Ahhh, Alfred Hitchcock Presents. The awesome theme music, the black and white format, the suspense stories gloriously free of anything approaching meta, the moral lessons on par with Rod Serling's eyebrows. There is some truly awesome stuff to be had from that show, and I've been gobbling it up like a meth addict. It goes without saying that Hitch is an amazing director. In my humble opinion, he's the best film director ever. And when I say "in my opinion," I do mean it in the way that Peggy Hill has the opinion that kindling is the best kind of firewood. It's really more of a known fact. The only problem with the Hitchcock kick that I've been on lately is that there are admittedly few of his films that qualify as out-and-out horror films. There's Psycho, of course, one of the two or three best and most seminal horror opuses of all time. There's also The Birds, but I've never been a particularly big fan of the Tippi Hedron period of his career. But when it comes to Frenzy, his penultimate film, not only is it a true-blue horror flick, it's also pretty damn good.
PLOT: This movie has a very simple setup and wastes very little time getting the hell going. By this point, you should know that this trait has the same effect on yours truly as a tall glass of bourbon with a recovering alcoholic. A serial killer/rapist is on the loose in London, the common signature being death by garroting with neckties. See that word "signature" in the last sentence? I learned it from the book "Serial Killer Files." Reading pays, people. Anyway, the movie has what is admittedly a pretty short cast of main characters - the innocent man presumed guilty, a staple in many Hitchcock thrillers, is full on display, as well as two women connected to his life and the determined police chief who relentlessly tracks down the killer. We are even introduced to the killer fairly early on in the proceedings, a move that can be suicidal, but it is done in a very artful way here that adds to the suspense as we watch this character get involved in the life of our main hero. Anyone who has seen a serial killer film since is more than familiar with the things contained within this film, but it's hard to imagine anybody doing it better.
PLOT RATING: *** 1/2 out of ****.
CHARACTERS AND ACTORS: There are some films in the Hitchcock library that definitely rank as some of the truly great "character-to-cast" strokes of genius, the most notable of which being Vertigo's James Stewart-Kim Novak-Barbara Geddes trilogy of awesomeness. [i]Frenzy[/i] is not quite up to that level, but it's close, with Barry Foster being the man who owns this film as fruit merchant Robert Rusk, the guy responsible for all the death and debauchery floating around London. Jon Finch is also aces as Dave Blaney, a personal friend of Rusk's and the aforementioned innocent man whom the police believe is guilty. Blaney has an ex-wife (Barbara Leigh-Hunt) and current girlfriend (Anna Massey) who meet their ends throughout the flick's robust 116 minutes. Of these principle leads, it's Massey as "Babs" Milligan who draws the Justin Timberlake card when it comes to acting ability. She's not bad, per se, but she adds very little. Amazingly enough, several well-known luminaries turned down various roles in this film at one point or another, and we could have just as easily had a cast of Michael Caine, David Hemmings, Vanessa Redgrave and Helen Mirren. However, I prefer what we got, as the relatively low-key cast are able to vanish into the characters and go all stealth-ninja like on your senses.
CHARACTERS AND ACTORS RATING: *** 1/2 out of ****.
COOL FACTOR: Frenzy was released shortly before horror became a body count game, but that doesn't mean that it can't be cool. The two main murder sequences in this film really pack an emotional, repulsing punch, and according to this guy, that is just as important as any Tom Savini-created special effects blood geyser can be. Much like all of Hitchcock's films, the visual style - most of it capturing the vibrant yet simultaneously drab (don't ask how that works) existence of London's Covent Garden district - is a sight to behold.
COOL FACTOR: *** 1/2 out of ****.
OVERALL: You know, of all the things that have been written about Alfred Hitchcock, the thing that I have always been most amazed at is that, for years, the guy was considered the period equivalent of a bubblegum pop movie director and nothing more. It wasn't until later analysis that film scholars held the guy up as the true genius that he is, and he deserves every bit of that praise. He didn't stay in a comfort zone throughout his incredibly long, prolific career - he changed with the times, and that is VERY evident with Frenzy. The study of serial killers was just starting to be an area of focus for major law enforcement agencies in 1972, and the horror genre itself was starting to reflect this with a marked increase in the violence level. Hitchcock embraced both things with this film but never lost his artistry. Whether you're able to get this film by itself or as part of the amazing 14-movie box set that my copy comes from, this is a flick that you can't go wrong with.
OVERALL RATING: *** 1/2 out of ****. JUST misses out on being there with the Vertigo and Psycho main event one-two punch, but is firmly in the upper midcard tier of Hitchcock films. Track this one down, kids.
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