Film Review 11/9/18

Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho Film Review

For my film review I have decided to pick the 1960’s classic ‘psycho’ by Alfred Hitchcock, who bought the rights to the novel anonymously for only 9,000 in U.S dollars. Psycho is a psychological thriller written by Joseph Stefano and Robert Bloch, produces by Paramount Pictures. Starring Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh and Vera Miles. The Budget for Psycho was 806,947 U.S dollars. Psycho was the most profitable film of Hitchcock's career, earning over 10 million for the studio on release. The film was shot in different locations in Los Angeles; Arizona such as Universal studios and Barrister place building in phoenix. The target audience for psycho was aimed at over 18 year olds, as this age group were attracted by the enigma of the name as well as the posters and advertising of the movie. The target audience was near enough equally split in gender since both male and females would enjoy the film.

The synopsis of Psycho

Phoenix based Marion Crane works as an assistant to Real estate agent George Lowery. Marion and her boyfriend, soon to be husband Sam louis cannot marry due to money issues. Marion is tasked with taking 40,000 out of a client’s money to a bank, but decides to slip out of town undetected with the money to join Sam in Fairyale, California where Sam lives. Marion comes across isolated Bates Motel 15 miles away from her destination. The Motel is run by a friendly but lonely Norman bates, who lives with his mother is a house overlooking the hotel. Although she never beets Mrs. Bates, Marion knows she is an angry controlling woman based on an argument she hears between her and Norman. Norman admits she is mentally mad. That evening Marion has a change of heart and contemplates returning the money, but never makes it to phoenix or Fairyale. Several people come looking for her. Marion’s worried sister is able to convince Lowery to not press charges if she returns the money.  They Make their way to the mysterious Bates Motel, where Mrs. Bates will do whatever required to maintain control of what happens at the motel and within her family.

Comparing Psycho

When comparing Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho to different movies in the era, you can easily see how psycho has changed cinema and the horror genre forever, it awakened the box office potential which mainstream filmmakers followed. Before Psycho, horror movies were "monster" movies, which included men battling supernatural creatures or turning into them. such as "The Fly", "Dracula" and "Frankenstein". Psycho Revolutionized that where the "monster" lived inside the head of one man. The horror genre was then forever influenced by Psycho, producing movies such as "Rosemary's Baby", "The Birds" and "The Haunting".

Codes and conventions of Psycho

Camera angles in Psycho, the use of close up camera shots were effective in showing fear in the character’s facial expression and creating tension for the audience an example for this is when the psycho is investigated by the private detective, this made us as the audience wonder if he would find out the truth of how the woman died.

Music was also effective in setting the scene in particular the killing scene. The stabbing sound effects made the scene more realistic and believable to the audience. The included background music in the movie was used to portray danger, this draws the audience in making them nervous when they hear it. The opening credit music is dramatic which reinforces anxiety in which the film is trying to create. More sound examples include non- diegetic sounds, these are used in the narrator’s commentary and sound effects which are added for the dramatic effect.

The opening credits are extremely jumpy as each lines follows the next, the words also split off the screen which connotes Norman Bates’ split personality. The contrast of the white against the black background also show how strongly different the personalities are of Norman Bates.

Mise en scene used in Psycho

There are various applications of mise en scene used throughout Psycho such as setting. much of the film is dark and gloomy which creates a creepy atmosphere. This makes it difficult for the audience to predict what is coming next. The use of this kind of setting mirrors the optional state of mind of Norman bates as we are unaware of how he is feeling and what makes him trigger to become his other self-such as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Therefore, dark setting mimics his dark side.