Psycho

Pschyo was enthralling. I really liked it. I thought it was a great thriller and really kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I don't really consider it a horror movie, but more of a thriller.

Alot of it is on the actors. Anthony Perkins does a great job of playing a innocent looking person with such a polar opposite side about him. His acting is also very complicated beause he is playing two different personalities and had to differentiate who did what: Norman or Mother.

Although the Actors did alot, obviously Hitchcock works some serious magic behind the camera. His ability to explain things just the camera and no dialogue is exceptional. One scene in particular is when Marium is getting ready to leave her hotel and run away with the money, the camera focuses on the money on the bed and then her and then the suitcase. Just by doing that, the audience knows that she is running away with the money and no dialogue was needed.

The music was also key in adding the suspense that the film had. I think the most recognizable theme is whenever Norman or "Mother" jumps out with the knife when he/she tries to kill someone.

The last thing I thought really worked was the twist in the end. The way the psychiatrist explains how Norman's mind works and then when the camera cuts to Norman and it's clear that he is 100% Mother.

Psycho

In the classic thriller Psycho, Hitchcock approaches society’s idea of scary in a very interesting way and uses many different techniques to portray horror. The one tactic I picked up the most was his use of music in the film. To me, the reoccurring music that played whenever something suspenseful was happening in the film was the scariest part about it. Right when we heard that music, we knew that something bad was bound to happen. The most prominent use of music to me was when the detective was going upstairs to look for Mrs. Bates (Norman’s mother). The suspenseful strings were playing in the background the entire time he slowly walked up the stairs. This is when the audience knew something would happen to him, but the terrifying part is: when will it happen? Hitchcock did a great job with keeping the audience at the edge of their seats. Finally, when Norman came out with his knife dressed at his mother, a loud eruption of music broke out (and made me literally jump). I thought that was the scariest part of the entire scene because of the shocking aspect of the music and how we did not expect Norman to come out at that time. I think that music really enhanced the horror of this thriller.

Do you think that music was effectively used in this film or was it distracting? Do you think that the reoccurring suspenseful music was a good choice?

Psycho

In Hitchcock's Psycho, he approaches "horror" in a thought-provoking way. In comparison to many current horror films, Psycho stands out for its artistic creativity and conceptual plot. This was one of the first horror films to ever focus on the aspect of paranoia. While watching, from the very first moment where the audience was introduced to Norman, it is clear that something is "off" with his character, especially by the way he gets defensive about his "ill" mother. As the plot progresses, and our main character is murdered, hints are dropped to convey the true identity behind Mrs. Bates. For example, when the audience discovers that there had been an incident between Norman and his mother ten years ago when he felt abandoned to his mother's partner. It is said that Mrs. Bates had died years ago, so how could his mother be the figure in the window? I found it quite captivating to have a plot that was so unpredictable with sudden deaths and a main character (Norman) who is hiding something. Norman's sickness combined with his obvious paranoia of people coming around him and his "mother" only leads him to commit several murders all being blamed on his mother. This insanity is an interesting way to portray a "villain" or "bad guy" considering it is a mental disorder that he has put on himself. Did you consider this film to be predictable? What components did Hitchcock use to achieve or to stray away from this idea?

Psycho

Scott Yarmoff

Mrs. Robbins

Film Analysis Period 3

11/11/14

Psycho

Multiple Personality Disorder is when one body and brain goes back and forth between two or more personalities. Norman Bates in this film had a self-made case of Multiple Personality Disorder. He made it to preserve the illusion that his mother was still living after he killed her and her lover. It takes a special level of crazy to achieve this type of action. It's screwed up to a point that not only are his personalities aware of the existence of the other, they can communicate. What's worse is that Norman seems to be so alone (in reality) and occasionally feels an attraction to a guest, which makes his "mother" jealous, so "she" kills the person, leaving Norman as alone and confused as before. He was the one, however, who caused this whole chain to begin, so anyone could definitely argue that it was all his fault even if he was out of his mind during the murders. I got the impression that Norman and his mother got along well before he killed her, so if he loved her so much, why would he kill her just because he's jealous of another man?

Also, this doesn't relate but I'm curious, how does Marion hear Norman and his mother arguing? Is he just speaking in two voices?

Psycho

The film Psycho featured a variety of interesting camerawork, from both the fluidity of the camera simulating the involvement of the audience in the film, and the interaction of characters with the audience (In Psycho most notably the final look Norman Bates gives the audience in the asylum).

