This film defies my criteria for typical film that I enjoy for a variety of reasons:

1. I hate horror films (this one is actually the first actual horror film I will be discussing)

2. It was made in 1960: an era of melodramas and film that I just particularly didn’t like or relate to. I’m not going to bash the decade entirely, I mean, there are a few gems.

3. It’s in black and white: As much as I appreciate the aesthetic merit of black and white films, I usually become easily bored. With the exception of this film and On the Waterfront, black and white usually turns me off if it’s not tastefully pulled off (another example of a good black and white film being 12 Angry Men)

I bet you’re wondering what film I’m talking about. I’m sure hope the suspense kills you before Norman Bates does… because the film for this week is Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho.

I consider this to truly be “a classic”. I know I throw that word out a lot, but I honestly believe that this is a stone on which all horror was founded. Both Hitchcock’s story and the way he depicts it sends out a creepy, suspenseful vibe that resonates throughout the film, and throughout your mind.

Well another reason I thought this was relevant is because of the new show released that serves as a prequel to Psycho. The show is called “Bates Motel” and it is centered around the relationship Norman Bates had with this mother before the time period in which Psycho occurred. If anyone has seen the film before, you can’t help but be intrigued as to what the makers of “Bates Motel” interpreted that relationship according to Hitchcock’s work. One of the most integral parts of the film is his relationship with his mother, and I don’t want to spoil the ending so I won’t say anything more.

50 years later… a prequel?

So I was kind of rambling about the creepiness of the film, but at the same time I mentioned how I hate horror. Correction: I don’t really hate horror, I just despise tasteless gore (prime examples being all of the Saw films). This film uses murder and death in almost a meaningful and artistic way: something that I can really appreciate. I will provide this scene as an example:

I bet you think I’m going to mention the shower scene. Nope. As brilliant as that scene is it is way too discussed, and I don’t want to beat a dead horse. The scene I will be discussing is the part when the sister of  Marion Crane (our shower scene victim) whose name is Lila, goes to the Bates Motel on a quest to find her sister. Whilst in the motel, she finds her way to the fruit cellar while trying to hide from Norman, where she sees a rocking chair facing away from the entrance. There appears to be a woman sitting in the chair. Lila recognizes her as Mrs. Bates and approached the chair. As soon as she lays a hand on her shoulder and turns the figure around a decomposing body is found dressed in the clothes of Mrs. Bates. At this moment Lila screams and hits the low-hanging light in the process, making it swing back and forth, casting light upon the empty eye sockets in the corpse. This visual plus the musical composition of panicked violins provides a fantastic scene that just scares the living crap out of you.

(If you are at all interested in watching this scene, here is the link for it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWHYmNrAFlI)

after this, showers will never be the same…

One of the reasons for the film’s great success is the brilliant casting when it came to the character of Norman Bates. The actor selected was Anthony Perkins. For a while Perkins wasn’t even an option until Hitchcock recommended him to the screenwriter, Joseph Stephano. Upon this recommendation Stephano remarked with a grin, “Now we’re talking.” In the story Norman is portrayed as a middle-aged, Nazi-obsessed, mama’s boy. This film chose a different path from the scary-looking, heartless, unsociable killer that horror films before this age was used to portraying. They chose a killer that was good-looking and outwardly normal. In some ways, they opened the door to other movies like Silence of the Lambs where the mask of normalcy they wear is almost more scary than physical appearance. Anthony Perkins was born to play the part of Norman Bates, and quite frankly I don’t know if I’d be all that flattered by that fact if I were him.

Norman Bates, our villain. I mean, if the creepiness factor wasn’t through the roof, one could say he is mildly attractive…

Well, I hope I painted a pretty good picture of why everyone should see this film. After watching this you will understand not only why your grandmother is afraid to take showers to this day but also the creation of the modern American psychopath. The character of Norman Bates is free to your interpretation, so play doctor and see if you can guess what’s coming next.

Sources:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054215/?ref_=sr_2

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91947125

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psycho_(film)#Bloch

http://collider.com/bates-motel-full-trailer/

http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2013/02/best-villains-movie-history/psycho

http://spectrumculture.com/2012/09/re-makere-model-psycho-1960-vs-psycho-1998.html/