Media blog - Psycho

Media Blog - Psycho

Psycho is another iconic and suspenseful thriller created by Alfred Hitchcock in 1960. Following on from the prestigious thriller north by northwest made around the late 1950s, Psycho was under threat of being an understudy of the film based on issues such as low budget, a television crew and being in black and white picture. Despite this, with the master creativity of Hitchcock and exempt editing, Psycho is known and credited for being one of the most exotic thrillers of all time with famous scenes recognised by the entirety of the film industry and even television series in the present day based on the film and its origins.

Psycho is based on the Novel written by Robert Bloch in 1959 which was inspired by real life events such as Wisconsin murderer and grave robber Ed Gein. In the film we are introduced to Marion Crane, (Janet Leigh)  a secretary who when asked to bank, embezzles $40,000 from her company in attempt to flee and continue her life in California with her lover.

Hitchcock has set up the McGuffin of this story through this as it works as a catalyst for Marion's departure from Phoenix and drives the plot in the necessary direction.

While on her way, Marion finds it only practical to stay the night in a secreted motel after hours of driving and being caught in a ferocious storm where she is acquainted with Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) a troubled proprietor who's peculiar and suspicious behaviour, together with the domination of what seems to be his mother suggests there is a darker and more disturbing secret embedded in the Bates motel. The iconic motion picture also features Vira Miles and John Gavin.

Hitchcock's motives

Hitchcock knows that the audience believes that the film is going to about stolen money and they may further believe that it might become a quest for the other characters to find her and retain the money. The Bates motel therefore works as a Red Herring in the story as it drives it in the direction of a murderous psychiatric thriller film and the murder of Marion by Norman Bates shocks the audience and their outlook of the film completely changes. This is a very original and effective technique used by Hitchcock to make the audience experience strong feelings of suspense and anxiety while watching his films as the audience do not know what to expect from his films and Psycho is a prime example of this.

After the incident within the shower, the audience know there is an anonymous killer within the House across from the Hotel, however, they do not know the identity and the suspense is sustained as they do not know when another murder could happen and they thus remain tense. Despite this, it was in Hitchcock's best interest to stress that as the apprehension increased, there was a continuous decline in violence on screen and furthermore when there is eventually violence, it is a greater shock to the audience and the event is climatically stronger where there was not so much action prior to the event.

Archetypal Elements


Psycho is an Archetypal thriller based on the features of the film and what it consists of. The Mcguffin is established immediately in the $40,000 Marion steals from the bank which drives the plot as Marion attempts to flee the other workers at the bank and the authorities to be with her lover. Then the audience is presented with a Red Herring through the Bates Motel where Marion encounters Norman Bates and his psychotic behavior which drives the plot in a different direction with the murder of Marion. Furthermore, suspense and tension are both very prominent throughout the film which is synchronized with the thriller genre as the audience should have strong periods of anxiety while watching thriller films and scenes within Psycho such as the shower scene are key to suspense and this tension. However, to sustain tension, Hitchcock had to effectively divide aspects of the film such as the speed of the editing and violence on scene as there must be a build up to a climax in the film for the audience to feel suspense. A good example is the scene prior to the shower where the editing is slowly becoming faster and tension builds within the film and thus within the audience.

Type of Thriller and action 

In this specific film, the main villainous character is Norman Bates, he is the reason why this film is in the category of psychiatric thriller based on the fact that he is not a typical villain in a thriller film. He appears and odd and deranged character which gives him the persona of a "Creep." So unlike other thriller films, the audience are thriller in a different way as they are more uneased by Norman's character which makes them eager for him to experience bad fortune but from a different perspective than other villainous characters such as the group of villains from North by Northwest.

•“Thrillers are characterized by fast pacing, frequent action"

This description of a thriller film relates to Psycho in a very significant way, there are various occasions throughout the film where we are subjected to this as the audience and Hitchcock does extremely well to meet all these criteria throughout the film:

1. Shower



This is the most iconic scene throughout the film. It is still used and remade in films in the present day and is recognized as a classic sequence in American film history. The scene starts rather peacefully where Marion is financially planning within her notebook for the future which is ironic based on her nearby departure from the film. It becomes clear that her next motive is to get in the shower by undressing and turning it on. The speed of editing at this point is still rather gradual as the suspense builds, the audience feel uneased as they have already encountered Norman Bates within the film and established that he is an odd character. As Marion is in the shower and she is naked, it shows that she is exploited and vulnerable to the audience as they know from real life that the shower is a private and not very exposed place. Apprehension is prominent at this section of the scene as the audience awaits what is going to happen. When they see the silhouette figure through the shower screen, the audience automatically become tense as the contrast of the brightness of the shower and the darkness of the figure connect. The editing becomes extremely fast and it appears that Marion is being stabbed to death in a very hostile way even though it is due to the editing that this is the effect on the audience. The scene has reached climax and the audience are tensed and wincing at the action. It uis very brutal and in 1960, the audience had never seen anything that shocking prior to Psycho. This is the main example in the film of fast paced action.

2. Staircase




This is another iconic and fast paced scene in the film. As Arbogast ventures into the large house that makes him look petit and very insignificant, the audience feel apprehension where there has not been much action prior too this point in the film since the shower scene and they therefore expect something major to take place. As he enters the house, there is a series of close up and point of view shots coupled together with mysterious and threatening music which makes the audience uneased. Then Arbogast cautiously begins making his way up the stairs where the unknown is, and this uncertainty keeps the audience tense. The close up of the door opening slightly implies something is going to come out of it, and the audience can pattern match this to previous points of the film such as the shower scene where Marion is violently attacked by the anonynous figure. Climax is then reached when the anonymous character appears and the piercing and menacing music is heard and Arbogast is stabbed and stumbles backward down the stairs. Although the audience most likely expected this, the event still shocks them based on how effectively Hitchcock manipulates them as tension builds up throughout the scene. It is another prime example which meets the criteria of fast paced action throughout the film.