Paranoid (I) (2000) User Reviews

Weird Movie, With Awful Performance of Jessica Alba

[claudio_carvalho · 5/10 · 14 November 2005]

The stressed top model Chloe (Jessica Alba) is invited by an acquaintance to a dinner party with some friends of him in a house far from London. She faints and when she wakes up, everybody has left the house but the owner Stan (Ian Glen) and his weird family. She decides to stay until the next morning, but during the night she finds that the group indeed abducted her to use and tape her in sexual orgy.

What a weird and bizarre movie this "Paranoid" is! I am a fan of Jessica Alba, but she is simply awful, with one of the most ridiculous face and performance I have ever seen on screen. I liked the rude but definitely perfect definition of another user about her expression: "seems related to a struggle with constipation". The story has also a huge inconsistency, with a very bad direction and screenplay. Last but not the least, the Brazilian cable television NET summarizes in their crap magazine that "a woman is stalked in a haunted house after having troubles with her car". The same happens in the IMDb Plot Outline: "A young woman is stranded at a mysterious lodge after her car crashes nearby." What movie are they referring to? My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "A Casa do Mal" ("The House of Evil")

If Jessica Alba didn't "do it" for a lot of guys, her career would have ended with this film.

[MBunge · 3/10 · 7 October 2010]

I don't know if this film would have ever been any good in any circumstance, but it was doomed the moment Jessica Alba was cast in the lead. She is completely out of her depth here and the only entertainment value to be found in Paranoid is watching the other actors maneuver around the leaden lump that is Alba.

Chloe (Jessica Alba) is a fashion model. She's kind of a tramp and not very bright or at all interesting, so all she's got going for her is her exotic beauty. And since Alba does nothing for me, I found Chloe about as appealing as a doorstop made out of Spam. Chloe gets invited out to a party in the country by Ned, a guy with some indeterminate job in commercials who wants to get into Chloe's pants. The party is at an old inn now owned by Stan (Iain Glen), a former rock star who's become one of those rich shut-ins that lives off former success while dreaming of future glory that will never come. Ned and Stan used to be in a band together, until the music stopped and Stan married a groupie named Rachel (Jeanne Tripplehorn). Now Stan and Rachel live out in the country with Stan's brother Gordon (Ewen Bremner) and their deaf and somewhat retarded daughter Theresa (Mischa Barton).

After an odd party where Ned's wife shows up, Chloe is stuck at the inn with no ride back to London. Then she discovers the perverted hobby Stan and Gordon have involving video tape and drugged girls, so Chloe ends up chained to a bed in Stan's basement. The only one who can help her is Clive (Kevin Whately), the middle aged man who lives across the street from Chloe's apartment and has been stalking her for the past several weeks.

There's just a whole lot of nothing going on in this movie. Chloe is the heart of the story, the thing upon which all else turns. Unfortunately, Alba's acting ranges from wooden as a tree stump to resembling someone who's had too many electroshock treatments. So, since Chloe alternates between annoying and a non-entity, nothing else in the film works. There's never any tension or suspense or drama or anything. All you get is the rest of the cast futilely grappling with Alba's tar baby of suck.

It doesn't help matters that writer/director John Duigan never apparently realizes that this story doesn't have a point. There's about three-quarters of an idea here, but it never amounts to anything. Duigan's direction is also as standardized and basic as you can get. I'm not sure you can blame Duigan too much for the lifeless heap that is Paranoid. While watching it I got the sense that his producers forced Duigan to take Alba as his lead, but he figured out early on she couldn't do any of the things he needed for Chloe. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that Duigan tried to extensively rewrite the script to salvage the film by emphasizing the other characters to compensate for Alba's lack of talent and skill. If that did happen, it didn't work.

Iain Glen is creepily charismatic as a burned out has been who still dominates the circle of losers with which he surrounds himself. Jeanne Tripplehorn is also nice as a woman with a tough and jaded facade who's really falling apart inside. The other performers are all okay, though there is an animatronic quality to Mischa Barton's work as the deaf, ping pong ball-sucking daughter.

This movie is boring and pointless, highlighted only by a parade of exposed breasts, though Alba and Tripplehorn remain covered up at all times. So, if leering at topless extras is your fetish, Paranoid will do the trick for you. But as far as being a worthwhile film…this isn't one.

