For those of you who haven't seen this, I won't spoil the "surprise" for you, except to say that I've owned FRENZY on VHS for two years now and it is quite a powerful Hitch murder thriller, making extremely fine use of its Central London locations and featuring many suspenseful moments which are enhanced by excellent camera work. Jon 'MacBeth' Finch gives a convincing portrayal as Dick Blaney, a down-on-his-luck ex-RAF officer who has just been sacked as a barman after 'stealing' some gin. He is penniless and he can't even afford to bet on a winning horse recommended to him by his best pal, Bob Rusk (Barry Foster), a well-dressed fruit and veg merchant. Meanwhile, a series of gruesome killings are plaguing the area. All the victims are young women who are stripped of their clothes and strangled with neckties. The killer is an impotent psycho-fiend who gets his pleasure from brutalising his victims. As if things can't get any worse for him, Dick becomes prime suspect after both his ex-wife Brenda and sexy girlfriend Babs are found dead. I won't reveal who the killer is, but you'll find out for yourselves anyway 30-40 minutes into the film. The supporting actors do an able job, considering none of them were very famous (maybe with the exception of Bernard Cribbins, cast against type as a seedy landlord). Alec McCowan is effective as the detective on the trail of the Necktie killer, Billie Whitelaw makes for a willing adversary against Finch and Anna Massey provides some brief warmth as the beautiful girl who stands by Blaney as he goes on the run and faces persecution.
Review of Frenzy
