Alfred Hitchcock’s penultimate film Frenzy, written by Anthony Shaffer, this delightfully grisly little tale features an all-British cast minus star wattage, which may have accounted for its relatively slim showing in the States. Jon Finch plays a down-on-his-luck Londoner who is offered some help by an old pal (Barry Foster). In fact, Foster is a […]
Psychopathy and Cinema Therapy
Many forensic psychologists, psychiatrists and criminologists use the terms sociopathy and psychopathy interchangeably. However, leading experts typically site a meaningful difference between the two conditions and draw clear and significant distinctions between them. The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), released by the American Psychiatric Association in 2013, lists […]
Girl, Interrupted
In the spring of 1967, 18-year-old Susanna Kaysen (Winona Ryder) voluntarily checks herself into Claymoore Hospital after overdosing on aspirin. She denies that she was attempting to commit suicide, claiming that she was just “trying to make the shit stop.” Susanna tells her therapists that she does not actually want to go to college and […]
Manhunter
Will Graham (William Petersen) is a former FBI criminal profiler who has retired because of a breakdown after being attacked by a cannibalistic serial killer, Dr. Hannibal Lecktor (Brian Cox). Graham is approached at his Florida home by his former FBI superior Jack Crawford (Dennis Farina), who is seeking help with a new serial killer […]