FILM REVIEW: FRENZY (1972) – Classic or Degrading?

Frenzy Film Synopsis

A former RAF officer, Richard Blaney (Jon Finch) is convicted of murdering his ex-wife, along with a series of rapes and murders done with a necktie. He discovers the true killer to be one of his good, jovial friends – a fruit businessman. The film was produced in U.K., kind of home come back for Hitchcock.

Classic Hitchcock

Terrence Bread reviews the film on teako170.com and says it contains the classic humor of Hitchcock couples with some truly grotesque and suspense ridden scenes. With rapes and nudity shown and the censor rules becoming more flexible, it was the first of Hitchcock’s R-rated films.

He finds classic scenes such as the killer taking the victim to a flat, and the camera following up the stairs, and then going out of the building. Showing less and achieving more, in the true Hitchcock style: the act is neither shown nor heard. Although the censor norms allowed more graphic visuals, Hitchcock refrains from them, and achieves better results.

Degrading to Female dignity

The film was reviewed in the New York Times as it was released, by Victoria Sullivan. She attacks the film from the feminist point of view, saying she is tired of going to theaters to see women being raped. She laments that fact that reviewers focus on cinematic elements, ignoring the "content" of the films, and the rising trends of raped and murders in society.

Frenzy glamorizes such things as rape and perversity. Hitchcock’s rapists are shown as otherwise good guys. It shows women as natural victims. The ones to watch out are those living independently and alone. Such films pander to the taste of the perverts. She quotes Hitchcock as saying, "I'm not personally offended by sex and violence." The film may end with the killer being caught, but it actually glamorizes the rapist-murderer, even to the point of his being the hero who titillates the audience with his rapes and murders.

The film also serves to remind women of their vulnerability. She ends by saying films like Frenzy are "sicker and more pernicious" than a porn film, as they are slick and more refined to portray sado-masochistic fantasies. They leave her feeling angry and impotent.

What is Frenzy all about?

Films are a complex combination of art and emotional appeal. They are also part of an industry with a huge audience. Hitchcock as a filmmaker is aware of all these elements. There is no denying his obsession with the themes of psychopathic perverts and innocents on trials. These make for elements of shock and anger, and touch the audience directly. Hitchcock panders to the audience – knows they are watching every scene of his just as he would like them to watch. To that extent he caters to the pervert and the voyeur in them. But he also exercise restraint, lest he shows too much. For that would reveal all and take the element of mystery out of the scenes. Both the reviewers agree on one point – that there is a very strong element of perversity in Frenzy. Terrence Bread ends by saying it is the comical elements that prevent the film from slipping into a totally pervert realm.