Coming to Shout Factory on Blu-ray in February 2022:

Review by Gary Tooze

Production:

Disc:

Video (both):

Audio:

Bitrate:

 

Description: A forgotten gem from the legendary Hammer Studios, available for the first time on home video in the UK, this sinister classic spins a gruesome web of unhappy families. It is three weeks before the Ashby siblings Simon (Oliver Reed), a brutish alcoholic, and Eleanor (Janette Scott), a nervous wreck, are to come into their late parents' inheritance. While Simon plans to have his sister certified insane and locked away, Eleanor keeps seeing the lurking figure of their long-dead brother Tony around the estate. Who or what is this apparition, and does he threaten to reveal skeletons in the closet (and elsewhere)? A massively entertaining horror treat in the best English Gothic tradition, Paranoiac features a superbly oily lead performance from a young Oliver Reed, stunning black & white Cinemascope photography, an ingenious script by Jimmy Sangster, and gripping direction by the great Freddie Francis.

***

A woman must contend with her family's madness as she finds her own sanity in doubt in this thriller from British horror masters Hammer Films. After the death of her parents, Eleanor Ashby (Janette Scott) would seem a safe bet to inherit their estate, but at the funeral, she's convinced that she has seen Tony (Alexander Davion), her brother who killed himself seven years ago. Eleanor's other sibling Simon (Oliver Reed), who is inarguably alive, uses this as an excuse to contest the will, arguing that Eleanor is mentally unstable and an unfit heir. Simon's claims cause Eleanor to wonder about her sanity, and in a moment of weakness she attempts suicide. Tony rescues her and tells her that he never died but simply went into hiding. He returns to the family's mansion, but soon he and Eleanor become the subject of a number of violent attacks by a masked lunatic before Eleanor learns a surprising secret about Tony. PARANOIAC marked the directorial debut of ace cinematographer Freddie Francis.

 

 

The Film:

Excerpt from British Horror Film Website located HERE

Image :    NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.
 

Eureka does Hammer on Blu-ray! Woohoo! Paranoiac has been available in, an essentially single-layered and, less effectual region 1 DVD in the greatly valued 8 film Hammer Horror Series Boxset reviewed HERE. (NOTE: also a lone edition in Germany but I don't own that release.) This UK HD rendering looks quite good. There are some infrequent, light, surface scratches but contrast (a bit green) and detail are consistent showing some suspenseful visuals. It may be marginally stretched horizontally. It is only a single-layered Blu-ray but the 1 hour 20-minute film has a very high bitrate and I expect this is reasonably faithful to the theatrical appearance. Special effects are weak looking transparent by today's standards but this is not a fault of the transfer. There isn't a lot of grain... or noise to contend with but I don't suspect any DNR as the image retains some depth and detail is too strong without the waxy-softness usually produced by the effect. It gave me a solid and enjoyable presentation.

Firstly, the large Eureka captures have disappeared into the Internet ether - never to return but we can still see some differences with the smaller comparison caps.

Both are in the accurate 2.35:1 aspect ratio.  This boxset is presented as follows:

Blu-ray Disc 1 - "The Brides Of Dracula" & "The Curse Of The Werewolf"
Blu-ray Disc 2 - "Night Creatures" & "The Phantom Of The Opera"
Blu-ray Disc 3 - "Paranoiac" & "The Kiss Of The Vampire"
Blu-ray Disc 4 - "Nightmare" & "The Evil Of Frankenstein"

So the slight green hue becomes a bit more prominent when looking directly beside the Universal - which has a marginally higher bitrate. The UK may also be a bit horizontally stretched (fatter faces). The Universal also look tighter and shows more depth. I think the Universal, with its superior contrast, is the obvious winner in terms of image quality.

NOTE: It was hard to match the frames exactly because the Universal as an imposed timeline when paused.

Eureka - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - TOP Universal - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

Eureka - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - TOP Universal - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

Eureka - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - TOP Universal - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

Eureka - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - TOP Universal - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

Eureka - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - TOP Universal - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Audio is offered in two separate 2.0 channel DTS-HD Master tracks - both at around 1500 kbps. The second of these is an isolated music and effects track - and the first covers the feature presentation. It had some surprising moments but predictably flatter without any surround mix. I expect, like video, it does an accurate job of reflecting the original presentation. It is clean with all dialogue audible. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles and my Oppo has identified it as being a region 'B'-locked.

Universal advance with their audio transfer as well - a DTS-HD Master in 24-bit (as opposed to 16). There are effects in the film but the depth is mostly notable in the Elisabeth Lutyens' (The Skull, The Terrornauts, The Earth Dies Screaming, Never Take Sweets from a Stranger) score that certainly benefits from the lossless - augmenting the wonderful atmosphere. There are optional English (see sample), Spanish or French subtitles offered and the Blu-ray disc is Region FREE.

Not much going on with supplements - the aforementioned isolated music and effects track is there - a stills gallery of 56 images (under the menu heading "Ephemera") and a soft 2.5 minute trailer. To be fair the reasonable price reflects the sparse extras.

No extras that I have found on the Universal Blu-ray Boxset.

Eureka - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

 

 

Universal - Region FREE - Blu-ray

 

 

BOTTOM LINE:
This is loaded with Hammer charm. Paranoiac is a super psychological thriller and I doubt we're going to see it looking or sounding any better in the digital format. I'm jonesing for more Hammer on Blu-ray - this was a huge treat and I want MORE! I hope others see the value of this purchase and encourage further of Hammer's extensive archive transferred in the new format.

This is a more clear-cut winner than some of the other comparisons of this boxset that we have made so far. The price of the Universal package is excellent at about $7.50 per film at the writing of this review. It's hard to say no to this Blu-ray set as there is immense value here. Stay tuned for further comparisons... 

Gary Tooze

July 8th, 2010

September 26th 2016

 

Coming to Shout Factory on Blu-ray in February 2022: