Frenzy

Frenzy (1972)

Runtime: 116 minutes

Directed by: Yep, Hitchcock

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

From: Universal

Bob's your uncle!

Somehow this was a first time watch for me despite of my knowledge of this being unfiltered Hitchcock for years now. He was known for years as someone who pushed boundaries in cinema but this was the only time he went totally explicit and made a hard R movie. Thankfully it is not unrestrained vulgarity and constant adult moments-rather, it is a typical sort of tale for Hitch (of course, he used various familiar tropes, but they still did not feel hackneyed or cliched and some were used for the very last time) where a man is falsely accused; however, this time there is more a ferocity and one extended scene in particular is very brutal & unpleasant even after almost half a century. Overall though, it is less explicit than something like Straw Dogs or A Clockwork Orange.

The accused man is Richard Blaney, someone who is rather flawed and has various vices. He is not as heroic as other Hitch protagonists by any means, although that's the point... it is easier to accept that the police would deem him as a viable suspect in a series of strangulations (via a necktie) of young women. Yet he is not such an irredeemable lout or a loathsome human being that I wouldn't piss on him if he was on fire-the actual killer is a rather hissable villain.

Frenzy is a dark tale set & filmed in London which thankfully was not so dour it made for a miserable two hours; in fact, there are plenty of darkly humorous moments, although some are definitely off-color in 2021. At times perhaps I shouldn't have chuckled at something... thankfully there were occasions which we could all find hilarious, such as lead investigator Oxford being served awful-looking (and I am sure pungent-tasting) food by his wife-don't forget a great closing line as well.

The cast overall is solid and so is the talent behind the camera; even if it's not among the best Hitchcock movies, it is well worth seeing if you're like me and have seen many of his pictures. An impressive effort from a man in his early 70's who had been making movies for almost 50 years at that point.