Benjamin E. Bates

Hitchcock’s Psycho, from ‘Inside Norman Bates’ and ‘The World Inside Its Image’ The benchmark of horror films could easily be Hitchcock’s most revered work ‘Psycho’ (1960). The black and white filmscape does not downplay the crimson colour of blood spiralling down the plughole after Marion’s fatal stabbing, nor the shock of Norman’s mothers sunken eye sockets. It’s 2015 and this is the first time I have properly been introduced to the film however as a testament to its making I had nightmares…

The sequence begins from Marion’s point of view. As she is pulling into the Bates Motel, she is looking around and we are aligned with her search/journey by identifying with her “looking around”. Marion finally walks inside to check in and she meets Norman Bates. He comes off as polite and hospitable and Marion think’s nothing of it. Marion then gets settled into her room and overhears Norman and his mother yelling from…

Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates in Psycho, and Glenn Close as Alex Forrest in Fatal Attraction, each played the character portrayed as mentally unstable. The two actors seamlessly fell into their parts and led the audience to believe they were truly insane. In the beginning, each of the two lived what appeared to be normal lives. Anthony Perkins managed his mother’s motel that had become a ghost-town after the new highway had been build, which completely cut off access to the motel. Glenn Close…

audience. Suspenseful movies use this technique to get the viewer to anticipate something to happen, without giving away what is about to transpire. Throughout Psycho, the use of camera angles allow us to get a sense of what Marion Crane and Norman Bates are thinking, contemplating as well as undergoing. At the beginning of Psycho, the emphasis is placed on Marion Crane, and the decisions she will make to get away from her current life.…

comparably to Melony as they both competed for Mitch. Her rolled back grey hair, vivid red lipstick and strong blue eyes paired with the utilization of effective low angle shots capture the domineering and manipulative mother figure she is. Likewise, Bates mother in Psycho “[is] a clingy and demanding woman” who uses derogatory language such as calling him “boy” to dominate him in their discussions. Further emphasized by her overwhelming motif silhouette, she manipulates him and overrules his…

Suspense Suspenseful situations are thrills that base jumpers, roller coaster fanatics, and movie enthusiasts all possess. It is this suspense that they all seek, and it is especially common in Alfred Hitchcock’s films in which the most enticing moments are lurking around the corner. Specifically in Strangers on the Train, Hitchcock uniquely rolls out the drama by both expanding and contracting the audience’s knowledge as well as the characters’ knowledge. More precisely yet, Hitchcock alludes…

Psycho is a classic among the entire horror movie genre with many memorable iconic scenes by the only Alfred Hitchcock in the history of Cinema. Tense, horrific and a superb lesson in filmmaking, it offers complex characters and revealing dialogue with a huge regard for details. Psycho also features glorious use of mise-en-scene, a fancy French term for all of the visual elements in the frame used to infer meaning. Hitchcock famously uses this concept in the parlor scene, where Marion and Norman…

Evil Nature In every society, there are laws that stipulate moral code of conduct that the people should follow failure to which there are punishments that are necessary to ensure that humans do not harm each other or the environment. The essay ‘Man’s Nature is Evil’ by Hsun Tzu, explores various tenets that show inclination of human nature. On the other hand, the movie Misery by Rob Reiner’s, one of the key characters Annie Wilkes, exemplifies how humans will do everything to ensure that they…

Hitchcock’s film generates the suspense and curiosity in Psycho. He demonstrates in various and specific ways that we would not expect to happen. It has happened to be one of the biggest hits ever in the 60’s. He has been one of the first people to introduce many things in the film industry, especially the toilet scene. In a way Hitchcock makes us want more and it gets us to anticipate and to expect for more things to happen. Alfred Hitchcock turns our stomachs upside down and leaves us wanting…

Psycho Psycho is a film that captures your attention and keeps you on your toes from beginning to end. Unlike the gory horror films of today, Psycho, as the name suggests, plays to the psychology of the crimes and events. The main character, Norman Bates, is based off of the murderer Ed Gein. Norman is an odd young man from the start and has a strange attachment to his his mother just like Gein. One of the quotes that stays in my mind from this movie is when Norman tells Marian "After all, a…