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Paranoia

1999, Movie, R, 87 mins

Paranoia: Review

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Neurotic interior designer Jana Mercer (Brigitte Bako) has lived in a twilight world of terror since witnessing the slaughter of her family during her childhood. Unexpectedly, Calvin Hawks (Larry Drake), the madman who killed the Mercers, contacts Jana from prison. Having served his 20-year stretch, Calvin explains to Jana that he let her live in order to become part of her life; in Calvin's mind, he is united with Jana through the God-like gesture of sparing her. Mark Daniels (Robert Floyd), an acquaintance from Jana's hometown, looks her up in Manhattan and persuades her to accompany him to the old neighborhood for closure. Violating his parole, Calvin initiates a new killing spree. Unexpectedly, Mark's ne'er-do-well brother David (Stephen Gevedon) returns home. Before long, Jana is not the only one experiencing flashbacks to the past. Mark's own suppressed memories may hold the key to a dangerous secret link between Calvin and David. Artily directed, this sinister little psychological chiller does establish an unsettling symbiosis between the crazed killer and the young woman he stalks. Despite its acute psychological observations, however, the film never manages to cloud our judgment about Calvin or prompt us to question his guilt; more interestingly, by insinuating himself into Jana's psyche, she's become unexpectedly inoculated against Calvin. Despite unnecessary sequences, such as Jana's sessions with a therapist, that diminish suspense, the director sustains the cat-and-mouse tension between Calvin and Jana until the end and, since we've never guessed the details surrounding the extermination of the Mercer family, the climax comes as a blood-curdling surprise. leave a comment --Robert Pardi
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