Psycho

Psycho- Alfred Hitchcock (1960)

Cast- Janet Leigh

          Anthony Perkins

          Vera Miles

          John Gavin

Genre-Horror/Thriller

Psycho is considered one of Alfred Hitchcock's best films. It is also a very well know film by people of many ages, even if they haven't seen it they may have heard of it.

The screenplay is done by Joseph Stefano and is based on 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch. Psycho is also inspired by crimes of Wisconsin murderer and the grave robber Ed Gein.  There is currently a series out on television called 'Bates Motel' which is based around the movie 'Psycho'.

Psycho is a film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, is a film set in 1960 in the genre of suspense/horror/thriller. Like many of his films he has succeeded in including lots of suspense, mystery and action. It is a archetypal thriller in many ways. Hitchcock has made sure of this by lots of elements, especially the cuts he has used.





A good example of this is in the shower scene where Vera Miles is stabbed to death:

Vera Miles is the first suspect in Psycho, while she is on the run with $40,000 she gets stopped by a police officer who she then assumes is stalking her so she switches her car. Later on when it starts to get dark and is raining she pulls into Bates Motel. This is where she meets Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) who has an obsession with stuffing birds.  He is not given away as the murderer in this scene as the face is hidden. His mother is used as a red herring as the audience believe she is the one committing the murders. Vera Miles isn't expected to be murdered in Psycho as she is one of the main characters, so it is a shock when she is killed.

Bates Motel, is where Norman Bates, apparently lives with his mother. The viewers later on find out that she is actually dead and he has been dressing up as his mother and killing his victims.  This later on raises suspicion as his mothers headstone is found in the cemetery but his mothers corpse is still in the house.

                  

Norman Bates Mothers corpse, this is revealed as Norman Bates mothers corpse near the end where Janet Leigh goes to the house to search for clues. This scene, directed by Alfred Hitchcock is one of the best scenes as is a big shock to the audience that she is dead. This is unexpected as it seems to be her throughout the film killing her victims.  Norman Bates also appears in this scene where he tries to kill Janet Leigh with a knife.  This is a fast paced scene with lots of action which goes along with the thriller genre.

This is one of the most dramatic scenes in the movie 'Psycho.' In this scene the audience are scared for Janet Leigh as they fear for her life:

Alfred Hitchcock has used a McGuffin which is the $40,000. This is the object that is seen as really special to the characters and helps to drive the plot but is not the most important element to the film.  The main focus in Psycho would not be the money, it would be the murders that Norman Bates commits.

'Psycho uses lots of suspense as the audience suspect Norman Bates as he is the one getting rid of the bodies but he is not revealed until the end as a red herring has been used to lead us to believe that his mother is committing the murders and he is disposing of the bodies.

The film contains a lot of frightening murders and images but there is not a lot of gore because of the year in which it was made.  For example in the shower scene chocolate syrup was used as blood when Vera Miles was getting murdered.  In the year 1960 this would have been very scary as the audience were not used to seeing this type of effect. However in the current time it is not as shocking.

Alfred Hitchcock has used very useful sound effects in this film to build tension. These are usefull as there was not a lot of violence allowed to be shown in that day so actions can be suggested through sound and the way the film is cut. 

Overall the film is sucessful as a thriller as it goes along with the many aspects of the thriller genre.