Paranoiac

(1963) ***

Sweet Eleanor has been a distraught mess since the suicide of her brother Tony years ago. Clearly not helping is the fact that her older brother Simon (a memorable performance from Oliver Reed) is intent on driving her insane in order to inherit their parents' substantial fortune. Simon is an angry, angry drunk who gets downright hostile when he runs out of brandy. His masterplan is thwarted when a mysterious stranger claiming to be the deceased Tony saves Eleanor from plummeting to her death. This plot device (used in A Very Brady Sequel) always irks me simply because any family should be able to identify whether or not someone is an imposter by no more than a glance. Simon will stop at nothing to seek revenge on the "brother" as well as Eleanor.

Paranoiac would be a great name for a metal band. It's also a very good movie that kept me emotionally attached throughout. I let out a sigh of relief for the first decent Hammer film...