Not Completely Awful

[aimless-46 · 5/10 · 5 October 2005]

My used VHS copy of "Paranoid" made an immediate bad impression. It is a bad sign when you pick up a used VHS and find that it has "not" been rewound from a point midway into the movie. There is a very good chance that the last viewer got so disgusted by that point that they just bailed out and traded the thing in without even bothering to fast forward to the ending. Bad impression #2 came when I discovered the poor audio quality and tried to activate the subtitles-the tape does not have this feature (nor does the DVD version). Subtitles are added after the final cut in post-production. They represent a modest additional expense so when they are missing from post-1996 movies it is because the producers were so unimpressed with the final product that they were already trying to cut their losses.

That said "Paranoid" is not as bad as most commentary would lead you to believe. This is a psychological thriller that borrows heavily from "Rear Window" and "The Collector". Unfortunately, the generally good cast is hampered by the limited talents of Jessica Alba, who not only looks the part of a fashion model, but exhibits the expected thespian skills of most fashion models (insert Kathy Ireland here).

Although the distributors promote the movie as if the title refers to Chloe's (Alba) mindset, it actually is a reference to main captor Stan's (Iain Glen) delusions. These pass for irony as his damage control measures transform a minor and easily concealed crime into a high stakes situation. Although we are told at one point that Stan's last name is Kowalski and wait patiently for him to scream "Stella", director John Duigan somehow resists the temptation to go there.

The just-under-the-surface depravity of the household is masked by the presence of a deaf child, nicely played by Mischa Barton. Barton gives a subtle non-verbal performance as the movie's only totally sympathetic character. Unfortunately, Duigan's script does not explore her motivations or how she has remained uncorrupted despite growing up in this environment. Instead the character is just an ethereal presence, helping to advance the story line but too distanced to really connect with the audience. Interestingly, when her parents "sign" to her they also say the words. Given the poor audio quality and inaudible dialogue it would have been useful for all the characters to "sign" their lines (after a few minutes of "Paranoid's" audio everyone can relate better to a deaf child).

Also helping to advance the story line is Kevin Whately who plays the Jimmy Stewart "Rear Window" character. He perfectly plays a voyeur who is the only one who genuinely cares for Chloe's wellbeing. He cares enough to risk exposure in order to save her. But in attempting to illustrate his binocular observations of Chloe's apartment the folks in post-production not only added the silly black circles around the binocular image but desaturated all the color from these views-duh! Duigan is such a poor storyteller and his direction so laid back that he does generate any tension or suspense. But "Paranoid" is more tiring than boring, as you have to stay focused and work hard just to decipher what is happening in each scene. There are simply too many characters here and they are too unconventional, Duigan does not come close to giving us even one fully developed character. A good director would have used behaviors to complement dialogue but Duigan is too focused on style to provide any substance.

The movie has good production design style and a fair number of nice visual moments. Like the unexpected and very sudden change in Chloe's situation when Stan slips the handcuffs on her wrist. And later when Gordon (Ewen Bremer) seemingly brings a tray of toast to the handcuffed Chloe and then casually eats it himself without even offering it to her.

Even if you can follow what is supposed to be the final twist (Chloe's photographer boyfriend is the obsessive phone caller but Duigan's slips this revelation in so poorly that few will comprehend what he is showing), you just don't care because there so little character development or foreshadowing that it has no emotional impact.

Gives movies a bad name!

[chicothekid · 1/10 · 8 October 2000]

This is one of the worst "movies" you'll ever see. There is a very good reason that it went straight to video, because it's just plain awful. I wouldn't recommend this to someone I really hated, I don't hate anyone that badly. The story is as terrible as the directing, and only the acting is worse. Alba is just awful here and will set new lows in movie performances that will make Luke Skywalker look like a god. The movie's plot isn't worth mentioning because after the first few minutes you won't care. It's about 90 minutes but seems like the Titanic revisited. Don't see this for Alba, just don't see it and do yourself a favor.

An exercise of your empathy--SPOILERS on content

[ghoracew · 16 May 2001]

This movie has going for it some suffering characters in a drama, that is quite inferior to the recent MAGNOLIA, indeed, but you will still find the empathy "muscles" in your brain/mind given a bit of a workout. Since Jessica Alba is in it and the film is often advertized (in used markets) as having nudity in it, it is only fair to advise yuou that you see nothing of Ms. Alba that you would not see at a beach where people where swim suits. She disrobes and is shown naked from behind from the the top of her head to the small of her back. She is also shown sitting taking a bubble bath in a bath tub --nothing your grandma would mind you seeing. Re other characters: a man is shown naked at a distance (rear view) and some models behind the scenes at a fashion show changing area are shown topless, so briefly you might miss it. Those who advertize this movie as "Jessica Alba" and "nude" are not exactly lying, but seeing HER nude, covered in bubbles ina bathtub is not what such buyers interpret such ads as promising. Worth seeing for viewers who want to feel sorry for one or more suffering characters.

