Gottschalk 1
Lauren Hope Gottschalk
Mrs. Robbins
Critical Analysis of Film and Literaure
11 November 2014
Psycho
What makes Psycho the intensely frightening movie
that it is, is not the climax itself, but the suspense leading up to the climax
of the scene. In Psycho you see a dark stream of watery
chocolate sauce, Milton Arbogast’s somewhat slashed face, and a skeleton.
Although those are the elements of the movie that might scare some, which is
not what got me. When Marion Crane was in the shower, about to be stabbed, a
dark figure begins to emerge from behind the shower curtain which was the
thrilling lead up to the climax of her being murdered. The idea that darkness
is moving towards her was what made my heart race.
When Arbogast begins to
ascend the stairs of the Bates mansion a low, sinister melody begins to play
which adds to the suspense. Also, you can only see what is behind Arbogast,
nothing in front. The fear of the unknown also builds onto the tension of the
scene.
Lastly, as Lila Crane is finally about to meet “mother”, another eerie
track of audio begins to play, “mother” is turned away from Crane so there is
more fear of the unknown, and “mother” turns around in her chair so slowly, and
creepily, that all the viewer wants is to see what this thing actually is. It
is climactic, tense, and scary.
Why didn't Bates, the antagonist, come into the full personality of his mother sooner? Why when he was caught?
I think Norman Bates didn't come into his full mother personality sooner to create the illusion that the audience is unsure of what is going on and who did what. This confuses people and leaving them with the mystery of who actually stabbed Marion and Arbogast. This created a larger suspense for the film and lead the audience to focus in longer in anticipation of the mystery being solved in the conclusion.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Yael's answer to your question. The purpose of a "thriller" is to keep the audience on the edge of their seats but also make sure that they don't suspect what is going to happen next. This is why the shower scene is much more shocking than Arbogast's murder. And it is also why Norman stayed in his own personality for almost the entire movie. While I originally thought that he was the "psycho," I never would have guessed that he was actually dressing up like an old woman to do so. This makes me wonder, what was the point of dressing up as someone else if the person being murdered can't tell anyone who killed them? I guess the only way I could get an answer to my question is from a psychopath, or someone with a personality disorder.
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