Frayed (2007)

A small town sheriff’s worst nightmare comes true when his homicidal son escapes from a psychiatric hospital. An intense manhunt ensues as the dark secret behind the son’s evil past becomes revealed.

Frayed was actually filmed in 2005 and released on DVD in 2007. It had no fanfare or theatre release, and only made it over here to the UK on DVD in 2009. I actually first saw it on an obscure horror channel which gave away no plot but just summarised the film as having one of the most controversial scenes ever filmed. Like so many other films claim I guess, but still I thought I would give it a shot. Man, I’m so glad I did, and for a change they weren’t lying about the controversial scene! I don’t struggle to watch much in movies, but this was easily one of the worst scenes I have witnessed.

I’ll give you a brief run down of the plot, but I want to try and keep this review short (not because I’m lazy!) but I truly believe the less you know about the movie the better, and hopefully I can whet your appetite just enough to make you try and seek Frayed out.

Pat Baker is a small town sheriff whose son, Kurt, is a deranged young man with a dark secret. Sheriff Baker’s worst nightmare comes true when Kurt escapes from a psychiatric hospital where he was locked away for the brutal murder of his mother thirteen years earlier. This murder is the contreversial scene I mentioned earlier. Within the opening moments of the movie, we see the mother brutally and relenlessy beaten to death with a baseball bat. What is horrifying about this scene is the fact that the mother is holding a video camera at the time so we get to see it all unfold. After the first strike and she falls to the floor, the camera (conveniently for us!) stays at arms length and focuses on the mothers face. Every few seconds the bat strikes her face, and the way this scene unfolds from her perfect face, into the bloody mess, head caved in choking on her own blood ending is very difficult to watch. I have no idea how they shot this so well, it looks incredibly realistic so a huge respect goes out to the special effects team on this film for creating something so authentic but horrifiyng.

We then cut to Gary, a security guard who sets out into the woods to try and catch Kurt, but soon finds himself relentlessly hunted by the deranged psychopath intent on killing him and anyone who crosses his path. Sheriff Baker launches an intense search to find his son, only to discover that his daughter, Sara, and her friends are camping in the same woods where Kurt has escaped. Kurt’s psychosis escalates, as does his vengeful killing spree, culminating in a terrifying, climactic confrontation with Kurt, the sheriff and his family.

As Frayed is a low budget affair, there are no famous faces on show here. Some of the acting is typical of a low budget movie, but others really do a fine job. Visually it is very reminiscent of some of the older style horror movies, with a dated feel and look but it just works really well. The story is the strongest part here though, and on my first viewing I was blown away by the twists and turns the film took and I really feel they will surprise people. That’s why I’m trying to keep away from important plot points in this post, but by the time the films ends all the loose ends are tied up and a second watch is a must, it’s just as exciting looking out for all the clues.

The film is clearly influenced by Halloween, and the bad guy on show here is very Michael Myers-esque. The creepy clown mask whilst being simple is very effective, but rather than just rip off Halloween, Frayed really stands on its own two feet and carves out it’s own niche in the genre. My only criticism really would be that the runtime could do with being shorter, at 111 minutes there were a few unnecessary scenes that didn’t really progress the plot forwards. The DVD came with some great features and as it was released by Lionsgate I’m amazed it never got more publicity. If you like good old fashioned villain movies, with a great story and unique twists, and you are willing to look past a couple of standard horror movie ‘right-place, right-time‘ clichés and don’t mind a low budget vibe, then I can’t recommend Frayed highly enough.

After writing this review, the director actually contacted me and eventually we hashed out a little interview. Please head HERE to check it out!

Posted by Tysoncarter182 on July 26, 2012

https://headinavice.wordpress.com/2012/07/26/frayed-2007/