Paranoia

I rented the film Paranoia expecting a much better film. I felt that the plot was very weak. I expected a scary thriller and this movie did not scare me in the least. I did think the acting was good but the plot was terrible. I did, however, enjoy the line that was something like "Do whatever you want Jana...I have some Chinese food that's getting cold." I also thought the big black guy that was only in two scenes was interesting. What was his purpose?

Brigitte Bako gives a winning performance as Jana Mercer, a beautiful, sarcastic interior decorator who witnessed her family being murdered as a child by psycho Calvin Hawks (Larry Drake). Twenty years after the original crime, Jana (a night owl with a ultra-secure penthouse apartment) is again harassed via computer by Calvin, who informs her he's getting out on parole very soon and wants to be reunited. Unable to convince the authorities he's after her again, Jana retreats to the country with her new cop boyfriend. Guess who else shows up?

Drake is amusing and creepy as the psycho who tracks her down, slits a librarians neck ("Just because I could.") and tells another woman "Fear is the distance between pain and nothing!" It's silly that a mass murderer would have a laptop and advanced internet access IN his prison cell and would be getting out on parole after killing three people (hell, or nowadays, maybe it isn't), but, that aside, this has several surprising and effective plot twists, some witty dialogue, a pretty twisted flashback and nice attempts at establishing characters.

Ludicruous, almost amateur thriller about a killer (Drake) who gets out of the prison just to terrorize a young woman (Bako) who is the only survivor of the last crime of the bad guy. Weak plot, predictable all the way, extremely boring and with some campy performances, especially Drake, absolutely unconvincing and far - fetched. Don't lose your time and your money. I give this a 3 (three).

I enjoy finding offbeat titles at the video store. Most that I find are pretty bad in the horror market. This film isn't Shakespeare, but Larry (DR Giggles) Drake is fun to watch. ** 2 stars. Give it a look on a rainy day.

This movie is a big joke. First off, the acting is horrible, the look of the movie--it has the look of a very VERY low budget movie. The actors are miscast horribly. I could go on for days. Anyhow...the movie is fake. I mean, you have a girl named Jana who is the only survivor when her entire family is killed by a serial killer. We see this happen, and then we see her much later in life. She lives alone in an apartment, and usually stays locked up during the day, all paranoid and stuff...only contact with the outside is when she has her online therapy sessions with a female doctor. She is supposed to be this woman who was so traumatized, and her life is totally screwed up because of what happened. Does she act paranoid and mentally unbalanced like she should? Nope. She pretty much acts like a normal everyday person...she works out of her home as an architect and designer, but she goes out at night to meet with some guy she's working with. All alone in New York City, I think...and she's fine going out at night all alone. No way. Not only that, but she meets some guy who says he lived two houses down from her when her parents were killed, and the day she meets she tries to have sex with him...lets the guy into her apartment right away, etc. She should be untrusting of people...she even tells the guy herself that she can't ever trust people...yet she lets the guy in her bed the first day they see each other after 20 + years. Yea right...

The serial killer, who is now in prison, contacts Jana from prison. Funny thing--I never knew they gave prisoners laptop computers with internet access and fax machines. Wow! Anyhow...the guy contacts her, and she freaks out because of it...so she calls the corrections agency and they say--oh he was only sentenced to twenty years. 20 years for 3 murders? Wrong. The funny thing is, when Jana calls--she was surprised to see how much time he had left in prison. If her family was murdered, don't you think she would have known how long he was put away? It goes on from here--and it gets dumber and dumber.

This movie is horrible. If you ever see it in the rental place, STAY AWAY! I hate this movie so much, I think I;m going to contact the writer, and tell him to leave Hollywood, and do it quickly! .05/10