Not as bad as everyone wrote....

[movieman-138 · 5/10 · 1 February 2001]

I thought this movie wasn't extremely bad. It did run a little long..but maintaining your interest for about the middle 3o mins and a slighty good ending which left you with the feeling that the movie was semi-good. Alba wasn't really good ... I agree that it looked like she was constipated with the acting she was portraying. final grade 5 out of 10. I mean dam it has a 3.2 right now... i really doubt it deserves that.

Looney Tunes

[sol1218 · 4/10 · 25 July 2004]

****SPOILERS**** "Paranoid" is a really weird movie about a fashion model Chloe, Jessica Alba, getting involved with a couple of nut-jobs in the little town of Davon on the quiet English coast. We also have Chloe getting harassed by some crazed stalker who's constantly calling her on her cell-phone and how he got Chloe's number, well you'll just have to stay to the end of the movie to find out if your still awake by then.

Being set up by her boyfriend Ned, Gary Love, Chloe goes to Levens Hill Lodge in Davon for the weekend and ends up drunk and on drugs and when she comes too she finds out that all the guests at the lodge, except her, are gone.

Chloe also finds that her boyfriend had more then just two timed her but that he was married to one of the guests that was with her at the lodge Eve, Gina Bellman, which hurt and greatly upset her. Stuck with nutty Stan,Lain Glen, and his burnt out wife Rachael or Ray, Jenne Tripplehorn, and Stan's creepy younger brother Gordon,Ewen Bremner, Chloe is trapped there with nowhere to go.

Drugged and drunk Chloe is video-taped by Gordon having a good time with the trio and when she recovers she goes into the living room and finds a video-tape. Watching it on her TV Chole sees another party with not only Stan Gordon and Ray but also Ned with a girl drunk or doped up and partly naked. When Stan finds out that Chloe saw the tape he freaks out and in the end tries to have her murdered.

I couldn't for the life of me figure out why Stan was so whacked out over a more or less harmless tape of him and his friends partying with the girl who wasn't a minor and didn't really seemed to be abused by anyone on the tape. We see her voluntarily take her clothes off and at one point on the tape she seems to have passed out. That was about the worst that happened to her and it wasn't brought out that she ended up dead injured raped or missing sometime after the tape was taken. Even if the worst did happened to her, she was found murdered all Stan had to do was destroy the tape and nobody would know if it ever existed, or if he knew or had anything to do with the girl on it; but to kill Chloe for seeing it! now that's crazy! It may very well have been Stan's state of mind that was saturated with both drugs and booze over the years that may have given him this paranoid reaction and the burnt-out Ray and dopey Gordon in the end went along just to placate him.

The two heroes in the movie "Paranoid" were really not what were used to seeing as heroes in films: Theresa, Mischa Barton, who was Stan and Ray's deaf mute and ping-pong playing 15 year-old daughter and Clive, Kevin Whately, a girl-watching weirdo who lived across the street from Chloe.

Theresa drawing where Chloe is, the Levens Hill Lodge, and pasting a photo of her on the drawing sends it to the police. Clive who was watching Chloe with a pair of binoculars from his apartment across the street from her became alarmed when he didn't see her for days and then tracked her down to the Levens Hill Lodge where she was held hostage by Stan.

Ned who supplied girls to Stan for parties and got his supply of coke from him in return got very nervous when Stan told him that Chloe had to be eliminated. In the end Ned told the police when they came to Stan's house looking for Chloe what was happening and led them to the cliffs to stop Stan and Gordon form killing her.

We were told earlier in the movie that Stan was a big time rock musician a while back and I started to wonder if the heavy music did more damage to his brain then the heavy drugs that he was using in the movie. Stan also fancied himself as a big time philosopher and poet and me and those in the audience as well as those on the screen had trouble keeping a straight face and not cracking up whenever the so-called words of wisdom came flowing out of his mouth.

Clive came to Chloe's rescue, together with the police,as Stan and Gordon tried to push a car with her locked up in the trunk down the cliff into the ocean. When Stan saw th cops all hell break loose as he told Gordon to distract them by not letting then hear Chloe's banging from inside the car-trunk.The not too bright Gordon dim-wittily banged against the trunk of the car like he was playing the bongo drums to drown out Choles screams! Clive runs down and chases away both Stan and Gordon and prevents them from killing Chloe and as he's driving his car we hear the American Country & Western song "The Last Roundup" playing in the English countryside.

