Trash Or Terror Tuesday: Paranoid (2000)

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It’s time for #TrashOrTerrorTuesday

…when I examine a film that’s been languishing in my personal library to determine if it is #Trash or #Terror

– or more importantly, if it deserves to stay in my collection.

And so, out from the dusty shelves of #VHS tapes & DVDs comes…

Poster art for Paranoid (2000)Paranoid (2000) by #JohnDuigan

w/ #JessicaAlba #IainGlen #JeanneTripplehorn

A fashion model is abandoned at a party in the country, where she’s drugged, abused on video and chained to a bed.

“Forbidden Passions Can Be Deadly”

#Crime #Horror #Thriller

#TrashOrTerrorTuesday

 

It sounds like a good time, but Paranoid (2000) is an odd movie. It starts off by generating some genuine suspense and a general feeling of dread. I certainly felt afraid for the main character, Chloe, played by Jessica Alba, as she seemed to be getting herself deeper and deeper into a very creepy situation. But at some point in the middle of the film, it flatlines and becomes a strange waiting game. Chloe (and the audience) is left waiting for the bad guys to make up their mind about what they’re going to do with her. The movie almost becomes more of a quirky crime comedy, featuring oddball characters that could almost be sympathetic – if they didn’t all seem to be doing something a little bit shifty.

So what’s the verdict?

Paranoid (2000) is a mild Terror (primarily for the first half hour) that suddenly suffers a strange tonal shift into indie-movie Trash. There is some nudity (although not featuring Jessica Alba), almost no violence – and no gore. So while it might be trash, it’s not the fun kind. It does have a few entertaining moments, so it’s not a total write-off – but having sat through it twice in twenty years (or so), I think I can now pass Paranoid on to some other sucker who thinks it looks intriguing.

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