Paranoiac

A forgotten gem from the legendary Hammer Studios, available for the first time on home video in the UK, this sinister classic spins a gruesome web of unhappy families. It is three weeks before the Ashby siblings Simon (Oliver Reed), a brutish alcoholic, and Eleanor (Janette Scott), a nervous wreck, are to come into their late parents' inheritance. While Simon plans to have his sister certified insane and locked away, Eleanor keeps seeing the lurking figure of their long-dead brother Tony around the estate. Who or what is this apparition, and does he threaten to reveal skeletons in the closet (and elsewhere)? A massively entertaining horror treat in the best English Gothic tradition, Paranoiac features a superbly oily lead performance from a young Oliver Reed, stunning black & white Cinemascope photography, an ingenious script by Jimmy Sangster, and gripping direction by the great Freddie Francis.