The biggest surprise of all was saved for the end of the movie where we finally got to see who was pestering Chloe on the phone during the entire movie. That revelation only went to prove that the person wasn't who you thought he or she was but that the person was who you thought he or she wasn't.

A DRAB AND DISMAL FILM

[rsoonsa · 1/10 · 17 October 2000]

This thing is a failed attempt to create an atmosphere of suspense relating to an abduction for sexual purposes of a fashion model. Unfortunately, it is difficult to care a good deal about what happens to the model, played limply by Jessica Alba, whose sole expression seems related to a struggle with constipation. The script is somewhat incoherent and lacking in focus, although poor editing can't have helped. As example, the title of the film is made a non-sequiter from the goings-on. Kevin Whately performs well in his wan part; the other players struggle with the scenario. John Duigan has directed far better; the occasional attempts at humor are best left unacknowledged.

Jessica Alba at her lowest

[VampireHorde · 2/10 · 23 April 2005]

I consider myself to be an average movie-goer. Some films may take a few minutes to figure out AFTER you've seen it and those kinds of films are my faves.

"Paranoid" is COMPLETELY devoid of ANY plot of ANY kind. I recently rented this movie for the love of seeing the stunning Jessica Alba. I won't go into detail but just know this: NOTHING gets solved in this movie. It's supposed to be a psychological thriller, so where's the suspense? The intrigue? Or even the PLOT?

Jessica's character is entrapped in a basement for "something" and we NEVER find out what exactly for! There are around 6-7 sub-plots that occur and NOTHING ever gets explained about why they happened! All the characters are completely DEVOID of personality, even the talented Ewen Bremner stalls the movie. Jessica herself is ALWAYS great to look at and it's easy to tell that she is trying her damndest to look like a tortured soul in this mediocre role.

Throughout the entire film, she gives a sour look on her face and never looks back. And to all of you who rented this film because of Jessica's nipple slip, YES, there is one but it is NOT the one in the beginning of the film. Anyway, the other players like Jeanne Tripplehorne, 14-year old Mischa Barton, and Iain Glen (who later starred as the villain in the Tomb Raider flick) really bog down this film. They are SO one-dimensional that you fall asleep as they try to look and act dastardly.

Here's a good example: Iain's character decides to suffocate Jessica's character with a large see-through plastic as she is handcuffed to the bed. Jessica writhes in horror as we see him try to "kill" her. A few seconds later he removes the plastic and says "YEAH! You nearly lost control there, didn't you?" This is another sub-plot that happens and is NEVER explained. AARRGGH!!! And while we're on the subject of disastrous, never-explained subplots, I'll bite the bullet and actually reveal them all right here!

--SUBPLOT #1: Jessica's character loathes her profession and what she's become. This is addressed a few times in the movie but never touched on again.

--SUBPLOT #2: Jessica's character has dual boyfriends. Both are musicians with really sketchy pasts and with really dull plot twists.

--SUBPLOT #3: Jessica's character has a voyeur neighbor who spies on her and gives her gratuitous phone calls. He later becomes integral to the last act of the film but we never find out the who, what, and why of this character. AARRGHH!!

--SUBPLOT #4: In the middle of the film, Iain's character imprisons Jessica for watching a videotape. But a few scenes later, we "find out" that he imprisoned her for something else and we NEVER know why!

--SUBPLOT #5: We find out later in the film that one of Jessica's boyfriend is married (to one of the ladies from "Couplings"). The wife stops by the lodge and sort of brings conflict for a few scenes and then disappears for the rest of the film.

--SUBPLOT #6: What the hell is up with Mischa Barton's character? I can't even begin to describe how useless her character and her own subplot was!

--SUBPLOT #7: Ewen Bremner brings a creepy presence in the film. He does a sort of okay job portraying the straight character. He videotapes everything in the lodge but we never know why!

--SUBPLOT #8: When Jessica first arrives in the lodge, she settles into her room and is being spied on through a sort of "Psycho" peephole. We see this camera trick once or twice and then that's it! We never know who it is or the significance of this peephole.

--SUBPLOT #9: Iain and Jeanne Tripplehorne's characters grill Jessica about her profession. We learn of Jessica's disgust and her lack of control of her life. And then...we never hear about it again.

--SUBPLOT #10: Jessica takes a few pills in the film. Supposedly, this habit leads to her downfall but like the other subplots...never gets mentioned or seen again.

I could go on and on and on with all the B.S. subplots but I think we all know one thing: many subplots DO NOT equal a plot!

In case I haven't mentioned it yet, this film BLOWS! It was a chance to see sexy Jessica strut her stuff and it was a complete waste. To see a more sexy Jessica, go rent "The Sleeping Dictionary". It isn't as bad as "Paranoid" but at least she shines in that film.

