Film Forum

U.K, 1972
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Written by Arthur La Bern, Anthony Shaffer
Starring Jon Finch, Barry Foster, Barbara Leigh-Hunt, Alec McCowen
Approx. 116 min. DCP.

In the Master of Suspense’s penultimate film and his first made in London in over thirty years since moving to Hollywood, down-on-his-luck ex-Royal Air Force officer Jon Finch is on the run from accusations of being ‘The Necktie Strangler’ after his ex-wife is found dead. “No sign of the serenity and settledness that generally marks the end of a career. FRENZY instead continues to question and probe, and there is a streak of sheer anger in it that seems shockingly alive.” – Dave Kehr. With cinematography by Gilbert Taylor (OMEN, DR. STRANGELOVE, STAR WARS), edited by Anthony Harvey (LOLITA, DR. STRANGELOVE), and a majestic original score by Ron Goodwin, FRENZY marks Hitch’s return to fiendish form and his most salacious, sordid picture, his only to receive an X rating from the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).

A UNIVERSAL PICTURES RELEASE

Reviews

“A RICH TAPESTRY OF SUSPENSE AND A MASTERPIECE.”
– The Guardian

“You can never be quite sure when you're going to start a terrifying new descent or take a sudden turn to the left or right. The agony is exquisite.”
– Vincent Canby, The New York Times

“In case there was any doubt, back in the dim days of Marnie and Topaz, Hitchcock is still in fine form. FRENZY is the dazzling proof.”
– TIME

“All the marks of work by a master at his craft and at his most assured”
– Los Angeles Times

“A return to old forms by the master of suspense. This is the kind of thriller Hitchcock was making in the 1940s, filled with macabre details, incongruous humor, and the desperation of a man convicted of a crime he didn't commit.”
– Roger Ebert