Case Study: Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock

Research Into Conventions of the Thriller Genre
Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock


Institutions
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Production Company: Shamley Productions
Released 16 June 1960 USA
Made in USA
Critical Review by Colin Jacobson, The Hollywood News
Often it's hard to see why older films like 1960. Psycho made such an impact, especially when they come from such an overdone genre as the slasher flick. Psycho has been liberally stolen from over the years, and it'd be easy for it to lose its impact compared to the more graphic films that have come since 1960.
Happily, such is not the case. I won't say that Psycho hits the viewer the way that it did when it first was released, because society has changed too much; what was once intensely shocking now can be shown on broadcast TV at three in the afternoon. Nonetheless, Psycho remains a pretty intense and powerful little film. Although it doesn't work the same way it did in 1960, that doesn't mean that it's devoid of impact.
Actually, the film continues to pack a nice little punch. While it doesn't seem shocking, it remains creepy.
While it clearly lacks the tremendous impact it boasted almost 50 years ago, Psycho remains an enduring and fascinating tale of someone who just goes a little mad sometimes.
I think this review is relevant and helpful for planning my thriller opening. Even though Psycho is a classic thriller and has great thriller conventions such as the shower scene, it is now quite dated and doesn’t have as much of an impact on todays audiences. I need to plan my film in a more modern way than Psycho so that the thriller conventions aren’t as obvious and ‘in your face’ as they are in this film.

Audience
Via box office returns the film has made a total of $50,000,000.
On IMDB the average user rating for this film is 8.7/10 for males and 8.6/10 for females. The highest ratings have come from users under 18 at 9.2/10 and the lowest ratings at 8.4/10 from females aged 30-44. This shows me how little difference there is in ratings from all ages which tells me that this film is aimed at an audience of all ages over 15 (in UK) as the certificate is 15.
Quotes from User Comments and Ratings
10/10 “I cannot hide my enthusiasm for this movie. It is wholly unlike the overblown, over-budget, overlong fluff spewing all-too-often out of Hollywood today. "Psycho" is simple, well-crafted and just the right length.” This shows me that in planning my thriller I don’t need to go over the top, in order to get the best results I’m better off keeping it simple.
“Hitchcock's genius was in his ability to 1) frighten without gore and 2) leave his indelible mark on the movie without overshadowing his actors” This adds to the idea of leaving the plot simple, I don’t need gore to make it a thriller, I can go without, even if I do have a murder, sometimes what’s not there is better than what is.
Codes/Forms and Conventions of the Thriller Genre
Filmed in black and white – Tribute to noir filming in the early 40’s

Opening Scene
With the soundtrack violins are used to put the viewer on edge as they have a sharp, almost shrieking tone and are certainly not easy listening music – not in this case anyway.
The opening shot is an aerial view which is used to establish the location; this then pans right and changes into a point of view shot and zooms into the window of a hotel bedroom. The point of view shot is used to bring the audience into the action, this also emphasises cinema viewing as a voyeuristic experience.
Hitchcock uses a lot of close ups as it shows emotions and expressions and engages with the character.

Marion Crane – Femme Fatale
In the beginning of the film (2.40 minutes) she is wearing white underwear, this indicates purity. Further into the film (10.40 minutes) she is seen wearing black underwear and black is associated with deviance, which connotates that her moral code is sinking and she is falling into crime, this is backed up by the fact that she has the illicit money on her bed proving that she is doing something shady and corrupt. The camera tracks out from her to the money she’s stolen indicating the connection between the two. Throughout the scene she keeps looking at the packet of money and the camera flicks to a close up of the money each time, this accentuates her guilt and her nerves. At this time the violin soundtrack that was played at the beginning of the film is playing, building tension within the audience.
A close up of Marion packing her suitcase shows she is running away with the money. A tilt shot is used on the suitcase, this makes it seem as though Marion is in a hurry, and also that she is in an uncertain and awkward position, the tilt shot alongside the soundtrack emphasises the idea that what’s happening is not okay.
About 12 and a half minutes into the film Marion is shown in a car driving away with the money – reference to Kill Bill 2 opening.
Whilst driving in the car Marion has narrative flashbacks of some sort, she hears narratives of other people in her head. But they are talking about her not to her so I think it’s just what she thinks people are saying about her. This reflects her guilty conscience.
Generic Thriller Signifiers
Marion is being followed by another car; this is a generic thriller signifier.
Another generic thriller signifier used is that of a woman (Marion) reading a newspaper, maybe to hide behind, maybe to check if there is any press on the missing money.
Thirdly changing appearance, Marion is changing her appearance in a toilet; this is also an unglamorous, claustrophobic space. Here she is vulnerable due to the claustrophobic space; this is another generic thriller signifier.

Bird – Significance
Bates says “Birds are passive things”, at the same time he enjoys stuffing birds (taxidermy). Ironically Marion’s last name is Crane and as the crane is a bird maybe this signifies that Bates is going to treat Marion like he treats other birds. The fact that the birds are dead and stuffed anticipated Marion’s fate.




Shower Scene
The use of close ups engage the audience more closely in the action and emphasise the reaction.
The diagetic sound of the curtain being pulled adds to the detail and makes the audience feel more involved and more like they are there. The pulling of the curtain signifies Marion closing a door and leaving her in the shower which is a claustrophobic enclosed space, naked and vulnerable. The generic claustrophobic space is highlighted adding to the tension.

The diagetic sound of the shower and the rain outside suggest washing her sins away. Also this could suggest drowning.




The shower scene is the murder scene. Extreme close ups are used throughout. A good example is the shot of Marion’s eye after she’s been stabbed. The extreme close up shows the emotion and terror in her eye which connotes that Marion dies in terror, this adds to the violence of the killing.



The camera then zooms out from the eye and cuts to a low angle shot of the shower. The camera pans to the right focussing on the money suggesting she brought on her own doom.
The fact that the stabbing isn’t actually shown, just her expressions, body language, different shots of different parts of her body and blood down the plug hole gives the audience the opportunity to imagine their own version of her death making the scene more powerful and terrifying.

After The Murder
When Bates discovers Marion’s dead body he steps back and accidentally knocks a picture of a bird on the floor adding a trace of irony.
Bates uses the shower curtain as Marion’s shroud when he is disposing of her body. He also seems calm and knows what to do when cleaning up the murder scene which indicates he has done this or something similar before.
Also when disposing of the body he puts it in the car boot, this is another generic thriller signifier.
Another form of irony is when Marion died for the money but Bates didn’t even notice it.
Finally, when Bates disposes of the body he drowns it in the car in the lake, which relates back to the idea of drowning during the shower and with the rain.

Diagetic sound used
Shower curtain ripped off
Doors opening and closing
Lights switched on and off
Car engine
Pushing the car in the water.

The car number plate is shown clearly in a close up when Bates drives away from the motel in Marion’s car. This is key as it could be used in a later date to identify the vehicle and the owner.


Representation
Compared to today where anything is expected and all the blood and gore and nudity is shown on great detail, in 1960 when this film was released it would have been both terrifying and shocking watching a naked woman in the shower getting stabbed would have been alarming and shocking as viewers would have experienced nothing like it before.
Marion is first introduced at the beginning of the film in a motel room in her underwear with a man implying she has just had sex, this already creates the impression that she is a bit of a tart. Also the very first shot has her on the bed looking up at this man, as she is below him looking up it is almost as she is literally beneath him connotating that women are the inferior sex. But there is nothing in this film that strongly portrays any certain stereotypes, and I think this is done for a reason as this keeps the film un-biased and un-political making it as inoffensive as possible to every viewer so that everybody can enjoy the film without raising any issues about it.