Alfred Hitchcock used the camera to direct the course of the film, especially in Psycho the camera moved like a human eye, sometimes watching on (often in surprise, suspense, or horror) and other times following frantically as the story went on. The moments of pause and focus were largely on facial expressions, the eyes especially. Both Norman's insanity (first in the parlor scene) and Marion's death (The drain fading to her empty eyes) are displayed beautifully through the camera's focus on their eyes.

The moments where the camera was moving around however were often to force the audience to remember something, or to put them in a moment of suspense. One of my favorite moments where this happened concerned the death of Arborgast, the private detective. Though yes, a murder had already taken place and it was an eerily quiet scene as he climbed the stairwell (all foreshadowing something), I was still surprised when I first saw it. Simply because though there was music that was just before the murder, it was very sudden much like when Marion was murdered. That combined with the sudden cut to an overhead shot that left us seeing a perfectly unaware detective suddenly getting stabbed to death, needless to say it was surprising.

Psycho

In class, you asked us if we thought the first or second murder scene in Psycho was more suspenseful. Initially I thought that the second scene was, because the music suggested that something was about to happen, but then I realized that because of this, it was kind of obvious and therefore less exciting. Also, because a murder had already happened on the property by the "woman" who lived in the house the PI walked into, the audience was completely expecting the second murder. Looking back to the shower scene, no music was played until the "psycho" came into the bathroom and killed Marion, which created generated more of a shock to the audience because no one saw it coming. It was eerily calm in the bathroom for a while, as Marion was innocently taking a shower. Some people may have saw it coming but I did not until the camera was on the door behind the shower curtain and then it all happened. The point of a thriller is to be sitting on the edge of your seat the whole time waiting for the next big thing to happen, so in a way I was viewing it that way in this scene, because usually something happens in the shower, in any movie. It's just a classic position of being completely vulnerable so that anything can happen and you can't escape. If it was just a little part of the plot, like if Marion was just taking a shower to wash the day off, then the movie might just have shown Marion getting out of the shower, but it was an important scene as soon as Marion flushed the evidence of her transaction down the toilet.

What other factors make a scene suspenseful?

Psycho

Psycho is not necessarily the scariest movie today, but at the time it was like no other movie before. The shower scene is undoubtedly the most famous part of the entire film. I think one of the biggest reasons that scene stuck with people is because of how "real" it felt. When people are taking showers, they are at their most vulnerable. Trapped in a small area with no clothing or protection, you feel very exposed and trapped. Also, a shower is a place everyone goes. It isn't some creepy mansion or forest. The killer wasn't some monster, it was a regular person. Everything felt plausible, and the realer a horror or thriller movie seems, the greater impact it will have. Audiences after the movie would jump at a shadow moving behind the curtain for months. Also, the score played a huge role in the fear factor. The sound was sudden, violent, and harsh on the ears. It still remains one of the most iconic musical cues in cinema. There was one shot in particular that was very unique, when the camera transitions from the drain to Marion's eye. What is the significance of that?

Psycho

Psycho per say wasn't the scariest movie known to most people, but it was the fact that it was a psychological horror movie. Hitchcock does a good job with turning a basic human into a psychologically messed up man where it's easy to believe that he can exist on earth. What made it scary to viewers was the fact that it was a realistic horror that can happen in real life. It's easier for the viewers to picture a psychologically disturbed man who kills, but doesn't realize that he's killing. Norman suffers from multiple personality disorder which allows him to switch from being Norman Bates to his mother.

Hitchcock uses the unknown and suspense to create the scariest parts of the movie. When the viewers first meet Norman you don't think that he could be a serial killer who has two personalities. Hitchcock waits until the very end to reveal that Norman isn't just one person. The use of this psychological disorder is what scares the viewers the most because it's abnormal and very unusual.

Compared to other horror movies such as Paranormal Activity, Jeepers Creepers, and Friday the 13th it's much less scary, but in a sense that it's not graphic with blood and craziness every second of the film. Norman Bates is a character that gets inside of the viewers heads and creates the fear that we would normally feel in other horror movies.

Do you think that Norman Bates would be more terrifying having two personalities or just one?

Psycho

Noah Pines

Hitchcock's Usage of Unusual Shots

Alfred Hitchcock was an incredible filmmaker, and is still today regarded as one of the best directors of all time. After finishing watching Psycho, it was very obvious to me that Hitchcock took advantage of many unusual camera movements to enhance the viewing experience, making the audience feel more like they were in the scene, watching everything.

