IndieWire's Top 25 Hitchcock Movies — Where's ‘Frenzy'?

Here’s IndieWire’s list of the 25 best Hitchcock films, and although they get many things right here, the shocking absence of Hitch’s late career masterpiece, “Frenzy,” should be noted. It’s nowhere to be found. And yet, one of his worst films (“Topaz”) has made the list.

Firstly, I’m a huge Hitchcock fan. It’s very hard not to be. His voyeuristic style, the anxiety and fear, has influenced the last 75 years of cinema. My personal top 10 would be “Vertigo,” “Rear Window,” “Psycho,” “Rope,” “Dial M For Murder,” “Shadow of Doubt,” “The Birds,” “North by Northwest,” “Notorious” and, yes, “Frenzy.”

Speaking of “Frenzy,” it is finally getting a much needed 4K restoration screening. This was Hitchcock’s second to last feature — his final one was the underrated, and equally sinister, “Family Plot” (which is also missing on IndieWire’s list). “Frenzy” will be screening for the first time in a new 4K restoration at Film Forum in New York City, from Friday, August 23 through Thursday, August 29.

The story behind “Frenzy” is quite interesting. After the poorly received “Torn Curtain” and “Topaz,” Hitchcock was in a major artistic slump, most people thought he was finished, and that’s when he embarked on making what Hitchcock scholar Raymond Foery would call “his last great film”.

This was not just a thriller, but rather a descent into the dark heart of London, a city pulsating with life and death. Anthony Shaffer's script, laced with macabre humor, set the stage for a chilling tale of a serial killer who preyed on women, leaving a trail of strangled bodies in his wake.

“Frenzy” is a film that thrives on atmosphere. The bustling streets of Covent Garden, the claustrophobic interiors of pubs and apartments — there’s always a sense of unease that permeates every frame. The city itself becomes a character, a labyrinthine backdrop for the unfolding tragedy.

The cast, largely comprised of unknowns, had performances that were both believable and disturbing. Jon Finch, as the wrongly accused Richard Blaney, embodied the desperation of a man caught in a web of suspicion. Barry Foster, as the actual killer, chillingly understated, his quiet menace lurking beneath the surface.

Hitchcock, who had previously shied away from explicit violence, embraced it fully in “Frenzy,” which was the first R-rated film of his career. The film features a brutal rape and strangulation scene that Hitchcock would have not been able to get away with in his older classics. But it's the scene that follows, where we see only the camera gliding away from the apartment door, that’s sheer genius. We know what's happening inside, and the silence is deafening.

This film is top 10 Hitchcock. It’s time for it to be discovered by a whole new generation of moviegoers.