Avoid renting this film unless you are a VERY eager Jessica Alba fan. And just in advance: My apologies if you had to endure "Paranoid".

Just missing something extra!!!

[jtindahouse · 7/10 · 8 January 2007]

It all just seems a bit formulaic. These days unless you have a completely fresh idea (which this wasn't) then you have to add something on (which this doesn't), otherwise you're just making the same movie with different actors. I liked the idea to take the story away from America which gave it that "you're along way from home" spooky, kind of feeling. But I feel they sacrificed good acting for this which is a shame because if they could've combined both I'm sure it would have been slightly more successful.

None the less it's not all bad. For Jessica Alba fans it'll be easier to sit through than some of her other duller movies. And for everyone else, well maybe there's something there for people who enjoy spooky type endings, but if not, there are definitely other ones out there to see before this.

my god, what a train smash of a movie

[dale-edwards · 1/10 · 24 May 2006]

a fashion model is invited to a weekend away at a house in the country by a friend. when she gets there things are not what they seem and she is the victim of some very weird treatment by the people that live in the house.

Jessica Alba was the only reason i rented this movie, and to be honest this is possibly her career worst as far as performances go. the story had a little potential, but it was ever realised. the script was absolutely pathetic, Alba's lines might have been intended to make her look like the stereotypical stupid model, but even if you did believe in stereotypes, you would never believe in the stupidity of this character.

the director must have been out to lunch for the majority of the movie, as there seems to be absolutely no quality in the scene delivery. The rest of the cast for this film were minor players in the world of feature films, and definitely contributed to the mediocrity of the movie.

If you are a fan of Jessica Alba, then it is probably still worth still watching this film so that you can see her at her worst, and therefore appreciate he better performances. Otherwise don't bother, the cost of the rental is definitely prohibitive this is such a bad film.

What's up with all these American stars appearing in low budget British films these days???

[Sherazade · 8/10 · 26 July 2006]

It's Jessica Alba's turn this time and here she plays a pill-popping-tired-looking supermodel whom we are to believe is so beautiful that the minute she steps onto the runaway to show off a dress, the air stands still and everybody takes notice of her --- just her. Aside from her always wanting to stay awake, so she doesn't a miss one minute of her would-be fabulous life, she has many a psychopath on her tail and trail.

Jeanne Tripplehorn plays a former groupie who is now shacked up with the rocker (a group sex fetishist with zero respect for women, let alone the ones he objectifies) she fell in love with and together they live in a former hotel just outside of London with their deaf, toothpaste-eating-Pingpong-playing-ball-sucking daughter played to perfection by Mischa Barton (who is perhaps the one person in the film who will impress you with her acting chops). One day, Alba's supermodel self who is busy cheating on her boyfriend with a married man who will soon get her in the trouble of her life, decides to go on a trip to visit with her lovers friends. She not only comes in contact with her lover's wife during the trip but soon figures out that her hallucinations are in fact a reality when she comes to know that she has been abandoned at the mercy of the psychopathic family (Tripplehorn and co.) her lover calls friends. It is during this time that we come to know the identity of all her stalkers (as previously hinted at the beginning of the film) as well as the agendas of the fetishist couple.

I don't understand one thing though, how come during the entire abduction process Chloe's (Alba) phone never runs out of juice? It keeps ringing throughout the course of the movie, without being recharged. In fact, that phone worked so much that it should be billed as a supporting cast member and be eligible for award consideration.

I know lots of people say "don't waste your money on this"...

[GreySphinx · 4/10 · 14 March 2003]

I really don't know what this movie was trying to do... I've noticed in most films, they either try to get by on some statement that the director/writer wants to make or if not that, are good for their entertainment value... but this movie has neither.

What this movie DOES have is Jessica Alba (she was the reason I bought the DVD in the first place... hey, 'twas only 7 bucks)... but even that proved to be not worth it... first of all, I want to mention that the DVD is... lifeless. It doesn't even have chapter selection, just plays the movie from start to finish (and being as it's low budget, that's forgiveable)... but anyway

So even if you've come to watch the movie for Jess, there's really not much to see.... **SPOILERS** she's got a bubble bath scene, some... back "nudity", and a skimpy outfit or two (all of which contribute virtually nothing to the movie and seem like a cheap excuse to get some PG-rated sensuality in so the teenage boys get something to drool about at night)... also, the flashes of real nudity in the opening credits are also pretty useless... anyway, I think the only "new" thing I've seen is this movie is to hear Jess Alba curse a bit (which I haven't heard anywhere but bloopers before)