The first unusual shot is when the camera zooms in on a window, then passes through a crack, into the room as a couple is getting dressed after sex (another unusual scene to see in a movie). This shot gave the effect that we were just floating into this scene. (This camera movement has been imitated many times, most notably in two Mel Brooks movies, involving the camera smashing through the glass of a window as it tracks too far forward.) Hitchcock also uses lots of extreme high angles to achieve this effect.

Two other unusual shots occur during the shower scene. The first one is when you see Marion showering, and you see the silhouette of Norman Bates appear through the shower curtain. This a very scary moment, because the moments leading up to it are full of suspense. No music is played, only natural sounds are heard, making it feel like you are right there in the scene with Marion. The second shot is after the stabbing, when water is seen going down the drain, and the image dissolves to match Marion's open eye.

Why did AH choose to have the drain shot match up with Marion's eye?

BONUS: Here's a clip from Mel Brooks' High Anxiety (a film devoted to spoofing the movies of Hitchcock), which is a direct parody of the shower scene from Psycho.

http://www.movieweb.com/video/VIemyffhiS5Chh

Psycho

Psycho is without question a classic masterpiece of horror. The entire film makes the viewer incredibly nervous and in some scenes, terrified. It has no doubt inspired several of the countless amount of horror movies being released today, most of which are regrettably sub-par. The surprise reveal that Norman Bates was the killer all along is a brilliant plot twist, and one that no doubt shocked audiences across the world. However, in the midst of all of this genius and hype, I feel that something important has been overlooked. During "Mother's" final monologue, she reveals that she was never the killer, and that it had always been Norman. If we are to believe this, then it virtually erases all of the action in the plot. We are initially led to believe that "Mother" is insanely jealous of her son, and will kill any woman he is attracted to. The reveal at the end of the film seems to contradict this. It wouldn't be a problem, except for the fact that Norman happens to kill all of his victims while dressed as "Mother". If it is his normal persona committing the murders, then why does he do this? Do you think Hitchcock had a vision behind this, or do you think it was just for plot convenience?

Psycho

After watching the film Psycho directed by Alfred Hitchcock something that was unclear for me towards the end was if we should have felt bad for Marion or not. As our main character it was tough to get a read on Marion, but I think Hitchcock was trying to show that crime is payed with crime.

In the beginning of the movie when Marion is driving we are constantly reminded she has a conscience as she continues to replay the consequences in her head, making her hesitant to keep on traveling. I think her pulling over because of the rain was her morals pleasing with her to give this rash decision some more thought. Consequently, she does decide to make the trip back to Phoenix when she figures out how much she owes out of the 40,000.

When Marion steps into the all white shower her innocence reappears and is ready to make the trip back from where she came. This white background reflects that she has made a 360 change in her life but was this enough? Clearly, Hitchcock didn't believe that she was worthy of leaving the Bates Motel to make up for her mistakes.

I asked myself if I was in control of the movie would I let Marion survive or not, so I reviewed everything she did up to that point. The answer that came to me was of course she should of had the opportunity for reconciliation. A quick decision to escape with 40,000 dollars which came with visible self questioning and guilt made the audience surprised when she was killed. I also believe she was a good person because of the reactions of her sister and the fact her boss wasn't pressing charges.

All White background

Psycho

Psycho is a frightening story about a hotel where multiple people suddenly disappear. Through the entire film, there is a conflicting message about the good and the evil inside of us, and when which chooses to come out.

This theme is obvious as we monitor the multiple personalities within Norman Bates battle in conflict of each other. What is less obvious is that this theme is also imbedded throughout other parts of this film.

For Norman, it is a constant struggle for him to see the good above the bad, because as it was revealed in the end, his mother's personality is inside of him. In the above clip, we see the actual Norman, describing how hard it is for him to contain mother, or his "bad" side. Because he has morphed her persona into an murderer. For Norman, this makes it difficult for him to fight off the urges that are formed from his mothers "jealousy". When his mother comes through, I believe this is when he choses the bad over the good.

This theme is seen earlier in the movie when Marion Crane decides to steal the 40,000 dollars for herself. She continues to have thoughts to herself about whether it was a good decision. This decision to steal the money was an example of the bad inside of her taking over, in a less extreme way than in Normans case. The good inside her finally comes out when she makes the decision to return to her life before she goes into the shower. It just so happens that she never has the chance to actually persue her new plan.

Are there any other moments where the good and bad are in conflict within the characters?

