01/19/2006 3:25 PM
Posted by VeggieSteph

Alfred Hitchcock’s Frenzy

Starring Jon Finch, Anna Massey, Barry Foster, Barbara Leigh-Hunt

Do I look like a sex murderer to you? Can you imagine me creeping around London, strangling all those women with ties? That's ridiculous. For a start, I only own two.

Frenzy is the most modern film of Alfred Hitchcock’s that I have seen. It was released in 1972, and it is his second to last film. It has a very modern story, some nudity, and some pretty explicit violence. It shocked me, and I had to double-check that this was indeed a Hitchcock film before writing this review.

Frenzy is suspense thriller that follows the British police’s hunt for what they call “The Necktie Killer.” They are searching for a man who hunts women, rapes them, and strangles them afterwards with his neckties. After his ex-wife becomes a Necktie Killer victim, the police decide their main suspect is down-on-his-luck bartender Richard Blaney (Jon Finch). He knows he is innocent, so he goes on the run and tries to find out who the real killer is.

This film includes all of the regular Hitchcock trademarks. There is the long, seamless shot that is terribly effective at building tension after the killer takes one of his victims home with him. Hitchcock has his cameo in the crowd scene at the beginning of the film, when one of the bodies is discovered. The music is used to build the tension.

The thing I like best about this film is the fact that you know who is the real killer at the time Blaney’s wife is killed. The real tension lies in whether or not Blaney or the police will figure it out, and if Blaney will escape the death sentence that is waiting for him. The acting was well done by all of the players. The nudity didn’t bother me, although I was surprised by it. I could have done without the rape scene. It wasn’t as violent as say, the DeNiro one in the Cape Fear remake, but it was just icky. I understand how much more effective the movie is with the scene in it, because it is the main act of violence you see the killer commit, and it is on a character you just met in the film who seems to have true compassion for our hero. You like this character, even though you just met her.

Overall, it is an excellent suspense film, and a good entry into the serial killer genre. It’s not a Jason slasher, but it is creepy and a very effective story. I’d definitely put it in my top 25 serial killer/thriller films.