PSYCHO
Psycho (film)
Psycho, the 1960 horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, was considered to be both a classic and the first modern horror film. The film initially follows Marion and her attempt to escape a repressed society to have a respectable relationship until she is killed by Norman.
Hitchcock introduced a new kind of horror, the psychological, which for being so tangible and possible in people's lives, won the public's attention once again. In Psycho, for example, he explores this fear and builds the thriller based on the insecurity and suspicion between people within a society. The two characters in the story are trying to escape from a repressive society to freedom — for Marion, respectability and for Norman, individuality — but end in tragedy. The story has an unreliable narrator and About halfway through the film, the narrative perspective switches from that of Marion to Norman. When the film starts it seems that Marion is the protagonist, but then, once Marion is surprisingly removed, an alternative protagonist is presented in the form of Norman, at least briefly. This switch unsettles the audience and leads to a general sense of distrust towards the intentions and truth of the narrative of the film in general.
Especially in the last voice-over which reveals Mother's plan to show the police that she's not capable of violence. As a fly crawls on her hand, she decides against swatting it to demonstrate that she won't even harm a fly. It is a sinister, chilling ending. We know through the psychologist's monologue that the mother was the one who committed the murders, but the mother only exists because of the first murder that Norman committed and his attempts to run away from the existence of that murder. In the end, every single scene with Norman Bates is tainted with suspicion and a lack of clear truth. This sticks with the audience even after the film ends, as the film's conclusion forces viewers to consider the narrative truth of everything they have witnessed. The film revolves around two major plot points the forbidden love which features Marion as the protagonist and the riddle plot which revolves around Norman. Hitchcock's narratology fluctuates between subjective but emotional and objective but rational scenes. The film starts with an emotional scene between Sam and Marion, which is followed by the money handover in the bank. Then she agitatedly leaves town. The Hitchcockian suspense works by providing the audience with an edge of information over the characters. This could be an impending danger that is repeatedly referred to. However, Hitchcock takes care that the obvious never happens, or at least not in the expected mode and thus he creates surprise.
In Psycho, Hitchcock allows the audience to become a subjective character within the plot to enhance the film's psychological effects for an audience that is forced to recognize its psychological inadequacies as it is compelled to identify, for varying lengths of time, with the contrasting personalities of the film's main characters. The theme of the film bases itself on the unending subconscious battle between good and evil that exists in everyone, through the audience's subjective participation and the character parallels. The character of Marion also in a way carries the split personality trait that is fully manifested in Norman. In Marion we see the innocent, righteous girl turn into a thief and a runaway, then we meet Norman whose commitment towards his mother at once garners our pity towards him and as Marion is eventually killed, we seamlessly turn towards Norman as our new protagonist, we get suspicious about his character but still hold onto some pity. Hitchcock provokes the audience to utilize the film's other characters to solve the mystery of Marion's death yet he still successfully maintains the sympathetic bond between Norman and the audience. Interestingly, Hitchcock plays on the audience's obsession with the stolen money as the audience knows that it had been sunk yet clings to the fact that Marion's death may have been a result of her crime with the introduction of Sam, Lila, and Arbogast. The terror that Hitchcock conveys to the audience manifests itself once the audience learns that it empathised with a psychotic person to a greater extent than with a rational one when its sympathy shifted to Norman. The effective use of character parallels and the creation of the audience's subjective role in the plot allows Hitchcock to entice terror and convey a lingering sense of anxiety within the audience through a progressively intensifying theme. Hitchcock enforces the idea that all the basic emotions and sentiments derived from the film can be felt by anyone as the unending battle between good and evil exists in all aspects of life.
Hitchcock's thriller practices exquisite cinematography techniques to construct suspense and tremor for the spectators through his use of framing, lighting, camera movement, editing as well and sound. The film also uses certain film noir aspects to create and sustain its chilling atmosphere.
