Psycho is a 1960 horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, based on the novel by Robert Bloch. It tells the story of Marion Crane, who is murdered by Norman Bates after stealing money at a motel he owns. The film is known for its innovative editing techniques and shocking shower scene murder of the main character. Hitchcock aimed to subvert audience expectations through twists and surprises, most notably killing off the main character early in the film. The film was a major box office success and is considered one of the most influential films in the horror genre.

1. Psycho 1960
by Ayush bhatt

2. What is it about?
• Psycho is a 1960 American horror-thriller film, directed by Alfred
Hitchcock.
• The writers of the film are: joseph Stefano who wrote the
screenplay and Robert Bloch who wrote the novel
• The stars of the film were Anthony Perkins, John Gavin and Janet
Leigh.

3. Hitchcock thoughts
• The audience initially think the film is about $40,000 and the murder
becomes a shock. Due to the shock it makes the audience think twice
during the rest of the film.
• The audience know there is a murderer in the house but they don’t
know when the murderer will strike but because of all the suspense
they think it could happen any time.

4. Thrillers
In any thriller film, the thrillers are characterized by past pacing and
frequent action.
For example in psycho the shower scene had a lot of suspense,
It started off with the girl getting into the shower, due to the
background music the audience can already tell what was going to
happen, when she gets stabbed repeatedly the sound of the violins
make the situation 10 x more scary.
For example in the shower scene, when the tension builds up from
when he approaches her in the shower. The background music of the
violins make the scene even more scary.

5. Hero/Norman Bates
• In psycho there isn’t really a resourceful hero who thwarts the plan
and is better equipped than the villain. This is because the hero
always ends up getting killed. However you can argue that Norman
Bates is the hero this is because in the end he ends up killing the
persona of his mother that is portrayed.
• Hitchcock said it is important to avoid cliché and repetition –
particularly with regard to character – eg murderers can be charming
and the heroes flawed.
• In his films Hitchcock often placed evil in the most banal of settings.

6. “Devices such as suspense, red herrings and
cliff-hangers are used extensively.”
Story-wise, Psycho is not extraordinary; its true brilliance lies in its
construction.
Hitchcock has developed the film in such a way that it consistently flouts
audience expectations.
There are two major surprises in the film, one is the shower murder scene,
ad the second is the final revelation about mother.
A viewer who sees the film for the first time without knowing about either
will experience the full impact of what Hitchcock intended.
The greatest shock for the uninitiated is the early exit of Janet Leigh.
This is doubly unexpected because, to this point, the screenplay had tricked
us into accepting Marion as the main character.

7. “Psycho” (1960) and Thriller Conventions.
• “A thriller is a villain driven plot, whereby he presents obstacles the
hero must overcome.”
In psycho the villain is Norman Bates’s mother, who Norman Bates
thinks she is

8. “”The McGuffin”
• Hitchcock said the McGuffin is the plot device that causes the action
to happen.
• The McGuffin usually comes in the first part of the film and
sometimes returns at the end.
• In his thrillers the audience don’t really care about the McGuffin.
• In this film the McGuffin is Marion stealing the money.

9. “Psycho”
• Hitchcock said thrillers allow the audience, "to put their toe in the
cold water of fear to see what it's like”
• In the film I think Hitchcock has succeeded the thriller he wanted in
his film psycho this is because the film made the audience scared, it
received a lot of views, made a good budget in box office.
• When ‘psycho’ was initially released in 1990, it was a huge box office
hit, there are stories of 3 mile long lines at drive in entrances.

10. The Shower Scene
• Whenever anyone speaks about Psycho, the first images that come to mind are
those of Janet Leigh being hacked to death in the shower. The scene is so famous
that even people who have not seen the film are aware of it.
• The shower scene alone stands as one of the greatest single examples of
execution and editing in the history of cinema.
• Bernard Herrmann’s strident discordant music has been used in countless other
movies to denote the appearance of a ‘psycho’
In the shower scene we actually see, a knife, blood (actually chocolate syrup),
water, a woman's naked body (with certain parts strategically concealed from the
camera), Only a brief showing of the blade penetrating the flesh.
• The full horror of the murder is only hinted at on-screen, it takes the power of the
viewer’s imagination to fill the blanks.
• The scene has a lot of close up shots, and its filmed by free hand. And all together
in the scene there are 41 shots approximately