**More Spoilers** So anyhow, Jess is a model and the only person in the movie NOT to speak with an Australian accent... like all models, she's got at least one stalker who keeps harassing her by calling several times a day.... To get away from it all, she goes with this guy she barely knows to stay at a cabin with him and his friends for the weekend. What she doesn't know is that the guy leaves the next day and she's now stranded with a whole bunch of people who include this creepy Irish-Australian (who resembles a scary Conan O'Brien and writes real crappy music) and this skinny black-haired guy who looks like he could be one of the Wiggles. She wakes up the next day wondering if she got raped and videotaped (because that seems to be how these particular Australians get their kicks) and before she knows it, she's handcuffed to a bed (ooh baby) in their basement... The only people who can save her now are the original stalker and a 9-year-old deaf girl...

The ending was boring... I don't know why I'm writing anymore of this really... I know lots of people say "don't waste your money on this" but I'm not even kidding here... you buy it, and you literally throw away some good money for nothing... I have it now obviously, but I seriously doubt I'll ever feel bored enough to watch it again

Not that bad a movie

[jmbrown-2 · 24 November 2005]

After reading the reviews at this site, I was expecting and extremely bad

movie like the undead or similar. However for a low budget film I thought it was very watchable and worth renting.

The biggest problem with this film was the lead actress Jessica Alba. Her performance was mediocre at best. The support cast however were more than competened and with a better lead actor the film would have been more than decent. Unfortunately Jessica let the film, the cast and the director down

Its is worth a watch

The next time Jessica comes to England, I hope she has a better reason.

[Victor Field · 4/10 · 18 December 2002]

Alba fans be warned: This review contains the odd spoiler.

Jessica, Jessica, Jessica... (sigh). Those almond-shaped eyes, pillowy lips, wavy dark hair, strokeable olive skin, utterly perfect body, cute speaking voice, tight flawless behind... Like Cindy Crawford, Rosanna Arquette and Mariah Carey, Jessica Alba is one of those women who occupies a very special place in my affections. If only "Paranoid" was as appealing as she is.

Made by Sky Pictures (and sad proof that Sky is not the HBO of Britain), John Duigan's thrill-less thriller casts the gorgeous and sexy Jessica as an American model doing some work in London, who's plagued by a stalker, on good terms with her ex, and is persuaded to spend some time at a friend's house in the country, only to find that said house is seemingly entirely populated by weirdos (Iain Glen, Ewen Bremner, Jeanne Tripplehorn etc). The only interesting aspect of the movie not related to Miss Alba's charms is that our heroine is perpetually surrounded by weirdos even when she doesn't know it.

SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!

Her flat in London is spied on by a neighbour (Kevin Whately) who, though basically a stalker (he found her address book and thus started to be fascinated by her), is ultimately the one who rescues her from death in the end. Unfortunately they never meet, thereby denying us the closest thing we'll get to a "Dark Angel"/"Inspector Morse" crossover. But the last scene (revealing the identity of the phantom phone caller) indicates the poor girl still has her share of creeps in her life, without even knowing it.

WE NOW RETURN TO OUR REVIEW, STILL IN PROGRESS.

"Paranoid" does occasionally successfully conjure up an edgy, pervy atmosphere, and the cast does try their best, but the low budget and the off-key writing and directing from Duigan (on unfamiliar territory here, literally because he's Australian and figuratively considering his far superior dramas "The Year My Voice Broke," "Flirting" and "Sirens") defuse any impact. Jessica's performance is even more sullen and depressed than her character is supposed to be... and her lack of energy is certainly shared by the viewer. (Why she and Jeanne Tripplehorn were in this movie is beyond me. In fact, why ANYONE was in it is beyond me.) Unexciting and occasionally unpleasant, anti-Murdoch advocates ("See the kind of tosh Rupert puts out?"), Kevin Whately devotees and die-hard Alba fans are the only ones who need apply.

By the way, note the mocked-up "FHM" cover that she appears on at one point. Jessica has never done the famed lad mag in real life, an oversight I demand be corrected forthwith.

Another Movie That Was Never Supposed To Be Released

[xberon · 2/10 · 15 September 2005]

Let me just mention that this movie was never released in theaters in the US. It was never supposed to be released at all in the US. And only because Jessica Alba gained serious attention for starring in "Sin City" and "The Fantastic Four", did it actually get put out - straight to video - five years after it was made.

So, if you cant put the pieces together . . . the movie sucked. I only gave it a 2 because it has Jessica Alba in it - and of course most men don't watch her for her acting prowess. Thin plot, mediocre acting, terrible ending. Unless your are an overzealous Alba fan like me, don't rent/buy this movie. And if you are an overzealous fan, get the movie but don't watch it.

