Over the last few lessons of the term, we watched the 1960 classic, Psycho, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The film takes place in Phoenix, Arizona, a busy town in which the main character, Marion Crane, lives. The mood at the beginning is calm, but soon leads up to a big climax. Upon stealing $40,000 from a client, the young and beautiful Marion fleas town to be with her lover. As a result of her actions, Marion ends up being murdered. On her way out of town, Marion becomes very paranoid. She decides to swap her car, knowing she could be easily tracked, as she had earlier given the police her license and registration. As night falls, Marion decides to check into the Bate's Motel. Phoenix is quite safe and comforting in comparison to Bate's Motel. The Bate's Motel lacks the busy atmosphere of the city, which creates an eerie mood in the film. Initially, the motel looks friendly and at pace, though the audience is able to see there is something off about it. Marion meets Norman Bate's, a shy young man who claims to live with his mother. Marion registers herself under a false name, putting the audience further on edge. The use of violins in the music build up the tension as the film continues. The identity of Norman is mother is still a mystery at this point in the film. We hear murmurs coming from Norman's house, which we assume is Norman and his mother. Norman arrives back to his office with food for Marion and himself. They make awkward conversation as the camera pans the office, showing many dead owls, which Norman claimed to have stuffed himself. The piercing stare of the owl’s eyes shifts the mood, which becomes quite spooky as the uneasiness rises. Whilst Marion is undressing, Norman peeps through a hole in the wall, but quickly turns away. In this scene, we take note of the change from a white bra to a black bra. This is an indication of the transition from good to evil that has taken place within Marion. Norman does not allow himself to feel the attraction to other women. Later in the film, it is discovered that Norman lives alone. Norman had adored his mother, and the thought of his mother being with another man traumatized him. Finding his mother in bed with another man drove Norman to insanity, forcing him to commit the murder of his mother and her lover (which had been a secret for many years).
Norman had created an illusion for himself that his mother was not dead. He remained faithful to his mother years after her passing, which is the compelled him to kill Marion Crane. The shower scene is a key feature of the film. There is a variety of angles the scene was shot. She is brutally stabbed by, what seemed to be, an old woman in a long dress. Norman arrives too late, but like the dutiful son he carefully cleans the room and disposes of the body and the evidence in the swamp.
The shower scene of her death is famous in the world of horror movies. This would have been the very first horror film created. This motion picture was the core of all modern horror films. Many ideas involved with the horror industry were sprung from this film. It was also very uncommon, in the time this was filmed, for the main character to die in the middle of the film. Alfred Hitchcock's ideas were considered very original and not fully accepted by viewers at the time, but eventually became a hit.
An investigation of Marion’s whereabouts is carried out. The detective follows a trail to Bate’s Motel, where he is also killed. After this fishy death, Marion’s sister and boyfriend decide to take matters into their own hands by going to the Bate’s Motel themselves. Marion’s sister, Lila, comes across Mrs. Bate’s corpse decaying in the cellar. Norman, dressed as his mother, attacks her, but Marion’s boyfriend manages to overpower him.
In the last few minutes of the film, it is revealed that Norman had murdered his mother and her boyfriend. He preserved her body, as he could not bear to live without her. He developed a multiple personality (a split personality, his mother and himself). The mother side within Norman was the one who had done the killing.
Alfred Hitchcock’s movie was considered very unique for the time, which made himself a name in the movie industry.
