Paranoiac

Released May 15, 1963

1h 20m

Horror

List

80%

Tomatometer

5 Reviews

68%

Audience Score

250+ Ratings

An English heiress (Janette Scott) with a mad brother (Oliver Reed) loves a man (Alexander Davion) posing as her other brother, who's dead.

Read More

Read Less

Watch on Fandango at Home

Premiered Jan 23

Buy Now

Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Rent Paranoiac on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

One of the roughly 2,648 films from the decade that was influenced by the massive success of Hitchcock's 1960 Psycho. This one's pretty good.

Rated: 2.5/4

Feb 12, 2022

Full Review

Kevin Carr

Fat Guys at the Movies

Hammer's answer to Psycho.

Rated: 3/4

Feb 12, 2022

Full Review

Michael Szymanski

Zap2it.com

Rated: 3/5

Oct 14, 2005

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 2/5

Aug 8, 2005

Full Review

Pablo Villaça

Cinema em Cena

Mesmo procurando recriar o impacto de Psicose, as vrias reviravoltas deste filme mantm o espectador sempre surpreso, e o clima de tenso eficaz. Infelizmente, a concluso (ao contrrio do clssico de Hitchcock) deixa um pouco a desejar.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 11, 2003

Full Review

Read all reviews

Audience Member

Spooky Great movie from hammer

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/05/21

Full Review

Audience Member

Part of an 8 film set of Hammer horror. Released a year before Nightmare, another Hammer film in the same set, they have a similar set-up with domestic, contemporary chills, rather than the historically set classic movie monster adaptations. I think this one is much less inspired than Nightmare. This is another one directed by cinematographer Freddie Francis, and while the black and white imagery is not bad, it does nothing particularly noteworthy. The twists in the plot involving the spoiled Ashby family feel like the script was unfinished and multiple changes were made while filming was occurring. A third Ashby sibling returns home after everyone thought he had died. Certain characters embrace him, others are paranoid that it is an imposter out to scam the family for inheritance money. Roughly halfway through we find out the truth, but the story isn't over. Characters shift positions and now there is a new scam with a different character scared that they are being manipulated and driven crazy. Then a new level of crazy is revealed in the family history. This last twist involves the one truly creepy shocker, which is the masked character pictured here and wherever you search for this movie. The family drama is mostly dull. I don't enjoy most Oliver Reed performances. And nothing that they tell you or show you on screen can be trusted.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

delysid d

oliver reed is an insane drunken asshole. he gets drunk, pissed off and drives around crashing into things with his porsche. he gets really pissed off when his dead brother comes back to claim his inheritance and kills or attempts to kill a few people. then its revealed just how nuts he is, he makes his mom dress up in a creepy mask while he plays the organ. then in the end he dies. not the best film but i like oliver reed. he was great in the devils

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/18/17

Full Review

Audience Member

Seems like Hammer was just trying to capitalize on the success of Psycho at this point... Still, it's an interesting enough thriller, if a little cliched. Oliver Reed's performance though is what keeps you watching.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A wonderfully twisted film that deserves to be remembered. The Ashby family is wealthy, scandalous, and entirely insane. Oliver Reed in particular stands out. His character is a chain-smoking, alcoholic, abusive jerk and dominates every scene he's in.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Another decent thriller from Hammer, it has a alright enough set up, believable characters, and some nice twists. It plays out like a horror film, but it doesn't really act like a horror film. The drama works out pretty well, and the ending is fairly exciting.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/02/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Fred Francis

Director

Janette Scott

Eleanor Ashby

Oliver Reed

Simon Ashby

Alexander Davion

Tony Ashby

Liliane Brousse

Françoise

Sheila Burrell

Aunt Harriet

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

71%

48%

Nightmare

80%

48%

The Horrible Dr. Hichcock

73%

63%

Tales of Terror

67%

49%

The Gorgon

56%

56%

Twice Told Tales

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

An English heiress (Janette Scott) with a mad brother (Oliver Reed) loves a man (Alexander Davion) posing as her other brother, who's dead.

Director: Fred Francis
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 15, 1963, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 13, 2016
Runtime: 1h 20m

Most Popular at Home Now