Pop Culture Movies and More: Psycho (1960)

Marion Crane is fed up with the way life has treated her. She has to meet her lover Sam during lunch breaks, and they cannot get married because Sam has to give most of his money away in alimony. One Friday, Marion is trusted to bank forty thousand dollars by her employer. Seeing the opportunity to take the money and start a new life, Marion leaves town and heads towards Sam's California store. Tired after the long drive and caught in a storm, she gets off the main highway and pulls into the Bates Motel. The motel is managed by a quiet young man, Norman, but not all is as it seems as he is influenced and commanded by his mother. However, things take an unexpected turn and true unexpected horrors unfold. Psycho is easily one of Hitchcock's masterpieces, especially when it comes to suspense. You are constantly left second-guessing the way things will go, never quite knowing which way it will go before it throws a shocking revelation at you or a truly horrific sequence that takes you fully by surprise. Psycho is certainly one of the eeriest types of films ever made for multiple reasons, which correlate towards achieving this frightening effect. Firstly, there's the air of mystery we as the audience experience alongside the protagonists as they explore the strange buildings, unaware of what horrors may be lurking behind each corner or door. Secondly, the music is outstanding at setting the tone for the entire film and without it, it would not have achieved the effect that Hitchcock had been wanting. He even stated that "Thirty-three per cent of the effect of Psycho was due to the music." and I heartfully agree. It frequently comes into play constantly setting the tone of something wrong even when you would least expect it. For example, when Marion Crane is driving but suddenly, the music creeps up in pitch and volume throwing us off into a sense of panic despite nothing drastic occurring in the scene. Another aspect that adds to the fear factor is the acting of Norman Bates. Both vocal and physical performances lend to the sinister tone at play, which he does marvellously. Simply looking directly into the screen is enough to set any viewer on edge with that preternatural grin. Also, of course, there are all of the stressful-inducing scenes that are all familiar. The shower scene comes to mind almost instantly, and if you don't know it, you will have likely seen it referenced many a time in other films and media due to it being the most iconic part of the movie. The music played in this sequence is just as iconic in its own right being one of the most recognisable slasher sounds with that eerie high-pitched screech, mirroring that sound of a stabbing motion. Scary stuff! This film might be one of the most violent movies ever made despite the fact we don't see anything. The shower scene is extremely brutal and horrifying to watch although we don't visually see any graphic imagery. We aren't shown the person being stabbed physically but we see the blood flow down the drain and a lot of the sequence is left for us to imagine/infer how completely vicious it was. I also loved that it was filmed in black and white because it made the whole tone of the film that much darker, which comes into play quite cleverly. It helps hide the face of the murderer as seen in the image below, which leaves your mind racing to figure out who it could be. However, you will have to wait till the end for the shocking revelation that is completely unexpected! The original trailer is cleverly done as it doesn't actually show you any of the film but rather has Alfred Hitchcock himself walk around the set of the film talking about what has occurred, leaving it all a mystery for you to experience yourself. I adored it so much because of how unique it is, having him leave hints of what has occurred, starting to talk about something important before stopping and moving on. Great stuff. I love so many of Hitchcock's films as they are so engaging from start to finish that rightfully gave him the title, the master of suspense. Overall, this is one the best slasher mystery thrillers out there and is one of the most iconic. It will leave you disorientated throughout as shocking moments creep up on you right up to its mind-blowing end.