Psycho (1960)
Directed By Alfred Hitchcock
10/10
It's sad when a mother has to speak the words that condemn her own son. I couldn't allow them to believe I would commit murder. They'll put him away now as I should have years ago. He was always bad and in the end he intended to tell them I killed those girls and that man, as if I could do anything but just sit and stare like one of his stuffed birds. Oh, they know I can't even move a finger and I won't. I'll just sit here and be quiet just in case they do.... suspect me. They're probably watching me. Well, let them. Let them see what kind of a person I am. I'm not even going to swat that fly. I hope they are watching... they'll see. They'll see and they'll know, and they'll say, 'Why, she wouldn't even harm a fly.'
So says the mother of Norman Bates: A disturbed and socially distant man from Mr. Hitchcock’s great film, Psycho. To start off, shame on you if you have not seen this film. If you have, you really don’t need me to tell you about what a marvel and jewel this is (why are you still reading then?).
Psycho begins with the tale of defiance, as a desperate woman (Marion Crane) makes a reckless decision that forces her to flee from her city, taking with her a large sum of money that isn’t hers. On the run, she stops at lonesome motel; the Bates Motel. Back in town, Sam Loomis (Marion‘s Lover) and her sister (Lila Crane) begin a manhunt for her but find no clues. They do however receive help from a detective (Milton Arbogast) who had overheard their predicament and together they find themselves coming to the Bates Motel. Suspicion about Norman Bates’ mother rises and Norman himself seems to be hiding something. Eventually things take a turn for the worse and we come to the grizzly conclusion and revelation.
The camera work is the greatest deliverer of fear in this film. If you just pay attention closely, you will notice that the shots and pans are set up in a very ‘stalker-like’ fashion. Rather than standard setups, the camera will be setup through windows, peepholes, and such. When it’s not stalking characters, it’s creating a distorted uneven frame that makes you feel uneasy. This is used best in the staircase seen with the detective. Still gets me every time.
You’ve heard the infamous string screeches before. It’s been parodied time and time again, after all. I cannot imagine what if would have been like to hear those violins screaming at the audience for the first time in theaters. The score itself is also a masterpiece all on its own, having been performed time and time again internationally by different orchestras. They are the sound of pure panic and desperation, terror and uncertainty, and that blackness that the movie taglines from the sixties rightfully boasted about.
The writing is perhaps my favorite part of the film though. There are no single one-liners that a character will say which you will be quoting for weeks like you did after you watched the first half of Full Metal Jacket (and then forgot what the other half was about). But every conversation is free of any superficial or unneeded filler: The characters make their points in a beautiful craft of language that resonates like a truly great horror story narrator. But the dialogue isn’t even the best part of the writing, as Mr. Hitchcock always took a minimalist approach to that aspect of writing. No, the true magnificence of the screenplay lies in its pacing and in the raw context of the story itself. Every plot twist is genuine and engrossing, every scene change is always at the correct time, and every event builds upon itself, never letting go of your attention.
I have nothing bad to say about this film, and I could go on about how much I adore it. It is in actuality my favorite horror film of all time, one of my favorite movies of all time, and my favorite movie by Alfred Hitchcock. This review should not have convinced you to have watched it as either A) You already did watch it or B) There is nothing that I’ve said it that hasn’t been universally stated, restated, and re-restated time and time again. If you haven’t made yourself watch it, you never will. Truly a pinnacle of art to behold.
Directed By Alfred Hitchcock
10/10
It's sad when a mother has to speak the words that condemn her own son. I couldn't allow them to believe I would commit murder. They'll put him away now as I should have years ago. He was always bad and in the end he intended to tell them I killed those girls and that man, as if I could do anything but just sit and stare like one of his stuffed birds. Oh, they know I can't even move a finger and I won't. I'll just sit here and be quiet just in case they do.... suspect me. They're probably watching me. Well, let them. Let them see what kind of a person I am. I'm not even going to swat that fly. I hope they are watching... they'll see. They'll see and they'll know, and they'll say, 'Why, she wouldn't even harm a fly.'
So says the mother of Norman Bates: A disturbed and socially distant man from Mr. Hitchcock’s great film, Psycho. To start off, shame on you if you have not seen this film. If you have, you really don’t need me to tell you about what a marvel and jewel this is (why are you still reading then?).
Psycho begins with the tale of defiance, as a desperate woman (Marion Crane) makes a reckless decision that forces her to flee from her city, taking with her a large sum of money that isn’t hers. On the run, she stops at lonesome motel; the Bates Motel. Back in town, Sam Loomis (Marion‘s Lover) and her sister (Lila Crane) begin a manhunt for her but find no clues. They do however receive help from a detective (Milton Arbogast) who had overheard their predicament and together they find themselves coming to the Bates Motel. Suspicion about Norman Bates’ mother rises and Norman himself seems to be hiding something. Eventually things take a turn for the worse and we come to the grizzly conclusion and revelation.
The camera work is the greatest deliverer of fear in this film. If you just pay attention closely, you will notice that the shots and pans are set up in a very ‘stalker-like’ fashion. Rather than standard setups, the camera will be setup through windows, peepholes, and such. When it’s not stalking characters, it’s creating a distorted uneven frame that makes you feel uneasy. This is used best in the staircase seen with the detective. Still gets me every time.
You’ve heard the infamous string screeches before. It’s been parodied time and time again, after all. I cannot imagine what if would have been like to hear those violins screaming at the audience for the first time in theaters. The score itself is also a masterpiece all on its own, having been performed time and time again internationally by different orchestras. They are the sound of pure panic and desperation, terror and uncertainty, and that blackness that the movie taglines from the sixties rightfully boasted about.
The writing is perhaps my favorite part of the film though. There are no single one-liners that a character will say which you will be quoting for weeks like you did after you watched the first half of Full Metal Jacket (and then forgot what the other half was about). But every conversation is free of any superficial or unneeded filler: The characters make their points in a beautiful craft of language that resonates like a truly great horror story narrator. But the dialogue isn’t even the best part of the writing, as Mr. Hitchcock always took a minimalist approach to that aspect of writing. No, the true magnificence of the screenplay lies in its pacing and in the raw context of the story itself. Every plot twist is genuine and engrossing, every scene change is always at the correct time, and every event builds upon itself, never letting go of your attention.
I have nothing bad to say about this film, and I could go on about how much I adore it. It is in actuality my favorite horror film of all time, one of my favorite movies of all time, and my favorite movie by Alfred Hitchcock. This review should not have convinced you to have watched it as either A) You already did watch it or B) There is nothing that I’ve said it that hasn’t been universally stated, restated, and re-restated time and time again. If you haven’t made yourself watch it, you never will. Truly a pinnacle of art to behold.
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