MOVIE REVIEW: "Frenzy" (1972)

Synopsis: An unemployed bartender is accused of being a serial killer who rapes and strangles victims with ties. Based on circumstantial evidence, a police inspector tries to resolve the case (which has the bartender's own wife among the victims).

Talking about the movies thriller genius Alfred Hitchcock used to do is always a pleasure, because you know the movies that come from him are always - at the very least - very good! His filmography - like that of any other movie director - is not perfect, but it has a positive balance of immense influence on the seventh art as a whole (and exerts that influence on a world level... serving as inspiration for many writers and directors around the globe) because his films are always relevant and Frenzy is one more title that can prove this.

IndieWire

The city of London is the scene of the mysterious murders that are terrorizing the population. A serial killer is on the loose and adopts a peculiar method for killing its victims. Concerned about the repercussion of the case without further solutions, the police decide to work with unconfirmed data in an attempt to calm everyone down, and accuse Richard (a bartender without much perspective of life), who, by an unfortunate coincidence, finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.

When this scenario forms itself for the viewer (it is noteworthy that the process is a bit slow until the time comes, but it is a justifiable narrative development to give the plot credibility), Hitchcock begins to show off his particular show of skills that can be translated as a real treat for fans of a high quality movie): scenes with long takes and a well-inspired elaboration with regard to creating the circumstances that pave the way for the story to build itself.

The Movie District

The mood of the movie is always murky (with a photograph that makes a point of highlighting it very effectively at many times throughout the projection) and there is a very heavy level of morbidity behind the serial killer's motivations. This is not a physically violent movie, but the scenes where the attacks / murders take place are fraught with tension, suspense and a lot of creativity (with a strong emphasis on editing work).

Always with an impressive ability, Hitchcock shows the city of London through different perspectives and offers the viewer a free trip full of details that focus on very interesting aspects of the city... Sights are explored by the director in a way that arouses the curiosity of who is watching the movie and he also knows how to make the places work in his favor as a way to corroborate the image that the scenes need to print on the screen.

Talk Film Society

After the plot unfolds, the pace of the movie is accelerated and the chase mood is becoming increasingly intense and dangerous. The dynamics of the scenes are faster and the dialogues get sharper (mainly because of the added acidity), catching the audience's attention faster and more genuinely. Not that the movie had forced it before, but as development is a little slow at first... Many people may think that the movie would not, in fact, take off.

Characters with very good subplots bring the script to life, and each one with his own story (with due input from a cast that works in a pleasing tune to watch, especially the trio Jon Finch, Barbara Leigh-Hunt and Barry Foster) add great elements so that the movie in general can be well directed to a really fast climax (in fact, Hitchcock loves those endings without half words and too many twists), but it doesn't hurt the end self because there's an air of irony which makes the outcome one of the best finishes of his career.

Covent Garden London

Frenzy doesn't come off as one of Hitchcock's best works, but at the same time, it's far from being one of his weakest works ... Alternating between unsettling moments (where the psychological field is struck several times until the movie reaches its final self) and other warmer moments (where there are still elements that go beyond the trivial), this is still a great option to meet - or catch up on - in the master's filmography.

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MOVIE URL:
https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/573-frenzy?language=en-US

MY RATING: AA (8,0/10)