Underplayed Gems

Frenzy (1972)

Frenzy poster
Directed by
Alfred Hitchcock
Genre
drama film, horror film, mystery film, crime film, thriller film, neo-noir
Country
United Kingdom
Runtime
1h 56m
Rated
18
Rating
7.1 of 10 from 1,029 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

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The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A serial killer is on the loose in London. An innocent man becomes the prime suspect and must clear his name while the real murderer continues his crimes.

suspensefultensegrittydarkurbanunsettlingmethodicalgrim

What happens

Frenzy is a 1972 British neo-noir thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It is the penultimate feature film of his extensive career. The screenplay by Anthony Shaffer is based on the 1966 novel Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Square by Arthur La Bern. The film stars Jon Finch, Alec McCowen and Barry Foster and features Billie Whitelaw, Anna Massey, Barbara Leigh-Hunt, Bernard Cribbins and Vivien Merchant. The original music score was composed by Ron Goodwin. The plot centres on a serial killer in contemporary London and the ex-RAF serviceman he implicates. In a very early scene there is dialogue that mentions two actual London serial murder cases: the Christie murders in the 1940s–1950s and the Jack the Ripper murders in 1888. Frenzy was the third and final film that Hitchcock made in Britain after he moved to Hollywood in 1939. The other two were Under Capricorn (1949) and Stage Fright (1950). The last film he made in Britain before his move to the United States was Jamaica Inn (1939). Frenzy was the only Hitchcock film given an R rating in the United States during its initial release. Frenzy was screened at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival, but it was not entered into the main competition. Some critics—such as Raymond Foery, author of Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy: The Last Masterpiece—consider Frenzy the last great Hitchcock film, and a return to form after his two previous works: Torn Curtain (1966) and Topaz (1969). The film was a commercial success, grossing $12.6 million at the box office worldwide ($96.9 million with 2025 inflation) from a $2 million ($15.3 million in 2025 inflation) budget. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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