The iconic shower scene for example is a master class in tension building through quick cuts and close-ups, accompanied by Bernard Herrmann's chilling score. The use of shadows and low lighting adds to the atmosphere of dread and suspense, while the carefully crafted camera angles heighten the sense of voyeurism and psychological unease. In the parlor scene, the camera angles play a vital role in revealing to the spectator about Norman Bates's character with Hitchcock directing the scene in terms of contrasts. We get the woman sitting comfortably in her seat, leaning slightly forward; Hitchcock purposely arranged the camera near eye level perhaps to give the spectators the idea as to how two people may see each other while sitting and talking, however, Hitchcock shoots the man from an abnormal low angle, suggesting that he is twisted and askew. They are precisely positioned according to the light source to accentuate their aims and intentions within the scene as well as their characteristics. The woman is located close yet relatively behind the lamp, The lighting around her also suggests a gentleness around her signifying she is redeemable. Although Hitchcock purposely positioned the man away from any type of light source and into a dark shadowy corner. This has the effect of a strict rift between light and shadow also represented across his face, also indicating the clash of his double personality [murderer/son]. The black and white costume is also exploited greatly within the film, for example, at the beginning of the movie the woman is seen wearing white lingerie perhaps suggesting her innocence and purity, then later she's in black lingerie after she's stolen the money. The mise-en-scene reveals the woman surrounded by simple objects that make her appear to be a sympathetic character. Moreover one of the most significant visually stimulating features of the man's twisted mind is the stuffed birds positioned around the walls, table and chest in the room, this also implies the dark side of his character; he is a predator. The director also works with the frames and plays with symbolism. A scene of Psycho where he shows it very well is when Norman and Marion are talking and having dinner in the hotel office. At the beginning of the conversation, the stuffed birds of the scene are small and are landed. At the moment they start talking about Norman Bates' mother and the conversation becomes more aggressive, the camera's position turns to a scene, behind Norman, with an eagle in attack position — subtly showing the second personality of the killer. After the conversation (and before her murder), Marion gets up to return to her room and stands in front of a crow, which for some cultures is a symbol of death.
Hitchcock's meticulous editing plays a key role in shaping the film's pacing and narrative structure. The rapid cuts and montage sequences in scenes like the shower murder sequence effectively convey the chaotic and terrifying nature of the events unfolding on screen. Additionally, Hitchcock's use of parallel editing, particularly during the climax, adds to the tension by cutting between multiple characters and locations, creating a sense of urgency and suspense. In the shower murder scene, fast editing makes for an even more vicious stance to the scene. Hasty editing of multiple shots signifies the knife's sharp cuts, plentiful as the squelching soundtrack ruptures the spectator's eardrums while perhaps representing a scream or a fowl shriek. Some of the possessed shots are high and medium-angle shots to conceal the spectators from seeing the killer's face. The combination of the shots makes the sequence seem longer, more subjective and more uncontrolled and violent as opposed to the images being exposed alone or using a wide-angle shot. In this scene the woman's nudity represents one of two concepts; vulnerability, as she has nothing to protect her body i.e. clothes, also within Western society nudity is looked upon as exceedingly private therefore we as spectators are interfered with on her private moment voyeurism.
The film's sound design is crucial in enhancing its atmosphere of suspense and terror. The screeching violins in the shower scene, composed by Bernard Herrmann, have become iconic and synonymous with horror. Incorporating a cutting squelching soundtrack Hitchcock created an intense impression of slaughter, violence and nudity while displaying very little. In the shower scene at first, the sound of the water is overpowering the other diegetic sounds creating a private atmosphere. Then the suspense is enhanced by the shrieking high-pitched squelching soundtrack. After the woman has been slaughtered, the soundtrack reaches its crescendo and transforms from a high-pitched squelching to a low-pitched distressing sound. Throughout the film, subtle sound effects and musical cues are used to heighten tension and create a sense of impending doom, keeping the audience on edge.
Overall, Psycho is a masterpiece of suspense and psychological horror that skilfully utilises various cinematic elements to create a chilling and unforgettable experience for the audience.
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