Scarily bad direction

[tprofumo · 3/10 · 19 July 2000]

I was eagerly awaiting this film because of its star, Jessica Alba, who will be seen this fall as the title character in the upcoming James Cameron sci-fi TV series, "Dark Angel."

Finding out that it went straight to video in the US was a tip off. The quick review is this. The principals of "Paranoid" do have plenty to worry about.

First, the log line is completely in accurate, although that line has been carried in industry information for some time.

Jessica plays a young model who goes off for a weekend in the British countryside with a date. Her car does NOT crash near this mysterious lodge, she is taken there by her date.

I don't want to go too deeply into the plot, other than to say she is held against her will there by a villainous former musician and his cohorts.

The problem is that Jessica, who has cropped up of late in "Idle Hands" and "Never Been Kissed" as high school sexpots, simply falls completely flat in "Paranoid."

She is supposed to be playing a budding super model, and there is a high energy first scene at a fashion show under the opening credits. It's high energy for everyone but Jessica who looks like she can barely keep awake. The plot has her suffering from jet lag or sleep deprivation or something, but she carries that mood out for the rest of the entire movie. That's a big mistake, because in later scenes when she is being held against her will, we have nothing to think back on. There never was a fiesty, fresh, "I'm 19 and I'm beautiful and I rule the world" image to remember. There's none of the energy of the girl who stole the show for two seasons on "Flipper." There's just this tired girl who gets tiring as the movie drags on.

The same can be said of the villain, who is supposed to be able to convince people to go along with his evil plans. But he is equally uncharismatic. The best acting is done by a starker living across the street from the model. He actually seems human. Most others in the story are too busy being laid back.

That in the end seems the director's fault. He has handcuffed almost everyone in the cast, pun intended.

A weak effort, but hopefully, Jessica will shine in "Dark Angel." She is one of the most beautiful young actresses around today, but she has her work cut out for her if she is to overcome her poor debut as a lead character in "Paranoid."

It seems I don't love Alba quite enough

[Bored_Dragon · 3/10 · 7 August 2022]

A model (Jessica Alba) goes to a private party, somewhere in the English countryside, where she is drugged and imprisoned. A voyeur from the building across the street from hers, who regularly watches her with binoculars, notices her disappearance and comes on a rescue mission.

The kidnapper's (GoT's Jorah Mormont) motives aren't the clearest, aside from being an obvious sociopath, her reactions are also pretty unconvincing, and the kidnapper's housemates (Criminal Minds' Alex Blake, Coupling's Jane, Trainspotting's Spad) are mostly brainless. This does not have even H of a horror film, and it could hardly be classified as a psychological drama or thriller, because the characters are dull and there is not even a trace of tension. The script and its realization are tragically amateurish, on the level of a television movie of a very low-budget studio.

The reason I watched it in the first place was Jessica Alba, and Jessica Alba turned out to be the only thing worth seeing in the film, and only in a purely aesthetic (not to say sexual) sense. Everything else, both essentially and technically, is rubbish and a total waste of time.

3/10.

Flat thriller not helped by its lead

[drownsoda90 · 5/10 · 2 August 2020]

"Paranoid" follows American fashion model Chloe (Jessica Alba) who is invited to a party outside London by someone she is a mere acquaintance with. She accepts the invitation, only to find herself in a situation that is far more than she bargained for.

Having been a fan of director John Duigan's 1997 film "Lawn Dogs," I sort of went into this expecting it to be not as bad as people have said. Unfortunately, it is pretty bad, though it has some elements that make it mildly watchable. This little-seen thriller looks like it could be decent on the surface, and it does have a few good moments scattered throughout, but the general consensus is right: This film is pretty poor. As a thriller, it doesn't offer much in way of suspense, and the screenplay bafflingly manages to be both one-note and subplot-ridden.

As much as I don't want to say it, though, the true stake in the heart of the film is Jessica Alba's abysmal performance. While her dialogue is partly to blame, she spends most of the film speaking in a one-note sing-song manner that is truly bizarre. What's even more unfortunate is that she is surrounded by top-notch actors who only make her look worse. Iain Glen, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Ewen Bremner, and even a young Mischa Barton all outshine Alba by leaps and bounds.

All in all, this is a rather dull film that suffers partly from a half-baked screenplay, but mostly (and unfortunately) from the lead performance. Had another actor taken Alba's role, the film would have been marginally better, but even still, the bones here are not great--average at best. Worth a watch if you want to see a stark contrast between good and bad acting. 5/10.

good....

