Film Review - Psycho

Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960): Review



The film begins quite slowly with Marion Crane who appears to be the main character running away from home with stolen $40,000 in cash. The first part of the film is mainly her driving around, being followed by a mysterious looking policeman who, in the end, turns out to be what drives her to the Bates Motel because of Marions fear of being caught. Norman Bates, the motel owner at first seems very quiet and shy so doesn't give anything away. Later on, during the night, which makes the scene scarier, Normans 'mother' kills Marion very early in the film. This then completely unravels the story, now the main character role being switched to Marion's sister Lila and her boyfriend Sam. The owner of the $40,000 dollars hires a private investigator to investigate the stolen cash where he traces Marion to the Bates Motel. The P.I. gets suspicious of the mother and breaks into the house, again at night, the next killing triggers more suspicions, now involving Sam and Lila going to the motel. At this point, the tension begins to build with Lila agreeing to go to the house by herself while Sam distracts Norman. I feel this builds the most tension in the film as you now know what the 'mother' is capable of and how kills people, i.e. in dark places, when they're by themselves. Lila puts herself in this situation when she travels down to the basement. She finds the body of the dead mother there then Norman bursts in, weilding a knife, wearing his mothers clothes. At this point, the audience think that Lila is surely going to be killed but Sam manages to take down Norman before anything can happen. It is then explained how Norman is schizophrenic and has a 'mother' part to his brain which forces him to kill. I feel that this, although being an abnormal situation helps with the horror film as any stranger could be schizophrenic, although not dangerous, they may seem normal but have an 'alter ego. I also think, the first murder, Marion, is very influential as a horror scene as it is an everyday situation and it could happen to anyone. It can affect the audience by making them remember to lock the bathroom door 'just in case' when obviously nothing is going to happen. Overall, I think the film is incredibly influential and the way it keeps the secret or Norman and his mother being the same person right until the very end of the film is what makes it so entertaining as it is a dramatic twist which noone expects.