Psycho

The film Psycho, released in 1960 by director Alfred Hitchcock, still remains as one of the most popular thrillers of movie history. One of the most compelling themes throughout the film that gives it so much hype is the use of music in relation to plot. Leading character, Marian while showering there is no use of non-diegetic sound. However, once the murderer which we find out to later be Norman, opens the bathroom curtain, a spike in music and loud non diegetic sounds are heard. The decision to not play the loud music before she was stabbed was actually a lot more powerful than the suspicious anxious music usually played before something bad happens. The avoidance of non-diegetic sound actually makes the viewer feel as though he or she is actually there, while most of the time the non-diegetic sound can be distracting or take away from the legitimacy of the scene. Another instance where non-diegetic sound is used is when the detective is climbing up the steps of Norman's house, and while slowly climbing, we hear slow violin instrumental playing in the background. Although I mentioned that the avoidance of non-diegetic sound before the murder in the previous scene with Marion was very effective, I actually think the use of nondiegetic sound in the detective scene is very effective as well. The reason being is that, while Marion is in the shower, we can see Norman through the curtain and know the murder is seconds away from happening. On the other hand, with the detective, although we can most likely guess that he will be stabbed within moments, we cannot see anything else but him in the shot, therefore we are left much more curious about when the stabbing or murder will happen. Therefore, the non-diegetic music does a great job at building up our suspicion. In your opinion, is the use of non-diegetic sound effective or distracting? When is it effective? When can it be distracting?

Psycho

Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, is one of the most horrifying movies of all time. It had a level of suspense that made the scenes leading up to the murder scarier than the murder itself. In the first murder scene you don't hear any music but you see a dark shadowy figure in the left corner of the shot. Even though you don't hear suspenseful music right away, you do hear it when Norman or 'mother' pulls the shower curtain open.

The way Hitchcock uses that sudden loud music makes you jump from your seats even though you knew it was coming. 

The other murder scene with Arbogast was suspenseful because you didn't know what was going to happen. You knew as he was creeping around the house and the sudden switch to seeing a door start to creep open and the music slightly playing until the part where Norman walks out and the music gets sharp again like the first murder scene. This adds to the suspense because you start to expect something bad to happen but don't know when or what it is so you're left at the edge of your seat with your hands slightly covering your eyes just enough so you can see the screen but you can quickly cover up.

Do you think his use of loud music right when the killer attacks is effective enough? Or do you prefer the way horror movies have music going before going on when nothing bad has happened yet?

Psycho

When it was first released in 1960, Psycho was considered one of the scariest movies of all time, and it certainly was one of the scariest for it's time, being one of the first movies that exposed such a dark view of humanity. Before Psycho, most horror movies told stories of the supernatural and of monsters that couldn't ever happen, but Hitchcock brought a new story to the table by taking the monster that someone would usually have to physically fight and placed it inside of Norman Bates's head. Norman himself then became the illusion of a monster, which was scarier than a real monster to most people because when we first met Norman he seemed like a totally normal guy, maybe a little jittery and jumpy, but normal nonetheless. This would make the movie scarier because of the fact that Norman has two personalities living inside him, and you never know which one is going to come out and attack, but besides that, he appears as a normal man running a motel.

Psycho was certainly very scary for it's time, but do you think it still has the qualities that would scare most moviegoers today?

Psycho

The Use of Birds in Psycho

There are several instances in Psycho when birds are prevalent in the scene, leading the viewer to believe that they are more than just a coincidence. First of all, the leading lady's last name is Crane, which is especially symbolic after she is found by Norman and the bird photo on her wall is knocked down in his short-lived panic. The picture falls to the ground, just like Marion in the bathroom. Notably, when Lila and Sam check into their motel room, the photos on their walls are of flowers, not birds.

Another example is the entirety of the parlor scene, including the conversation between Marion and Norman. One of the first things out of his mouth is "You eat like a bird," which begins the implication that Marion herself is the metaphorical bird. This idea is slightly more concrete when Norman is shot from a low angle about halfway through their conversation (1:50 in the video clip). There is one of his stuffed birds behind his head, looking down at Marion. This seems symbolic of Norman stalking Marion like predator and prey, just like his beloved birds do. Norman stuffed birds because of their passive nature, foreshadowing his killing of the innocent. 

Even though Norman was acting as his mother, do you think he intended to kill Marion from the beginning as the birds would imply, or did mother really just take over in an act of jealousy induced rage?

