The Man Who Haunted Himself

1970’s “The Man Who Haunted Himself”, directed by Basil Dearden.

Starring Roger Moore, Hildegard Neil, Freddie Jones, John Welsh, and Olga Georges-Picot.

We meet Moore, a meticulous creature of habit, whom is a partner at an engineering firm. While driving, he has a vision of himself driving a different car simultaneously, before getting into an accident. While doctors work on him at the hospital, he flat lines, and then briefly has 2 heartbeats, before returning to normal. Released from the hospital, soon people approach him that he doesn’t know, who claim he did things he did not. While his engineering firm tries to determine the source of a leak of information while they plan a merger, Moore more and more continues to doubt his sanity as he investigates a trail of crumbs- that he may have left behind. He enlists the help of a wacky doctor (Jones), in the hopes that he can keep his marriage and family intact. Eventually he comes face to face with his greatest enemy whom is so difficult to defeat, and has to make a tough choice.

Moore, who at times in his career makes the term formal seem informal in comparison to him, here is refreshingly disheveled as he starts to energetically doubt his faculties. And Basil Dearden makes some interesting camera work choices, particularly with some transitions and when meeting with mental health professionals. Finally, there is a neat idea here, full of possibility for metaphor. However, the girlfriend of his (or his double), Georges-Picot, is a train wreck to watch. And Moore’s children are beyond annoying, sounding like they are dubbed over by chipmunks. Most of all, the paranoia that is almost Hitchcockian runs out of steam, leading to a very goofy climax that is essentially a shrug of the shoulders. I wondered initially if “Haunted” was a metaphor for suburban ennui, but it certainly doesn’t seem so based on the climax, and in general the movie paints itself into a corner- before just rolling around in wet paint. Featuring the only photography based pick up line I’ve ever heard, you’d have to have the cunning of a secret agent to see through the parallax error that is “Haunted”.

3/5

Trailer: Click Here.