Greatest thriller of all time

Rating: Null/10 (22 April 2003)

Never before has a director captivated an audience more than when Alfred Hitchcock did it with the release of his 1960 film, `Psycho'. This film starring Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins attracted never-ending lines at the box office and sent the viewers home fearing for their own lives. `Psycho', which is referred to by Robin Wood as `perhaps the most terrifying film ever made' did not become a classic because it is an excellent shocker, but because it contains immensely deep themes, images and ideas that came together perfectly. This is a film that will never be duplicated, not even by the great Gus Van Sant. There are many elements that fused together to make this film the ideal horror film of all time. One major component that was essential to the effectiveness of `Psycho' was the casting. Janet Leigh plays the typical 1950's bombshell. She is calm, reserved, and very lady-like. However she shares something in common with almost all the other characters in this movie. Like her coworker with her tranquilizers, her boss with his bottle of whiskey, Cassidy with his tax-evading ways, and Norman with the obvious twist, Merion has a secret. She is involved in a sexual relationship with a man that is deeply in debt. This ultimately leads to her stealing the money and winding up in a disastrous situation. To the audience Leigh represents a good-looking version of an everyday American woman, letting the audience know that this kind of thing can happen to anybody. Norman Bates, played by Anthony Perkins is also perfectly cast. He is a very sensitive, vulnerable, and nervous character. He also seems to be stuck between boyhood and manhood, which is evident from his messy room and sworn allegiance to his mother. Together with Leigh, the two are able to create the friction and tension that is so evident throughout the entire movie. This was something that Van Sant was unable to do by casting Anne Heche and Vince Vaughn in the same roles. Heche has been a very controversial figure in the public eye over the last few years. As a result, the audience is unable to pick up the same sense of guilt that was so beautifully displayed by Leigh. Vaughn as well may have performed well in the role, however he was clearly not meant for it. One cannot simply jump from being a `swinger' to being a reserved, childish momma's boy. One of the many themes of `Psycho' is the idea that this sort of thing can happen to anybody. This is seen in the opening shot where the camera is weaving through the city, and randomly chooses a hotel room of a random high rise building. There we see two young lovers doing something that is for the most part human, although not ethical at this point in history. Merion the pockets a little cash to help her boyfriend get out of debt, so they could proceed to have a happy life together. Once again, although it is not ethical, it is not unheard of. On her way out of Phoenix Merion experiences some turbulent weather, forcing her to pull off to the side of the road to check into a motel. We all know what happens from there. The point is that it could have been any car pulling into that motel. Perhaps if another car had pulled in just before her, this never would have happened. It could have been your car. What makes `Psycho' one of the greatest thrillers of all time is audience identification. This is achieved through a series of point of view shots coming from the eyes of Merion, as well as an eerie score performed by Bernard Herrmann. This can be easily observed for the moment Merion gets in her car to leave town. By letting the audience look through the eyes of Merion, we the audience, essentially become her. The audience is in the mindset that we want her to get out of town unseen, and we hope that her boss doesn't think twice when he sees her on the road out of town. When the audience is introduced to the police officer, it is once again through the eyes of Merion. We feel her anxiety, and we want to get out of there just as much as she does. `Like her, we lose all power of rational control, and discover how easily a 'normal' person can lapse into a condition usually associated with neurosis' (Wood, 124). In the second half of the movie, the audience floats away from Merion, and to Norman. Although he has committed a harrowing act, we are still pulling for him to cover up each detail. For example, as he covers up the crime he committed, we see only hands mopping up the bathroom, our hands. The audience thinks, `Oh my, what have I done?' (Wood, 128). One thing that the remake of `Psycho' was able to do was let movie lovers realize how good of a film the original was. By assembling a perfect cast, interweaving a series of deep themes and ideas, as well as forcing the audience to identify, Hitchcock was able to take this simple film costing less than a million dollars and turn it into his masterpiece, as well as an all-time classic.