Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho and its revolutionary suspense techniques

¶ … Psycho

As a fan of film, I had always been told that Alfred Hitchcock's version of Psycho was the penultimate suspense movie, paving the way for later movies in the genre, like Silence of the Lambs. Furthermore, it served as source material for a later remake by the same name, which I had seen and found unimpressive. As a result, I skipped watching Psycho until this assignment. When I did watch it, I turned the lights down, so I was surrounded by the dark, like one should be for a horror movie. However, the film was so successful at creating the desired atmosphere, that I found myself sleeping with a light on that night!

For a film that is considered pivotal, it is interesting to note that Psycho almost was not made. Hitchcock had already established himself as a master of suspense by the time he made the movie, but the studio was not excited about the source material. Robert Bloch's book, which was loosely based on real life murderer Ed Gein, was considered far too graphic to be translated to a movie screen during that time period. While screenwriter Joseph Stefano kept many elements that appeared in Bloch's novel, he removed or altered some of the more graphic elements, such as choosing to make the shower scene a stabbing rather than the beheading that is featured in the book. Even those changes were not enough for Paramount to green-light the project, and, while they did not prevent Hitchcock from making the film, they refused to provide a real budget for the project. Hitchcock chose to self-finance the project and used primarily the studio, crew, and equipment from his television show to complete the project. Hitchcock had previously made several highly acclaimed suspense movies, most notably Vertigo, North by Northwest, and Rear Window, and his success with Psycho was followed by the film The Birds. The two main stars of the movie, Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh, were well-established in Hollywood by the time of filming. Perkins had received a best supporting actor Academy Award nomination for a role in the 1956 film Friendly Persuasion. Leigh was a respected working actress for over a decade prior to her role in Psycho, and even starred in another classic thriller, Touch of Evil.

I have seen a wide variety of fairly graphic horror and suspense movies, but I have to admit that the way that Hitchcock used tension to escalate the storytelling in Psycho may be unmatched, as may Perkin's portrayal of serial killer Norman Bates in a way that made the character seem likeable and sympathetic throughout much of the movie, even while he was simultaneously doing things that the audience knew were both creepy and alarming. It is especially interesting that Leigh's character, Marion Crane, while the victim of violence in the movie, is also a complex character; she has stolen from her boss's client and the movie begins a little like a gangster film, with one expecting to see any action developing as a result of this theft. Therefore, she is morally ambiguous, at best, which makes her victimization by Bates seem more authentic. Her poor decisions led her to a place where she is vulnerable to predation by Bates. In fact, in a discussion about his mother, Norman says, "She just goes a little mad sometimes. We all go a little mad sometimes. Haven't you?" (Hitchcock, 1960). Marion replies in an affirmative manner. This line serves not only to foreshadow that Norman will go mad and hurt Marion, but also as a reminder to the audience that Marion is only at that hotel because she, too, went a little mad.