-directed "The Day of the Triffids". Later he would become a regular name in the horror genre, directing films for both Hammer and Amicus, the two most important horror film production companies of the 60s. "Paranoiac" was the first film he did for Hammer, and in many ways ranks as one of his best works."Paranoiac" is the tale of the Ashby family, a wealthy clan that has been struck by tragedy twice; first with the death of both parents and later with the suicide of the youngest member of the family, Tony Ashby. The remaining siblings, Simon (Oliver Reed) and Eleanor (Janette Scott) have grown under the care of their Aunt Harriet (Sheila Burrell), but both are emotionally (and psychologically) unstable as Simon is a drunk sociopath who enjoys torturing the weakened Eleanor, who lost the will to live after Tony's death. However, one day a man appears claiming to be Tony (Alexander Davion), and his appearance will shock the Asby's world to its core.This obscure thriller about death and insanity may not be one of Hammer's best known films, but it's certainly one of the most interesting. Written by Hammer regular Jimmy Sangster (loosely based on Josephine Tey's novel Brat Farrar), the film explores the reactions of the Ashbys when Tony reappears, and it certainly honors its title as the film's theme of Paranoia surrounds every member of the Ashby family. Sangster builds up an interesting tale of mystery and suspense that gets benefited by a well-developed group of characters.Director Freddie Francis once again excels with the cinematography (by Hammer regular Arthur Grant) of the film and gives the movie a style that mixes British melodrama with old school Gothic horror. The use of black and white (totally against Hammer style) enhances the feeling of paranoia and isolation that surrounds the Ashby family (Francis would return to this in his next film, "Nightmare"), and while it's not what one would expect from a Hammer film, it actually suits the movie better than color.It's true that Jimmy Sangster's characters carry the film, but a lot of the credit should also go to those who performed them. Oliver Reed gives a tour-de-force performance as Simon, in a brutal, raw and realistic way that one wonders how much of the real Reed was there. Janette Scott gives an appropriate performance, although her over-the-top melodrama at times goes on too much. Alexander Davion is quite effective as the mysterious Tony, and Liliane Brousse adds the film the sensuality and glamor needed. Finally, Sheila Burrell completes the cast with an excellent performance as Aunt Harriet.This low-key thriller is an excellent example that Hammer was more than Van Helsing and Frankenstein, and has withstood the test of time very well. Hammer fans may miss the typical "Hammer style" elements but the film manages to work very well without them and arguably, is better that way. It has a nice rhythm and pace for the tale, but at times it moves on too fast leaving the feeling that the film is quite short (it has in fact, a runtime of only 80 minutes). The melodrama of the film may turn off viewers expecting a scare-fest, but it gives the film a personality of its own and gives space for the characters to develop.Francis' career as director may be uneven but "Paranoiac" is a solid thriller that still delivers the chills and along with the superior "Nightmare", is part of a less-known side of Hammer films that explored the horror genre away from Monsters and vampires. Fans of Gothic horror and mystery films will be definitely pleased with this two films. 8/10. Very Recommended.