[carolinamoron · 6/10 · 30 May 2005]

Good because it makes you curious. Catches your attention. Jessica Alba is Chloe, a model taken by her boyfriend to an old hotel. After finding out that her boyfriend is in fact married she also find out that she was left alone in the strange hotel with the freak family that own's it. In the middle of the night she wakes up paranoid that someone drugged her and had slept with here while she was unconscious. After that she is locked in a studio/room by the father, Stan. This movie deserves a 6 because of Mischa Barton's Theresa, a deaf and dumb girl! The rest is like other thrillers: bizarre house, weird stuff, psycho people... blah blah blah... Jessica Alba's maybe hot but is sure a bad,bad,bad actress !!!!

Not that bad Nor confusing for me.

[exbm · 8/10 · 9 December 2006]

This movie was not hard for me to fallow at all. Jessic alba was smokin hot but should could of acted better. Her acting however, did not affect my suspension of disbelief in the story. Although, I am easily immersed.

I have decided to point out where others on this film are stuck. for me it is obvious that Chloe was being drugged and raped. They weren't keeping her hostage because she saw a video tape. They were keeping her there to rape her. The movie never shows the raping. The lady in the tape was not Chloe but Ned's wife. What the movie didn't show was in the video tape where Chloe says, "stop I'm tired. No, I want to go to sleep." She is getting raped with the use of a drug like roofies. The Ironic part of the story is Chloe's first stalker was the man who help free her from the psychotic musician Stan. During the movie it might be hard to follow because there are 3 stalkers and they are all stalking her about the same time. Gordon peaks at her through the peep whole while her friend toby calls her up and hangs up. The stalker across the street also calls her and hangs up. The two stalkers are the only ones that have plots still open. I think everything else is just character development not a sub-plot. (there not meant to be solved)

Doesn't make the audience work for answers like most good thrillers do.

[keyser_soze4321 · 6/10 · 20 July 2002]

John Duigan's psychological thriller 'Paranoid' explores the world of a high class model named Chloe (played by the stunning beauty Jessica Alba). She gets involved in the wrong crowd and finds herself alone in a lodge surrounded by strangers. She wakes up paranoid that someone had slept with here while she was unconscious.

It seems a simple plot. But there are strange characters that make this film more interesting. The suspected rapist (played by Iain Glen), the stalker, the boyfriend left at home. It seems as though the beautiful Chloe is surrounded by characters with ugly intentions. Apart from Theresa (played by the young Mischa Barton) who is deaf and dumb and seemingly the only one with a moral conscious.

Duigan's directing is solid, but nothing you haven't seen before. The occasional camera shot through the key hole or binoculars or from window to window.

Unfortunately Duigan's script reveals whether Chloe is suffering from irrational fears very early and too easily. He doesn't make the audience work for the answer like most good thrillers do.

Jeanne Tripplehorn is very good in a supporting role. And Jessica Alba shows potential. There is some what of a twist in the end but it doesn't work as well as it should. In the End, good... but it could of been so much better.

Tripplehorn in Chains?

[tedg · 30 November 2000]

I have a game. I believe I can find something interesting even intriguing in any film. This one tests me sorely because everything about the film itself is completely without merit. The only interesting thing is Jeanne Tripplehorn's presence. What a fall from grace! She was in one of the decade's blockbusters `Basic Instinct.'

In that, she was both attractive and showed some real acting promise. Not great, but promising. Rather like Ms Jolie or Theron at the time of this writing. She was also in the decade's hugest bomb, where her performance was harmoniously bad. How uneven a career. She was a strong harridan in the clever `Sliding Doors.' but helped `Mickey Blue Eyes' tank. "Till There Was You" was weakened by her. Now she shows up in a TV level piece of tripe. She could have saved this for me, because she had the chorus role. But she just didn't have the stuff. Is it drugs? Is it just random ups and downs?

I have not seen her in `Timecode.' That promises to be an important film for me. Let's hope for the best.

good movie

[r_glazzard · 7/10 · 13 January 2006]

i bought it because Jessica alba was in it at first it seemed really boring but when she gets to the house it starts to pick up and it has some suspense and the scary bits are when you think what it would be like if you were Chloe and by the end i thought it was a OK movie it has some good bits and a dark plot that you have to think about because they don't show you every thing but there is a lot of topless women and rape themes not a movie for kids or people that like a fast movie with lots of action Jessica alba is very good and beautiful and Mischa Barton from oc is good only about 15 and her sister is in it but i couldt see in it she now looks just like Mischa did in the movie