Films Psycho and the Birds.

¶ … films "Psycho" and "The Birds." Alfred Hitchcock was a master of suspense and terror, and these two films are a perfect example of his directing style and prowess. "The Birds" is film depicting the takeover of a small town by marauding birds, while "Psycho" depicts the murder of an innocent victim by a madman who worships his dead mother.

Both of them are terrifying because they seem so real, which is another one of Hitchcock's trademarks, he makes his films even more horrific because it seems as if they really could happen at any time to anyone. The Birds" seems like an innocent love story at first, except that birds play a central part in the film from the beginning, when Melanie (Tippi Hedren) is in a pet store to purchase a pet bird.

The birds line wires throughout the film, sporadically attack people, and are a central part of the plot as it moves along - and they are always more menacing each time they appear. The tension grows as the birds gain in numbers and begin attacking residents. That is one difference between "The Birds" and "Psycho." "The Birds" increases the tension throughout the film to the end, in which the main characters escape, leaving the bird-infested town behind.

In "Psycho," the tension reaches its height when Norman kills Marion in the shower (one of the most famous murder scenes of all time), and then draws to a close after Hitchcock leads the viewer through many twists and turns to discover the identity of the murderer. "Psycho" is a terrifying "who-dun-it," with the plot leading the viewer down several different paths to the conclusion, while "The Birds" is a thriller and horror film - two very different types of horror films.

Psycho" is a psychological thriller too, and it is known as one of Hitchcock's greatest films, partly because it is so difficult to decide just what has happened and who the murderer really is. It is easy to suspect Norman because from the beginning, it seems like there is something not quite right about him, but the viewer does not know until almost the end just how crazy he really is.

When his dead mother appears in the wheelchair and the viewer realizes he has been recreating her voice himself, and the sheriff confirms this as he relates Norman's story. While "The Birds" ends relatively happily, at least the main characters survive; "Psycho" ends with Norman in a jail cell. All the loose ends are wrapped up, but in one, the end is dark and disturbing, while in the other, there is hope.

Psycho," made in 1960, is shot in stark black and white, which somehow seems to enhance the feeling of terror, because Hitchcock is a master of setting, mood, and lighting, as well. "The Birds," made in 1963, is shot in color, making it seem more modern, and all the more terrifying because the blood from the bird attacks seems more real and menacing, somehow.

Hitchcock uses actors who can seem like normal, everyday people with normal everyday feelings and emotions to make them seem real to the audience, and he builds tension by creating scenes where normal activities are intertwined with very abnormal ones. In one scene in "The Birds," Melanie sits outside the school smoking a cigarette, a very common occurrence, but as she sits, there is something uneasy about her, and that builds as birds.