Frenzy (Alfred Hitchcock, UK, 1972) August 20, 2006
Posted by Daniel Stephens in : 1970s, Drama, Film reviews, Action/Adventure, Thriller/Suspense, Crime , trackbackDir. Alfred Hitchcock; screenplay by Anthony Shaffer; starring Jon Finch, Alec McCowen, Barry Foster
Hitchcock returned to England to shoot this, his second to last film, about the ‘Necktie murderer’ who is on the loose in London. It’s a down and dirty Hitchcock film that loses the grandiose trappings of big-star leads, beautiful women, and exotic locations, that made some of his well-known classics so iconic. ‘Frenzy’ however is still a well-crafted, effective thriller, set against the backdrop of seventies London with all its changing sexual politics and the affects of globalisation.
Hitchcock is much more explicit in his depiction of the murders here, at times hinting at the exploitation films that would later arrive in the decade. While this isn’t his best work – the coincidental plot is far from the strongest he’s worked with, and the unsympathetic lead character makes it difficult to fully immerse oneself within the mystery – the film is constantly very amusing (Hitchcock’s wry humour is beautifully layered into the film), and some flashes of technical genius remind us that this is indeed the maestro of suspense’s movie. The first revelation and consequent murder is a brilliantly directed piece of film, prolonging the audience to some very real terror. When Hitchcock takes his camera to the murderer’s room as he ushers another victim into it, and then, as the door closes, slowly pulls back, down the stairs and out into the street, the shot really could be from one of his very best films. Sadly, ‘Frenzy’ is a very well-made thriller, but it will be remembered more for the odd piece of stylistic genius than as a whole package.
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