Paranoid DVD Review:

In time with the release of Fantastic Four in theaters, one of Jessica Alba’s unknown early films has been released on DVD. Paranoid is a strange and disturbing film about obsession and the unconventional ways that it is used. Although it seems that there is a strong message hidden somewhere within the content of the film, it is never examined properly, making for a less than satisfying film. There is some suspense but much of the fascination the film holds is completely reliant upon the beauty of Jessica Alba, who at the point the film was made at was unable to hold the film convincingly.

Alba stars as Chloe, a rising fashion model, who has many men problems. Chloe has an adoring boyfriend, who she cheats on, as well as a stalker who continually calls her phone and watches her through her window. When Chloe escapes for the weekend with a man she has just recently met, she finds herself in the country with a group of strangers. By the end of the first night she finds that something strange is happening, although her memory is inconsistent. Chloe suspects that she may have been raped during the night and her suspicions are confirmed when she is held captive in the large house.

It is apparent why Alba became an international star when watching her in this film. She is absolutely gorgeous and this makes the obsession of nearly every character understandable. The only problem is that Alba cannot act. Some might say the same of her now as well, but her performance in Paranoid is something entirely different. It is almost unbelievable how bad she is. Many of the scenes rely upon the struggle of Chloe, especially considering she is locked up for half of the film, and yet the emotions are stiff and unbelievable the entire way through the film.

As well as Jessica Alba, Paranoid also features another rising star as well. Mischa Barton of the popular television drama The O.C. plays a young skinny deaf girl obsessed with ping-pong. Surprisingly Barton is able to handle the material quite well. Unfortunately there isn’t a lot of material to work with in the script, which drags one situation out into a 90 minute movie.

Although there are some suspenseful moments none of it seems to be played out in a way that makes the moments seem as suspenseful as they really should be. Even when characters lives are at stake it seems as though all of the characters are unreasonable calm.

The transfer of the film looks great and many people may be fooled into believing that this is a recent film, unless they recognize the considerably younger Barton. There are no real special features unless subtitles and trailers are acceptable, but this does not prevent the disc from having a special feature menu. The film is also featured in full screen.



Ryan Izay