Frenzy [M]

On the streets of London, a sex criminal known only as the Necktie Murderer has the police on alert, but unfortunately the trail is leading to the wrong man. Now Richard, the man falsely accused, must elude the law and prove his innocence by finding the real murderer. 

Another film from Alfred Hitchcock, for whom I’m developing a strong appreciation, Frenzy ultimately didn’t thrill me, chill me, or fulfil me. I was left unsatisfied and rather unimpressed by the simple, straightforward murder mystery, the mediocre performances, and the lack of any exploit of primal human fear. After being really moved and wowed by Vertigo and Rear Window, I felt the ground fall away from under me when I finished watching this film. 

On the streets of London, a serial sex criminal known only as the Necktie Murderer has the police on alert, but unfortunately the trail is leading to the wrong man. Now Richard, the man falsely accused, must elude the law and prove his innocence by finding the real murderer. 

Hitchcock’s juicy subject of murder and mystery is thrown into play in the opening scene of this film, immediately grabbing the attention of the watcher and holding it. Straight after the first murder, the audience is introduced to the central character of Richard, who is wearing the same necktie as the previous murder victim, thereby leading us to believe that he is the sexually hungry psychopath. However, reality quickly grabs us by the throat, almost literally, as we witness the murderer in the act and then we spend the rest of the film screaming at the TV “no you’ve got the wrong guy!”

 The film is shaped by plot misdirection, which goes hand in hand with the sharp physical deception of the two central characters: Richard, the broke and angered, falsely accused, and the well-mannered and physically appealing serial killer. 

Aside from the deception in the story, the only other thing that is worth mentioning about this film was the heavy reliance on camera movement. This is the film where Hitchcock really favours the camera and uses many areal shots and panning really slowly forwards and backwards to create the tension and sinister suspense of the film. I liked that. I thought that was rather effective. 

Starring Jon Finch, Alec McGowan, Barry Foster, Billie Whitelaw, Anna Massey, Barbara Leigh-Hunt, Bernard Cribbins, Vivien Merchant, Michael Bates, Jean Marsh, Clive Swift, John Boxer, Madge Ryan, George Tovey, and Elsie Randolph, Frenzy was a fine English murder mystery, but I really did feel that it was not a triumph for Hitchcock. Filled with nudity, rape, murder, potatoes, mistakes, incriminating evidence, and foreign food, its earned a place in The Book and is worth watching at least once.