Psycho

Psycho

        The most horrendous aspect of horror films is the fear of the unknown. In the film Psycho, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, there are a lot of unknowns. After Marion Crane was stabbed, it almost felt like a mystery because all of the characters were trying to figure out where she was while the viewers were trying to figure out what Norman Bates was hiding. It turned out that Norman was trying to preserve his deceased mother's spirit by taking on her personality. In the final scene, Norman's insanity is intensified by the camera techniques. The camera slowly zooms into Norman's face while we hear his mother's creaky old voice. The music also enhances the feeling of insanity because it is high pitched and slow, which leads to a creepier tone rather than suspenseful. The lighting is neither low key nor high key, which enables us to see his entire face. Norman also breaks the fourth wall, which is the first time we see this in Psycho. It is eery because it seems as though he is looking directly into your eyes as if to say, "you're next". This is the last shot of Norman in the film, so the audience never finds out what happens to him. As the shot dissolves from his face to the shot of Marion's car getting pulled out, you can see some of Mrs. Bates skull on Norman's face, which again shows how truly messed up he is.

      Another time insanity is intensified is when Marion Crane is driving after she stole the money. She begins to hear conversations in her head and the suspenseful music picks up. After a while, the lighting gets dimmer and she begins to smile, similarly to the way Norman did at the end of the film. Although Marion and Norman were both driven a little insane, Norman became out of control. In what other ways were Norman and Marion portrayed similarly throughout the film?

Psycho

The film Psycho, directed by Alfred Hitchcock (1960) was towards the beginning of the horror film era which is why its made a significant impact of thrillers today. One of the most impactful techniques that put a major significance on the film was the use of anticipation. Hitchcock used repeating eye match camera movement and music to create this feeling. In my opinion, I believe the scene that used this most impact fully is when Marion's sister Lila is walking up the hill towards Norman's house. 

(http://www.thingsinmovies.com/the-psycho-house-in-psycho/)

The camera goes from the perspective of Lila to eye match on the house multiple times as the music builds as she is getting closer. This was an anticipated moment where the audience almost can't wait to see what is inside. Throughout the whole film it has been such a mystery and audiences usually fear the unknown greatly in horror films. This scene could have been looked at as not very noteworthy however it stood out to me and had a great impact. 

What other scenes stood out to you in the aspect of anticipation in Psycho?

Psycho

Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960), is arguably the most horrifying film of all time, for it had reinvented what it had meant to be a horror movie. For me, it wasn't the murders of Marion or Detective Arbogast, that scared me, but instead, Norman's personality was the thing that made the film a horror film. Although not always intentional, horror films can oftentimes just be based around brutal killings, and little thought is given as to why or how someone can kill another person. But Psycho does just the opposite. Despite containing two murder scenes, the film is based around who Norman really is, and why he does the things he does. The illusion of his mother and the suspense leading up to the discovery of his mothers corpse, is why the movie is truly a horror film, and why audiences are drawn to it again and again. The act that Norman plays is what, for me, was the most terrifying part of the film, discovering that he was playing his mother the whole time.

But what was interesting was how Norman changes after first killing Marion. Prior to killing her, Norman seemed clumsy and lonely, especially in the parlor scene. He often stuttered and seemed at a loss of words. However, it is clear that that is just an act in order for Marion to trust him. But what is interesting to see his behavior after he kills her. He acts confident when he is cleaning up Marion's body, which is a difference than how we see him before. But after he pushes her into the swamp, he starts to act nervous again, and for the duration of the film he follows suit. His hands are constantly by his mouth, suggesting he may be biting his nails, as well as begins to constantly chew on something in his mouth. He also starts to stutter again, as we see him do in the beginning of the film. This change in behavior is definitely signifiant. It makes you wonder if he is actually nervous or is it just an act? If you think it is an act, who is he trying to prove this to? Himself...?

Psycho

Psycho (1960)

How Hitchcock achieves fear/ audience being scared

Although it was difficult to watch the murder scenes and actually analyze them sanely without letting emotions play in, after watching them a second time I realized that Hitchcock uses a few purposeful techniques in each of the scary scenes to achieve fear and horror.

The first technique was the lighting. In many of the scenes, we see that the actors are never in stark light, nor are they ever in full dark light. Instead, they are usually half lit and half dark, which forms a scary effect just like it's kind of scary to see a person with a flashlight under their face. This lighting illuminates only some features and leaves others in the dark, which makes a person's features scary. This is especially noticeable in Norman Bates' face when he (or his alter ego "mother") were about to do something bad (like murder people.

Another way Hitchcock achieves fear is through scary music. In the murder clips, we see that he usually uses very suspenseful, creeping, slow music until the actual murdering happens, when he abruptly changes the music to creepy high pitched violens to symbolize urgency and fast-paced violence. Examples are in the clips attached:

What were some smaller details that Hitchcock could've used in his scenes to build suspense or make the audience weary of something?