Psycho Review for English 481

Rating: 9/10 (5 May 2016)

Alfred Hitchcock is so much more than a film director. He is the prototype for the making of suspense thrillers, an exemplar of genius filmmaking, and the innovator of true terror. Hitchcock changed film forever when he released his box office record breaking phenomena Psycho. With an explosive cast starring Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles and Janet Leigh, Psycho is a work of cinematic art. Said to have been the very first slasher film Psycho had both a cinematic and a social influence. Hitchcock opens the film with what many believe to be one of the best opening credit sequences of all time. He splits the words as they come across the screen alluding to what we are going to find out later about Mr. Bates. The story starts with us meeting Marion Crane (played by the beautiful Vera Miles). Hitchcock portrays Marion in a way that regardless of the crime she may be committing the audience cannot help but to root for her. Even though we watch her commit this crime Hitchcock paints it in a way that we do feel like she is justified. She steals the money from a man that does not appear to deserve it and her motive for taking the money is love. Hitchcock even alludes that she was going to return the money but she is murdered before she has the chance to. Which is why the stabbing in the shower scene is so horrifying and to this day seen as one of the most influential scenes in film history. Audiences during this time were not used to their protagonist dying suddenly. This scene was influential in the sense that it influenced society the same way films like Jaws and The Blair Witch Project did. The shower scene made something that normally would not be associated as scary terrifying. After Psycho's release people were afraid to shower showing the influence Hitchcock had even outside the theater. Anthony Perkins gives a stunning performance of Norman Bates, a severely troubled man who appears to live alone with his mother. After our protagonist is murdered, the audience has no choice but to sympathize and find a new one. This is so meticulously done by Hitchcock it is barley even noticed. We start to root for Norman because we do not yet know he is the murderer but associate him as a dedicated son. We watch him cover up the countless number of startling murders his mother commits until we find out that he is actually playing the role of his mother in one of the biggest plot twists of all time. Psycho has indisputably become one of the most renowned films in history. It has influenced an entire genre and has become the blueprint of great horror films. To this day it is seen as frightening for first time viewers and will continue to inspire filmmaker's worldwide.