PSYCHO
dir: Alfred Hitchcock
"People always mean well. They cluck their thick tongues, and shake their heads and suggest, oh, so very delicately." - Norman Bates
Brief Synopsis
A young woman steals $40,000 from her employer and flees to start a new life. On the road she stops in at a hidden motel where the reclusive manager shows a strong interest in her.
Why It's Here
Fifty years later, Hitchcock's most well known film would become his most highly regarded work, often cited as the predecessor and in some cases, inspiration, for the explosion of the slasher horror genre in the United States. More twisted, disturbed, and violent than most Hitchcock films, "Psycho" certainly separates itself from the pack and while it's shocks are more or less ineffective by today's standards, it isn't without it's intrigue and fair share of chills. Impressive for horror film nearing the half-century mark.
The first thing noticeable in "Psycho" is the inspired casting. Janet Leigh's natural kindness and subtle stress and worries are excellent, but it's Anthony Perkin's Norman Bates that is truly captivating. His natural nice guy charm, loner sensibilities and awkward social interactions fuse into a character that is complex and sympathetic. He is charming and yet his character has such an eerie omnipresence at the motel, as if summoned at will, he almost appears as an inescapable entity of the motel itself.
Norman is never quite the antagonist, mostly due to the fact that he comes across in such as a way that he is entirely likable--a mother's body--yet the audience is aware of his dark secret which makes the horror aspect work. Norman appears trustworthy but is also deranged and perverted. Hitchcock manipulates the audiences sense of trust in a character who is so welcoming and in any conventional sense, a good character. Instead, we learn that the person we think we can trust the most is really the opposite of what we think. In the beginning, we follow Norman more than Marion, forcing the audience into a typical Hitchcock vouyeristic journey. What makes the spying so creepy in this film above the innocent peering of "Rear WIndow" or "Vertigo" is the disturbed interest and intentions of Norman, who violates his role as a trustworthy motel manager, and the audience is forced to participate with him.
This is a film all about false appearances, and the shallow surfaces that deceive reality. Bates is awkward, but sincere; Marion is friendly, but a thief. Hitchcock has always been a master in deception, "Psycho" is the epitome of this tactic. In true Hitchcock fashion, the script is shrouded in mystery with clues strategically sprinkled throughout the film. Despite being labeled a horror film, "Psycho" does not wait for it's victims to drop one by one; it is instead a film motivated by mystery in an interesting twist on a who-dun-it. Hitchcock keeps focus on the investigation of a missing person, not on the killing and/or killer.
Two year earlier, Hitchcock broke film narrative barriers in "Vertigo" by ending the main conflict by the third act. He once again ignores formula here and chooses to do one of the most shocking things a director could do: eliminate his main character half way through the movie. The famous shower scene is less effective as horror today, but it still sends a ripple through the film as it brings the narrative flow to a stand-still. Suddenly, we are left to wonder what will happen next, who will we be watching? The plot shifts from a nervous getaway into a murder mystery; we were watching the prologue to this mystery and were unaware of it until it was too late. The film even employs a fairly elaborate red herring through the stalking police officer following Marion who may become an obstacle for her escape. Surprisingly, he is not seen again, further throwing the audience off from the twist to come.
All of Hitchcock's best films are shot with beautiful elegance, "Psycho" is no exception. Nearly every shot is expertly framed as if to be made into a still photograph. Hithcock shoots several extended shots of his leading women, often facing them straight on with great symmetry in his shots, enhancing their beauty. Norman and his hotel are shot in sharp contrast, often dark and either menacing--such as his spooky mansion--or just creepy such as the dusty artifacts found within Bates's home. The film's climatic scene packs in the reveal for the entire films mystery which is shocking and disturbing all at once, but to further extend the abuse on the audience, Hitchcock uses a single swaying overhead light during the scene, causing everything to appear to have motion from strong, shifting shadows, enhancing the horror a few notches. Even in a world where no one bats an eye until a character is decapitated, it's still somehow difficult to watch this climax and not be a little disturbed.
The climatic scene described seen here:
The first thing noticeable in "Psycho" is the inspired casting. Janet Leigh's natural kindness and subtle stress and worries are excellent, but it's Anthony Perkin's Norman Bates that is truly captivating. His natural nice guy charm, loner sensibilities and awkward social interactions fuse into a character that is complex and sympathetic. He is charming and yet his character has such an eerie omnipresence at the motel, as if summoned at will, he almost appears as an inescapable entity of the motel itself.
Norman is never quite the antagonist, mostly due to the fact that he comes across in such as a way that he is entirely likable--a mother's body--yet the audience is aware of his dark secret which makes the horror aspect work. Norman appears trustworthy but is also deranged and perverted. Hitchcock manipulates the audiences sense of trust in a character who is so welcoming and in any conventional sense, a good character. Instead, we learn that the person we think we can trust the most is really the opposite of what we think. In the beginning, we follow Norman more than Marion, forcing the audience into a typical Hitchcock vouyeristic journey. What makes the spying so creepy in this film above the innocent peering of "Rear WIndow" or "Vertigo" is the disturbed interest and intentions of Norman, who violates his role as a trustworthy motel manager, and the audience is forced to participate with him.
This is a film all about false appearances, and the shallow surfaces that deceive reality. Bates is awkward, but sincere; Marion is friendly, but a thief. Hitchcock has always been a master in deception, "Psycho" is the epitome of this tactic. In true Hitchcock fashion, the script is shrouded in mystery with clues strategically sprinkled throughout the film. Despite being labeled a horror film, "Psycho" does not wait for it's victims to drop one by one; it is instead a film motivated by mystery in an interesting twist on a who-dun-it. Hitchcock keeps focus on the investigation of a missing person, not on the killing and/or killer.
Two year earlier, Hitchcock broke film narrative barriers in "Vertigo" by ending the main conflict by the third act. He once again ignores formula here and chooses to do one of the most shocking things a director could do: eliminate his main character half way through the movie. The famous shower scene is less effective as horror today, but it still sends a ripple through the film as it brings the narrative flow to a stand-still. Suddenly, we are left to wonder what will happen next, who will we be watching? The plot shifts from a nervous getaway into a murder mystery; we were watching the prologue to this mystery and were unaware of it until it was too late. The film even employs a fairly elaborate red herring through the stalking police officer following Marion who may become an obstacle for her escape. Surprisingly, he is not seen again, further throwing the audience off from the twist to come.
All of Hitchcock's best films are shot with beautiful elegance, "Psycho" is no exception. Nearly every shot is expertly framed as if to be made into a still photograph. Hithcock shoots several extended shots of his leading women, often facing them straight on with great symmetry in his shots, enhancing their beauty. Norman and his hotel are shot in sharp contrast, often dark and either menacing--such as his spooky mansion--or just creepy such as the dusty artifacts found within Bates's home. The film's climatic scene packs in the reveal for the entire films mystery which is shocking and disturbing all at once, but to further extend the abuse on the audience, Hitchcock uses a single swaying overhead light during the scene, causing everything to appear to have motion from strong, shifting shadows, enhancing the horror a few notches. Even in a world where no one bats an eye until a character is decapitated, it's still somehow difficult to watch this climax and not be a little disturbed.
The climatic scene described seen here: