Film Road to Halloween: Psycho (1960)

The road to Halloween is paved with good films. Wherein we countdown to the spirited season with a hundred doses of horror. 51 days to go.

There are three movies that have defined my life, and as such are my three favourite films of all time. Maybe one day I will get to talk about the other two films here. But today I will be talking about the third, and perhaps the most important film, that impacted my life. That film is Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho.

Let’s start off with some background on this: I am a 17-year-old student that has lost all hopes and aspirations for everything that I had been passionate in. I am swarmed with sadness, loneliness and confusion as to what I can do for a career. On a whim, I take Media as a subject in school, which many people regarded as a harder subject than most of the Science courses. In the first week of the course, the class is made to watch and analyse Psycho, and from that exact moment, I knew where I wanted to go. I wanted to work in the film industry and watch and analyse films.

“Alfred Hitchcock is a master of subverting expectations and shocking his audience.”

Hitchcock to me is not only a master of filmmaking, but also a master of the film industry. Before the release of Psycho, he pulled the source material’s book from stores so nobody could spoil the twist ending. At the time of release, people could go to the theatre and pay less to go into a film half-way through a showing. Not with Psycho.

Due to the short screen time of Janet Leigh, the main star of the film, Hitchcock set a new rule in theatres that once the film begins, no late-comers can arrive. This is now the norm in every cinema to this date, and it is bizarre to think any differently than that.

So, what makes Psycho stand out even in this day and age? It is the craftsmanship of the narrative of the film. Alfred Hitchcock is a master of subverting expectations and shocking his audience, particularly at a time when filmmaking was generally safe. It seems like an odd choice to kill your main star off half an hour into the film, but he did it regardless. Suddenly, the film became all about Norman Bates, a character that you just don’t know what to think of until the end.

“There is not a single film fan that does not know the shower scene, or at least see it referenced at some point.”

To this day, one of the most famous film sequences of all time is the shower scene. There is not a single film fan that does not know the shower scene, or at least see it referenced at some point. From the 100+ shots that were used in that single two-minute sequence, to the sharp music that plays behind all of the action, every part of that sequence is iconic and will continue to be remembered for decades to come.

Psycho was released at a time where opening credits were the big trend, and Hitchcock was very well known for letting graphic designer Saul Bass design his opening credits and film posters. He was the person in charge for the opening credits for Psycho, and as someone that studied Bass for Art in school, this may just be my favourite one that he did. The presentation is so simple in the form of straight lines, but the jarring sense of disconnection of these lines matched with the harsh orchestral music in the background add so much tension just to the opening credits, perfectly setting the audience up for what is going to be a dark and haunting tale.

I have always loved the production design of this film, particularly of Bates Motel. This has recently been supported with the popularity of the spin-off show, titled Bates Motel appropriately. Everything about the production design was done for a purpose, whether that is to create atmosphere (an isolated hotel with a creepy house on the side of it on top of a hill), or to drive the narrative forward (the hole in the wall of the hotel room covered by the painting). Not only was it visually pleasing to see, it also helped get a sense of where the story was going and how horror aspects were used to set the tone of the film.

“Anthony Perkins gives such a strong and nuanced performance in the final sequence.”

My favourite moment in Psycho may just have to be the final few sequences in the film. If you have somehow not heard of the ending of this glorious film, I will not be the person to spoil it for you. However, Anthony Perkins (Norman Bates) gives such a strong and nuanced performance in the final sequence, which is what helps me sell the idea that Perkins’ Norman Bates is not only one of the best characters in fiction, but his performance is one of the best in the history of film. That is how much I love his performance in his film.

This film became so well-known in pop culture, that a remake of it was done in 1998. Despite the incredible cast that they got for this remake (from Julianne Moore to Vince Vaughn) and the mixed reviews I have heard from some people, I do not think I will ever go and see this remake. For me, Psycho is one of those classic films that I do not want touched, particularly if it had nothing to do with Alfred Hitchcock. I don’t need modern technology and advanced filmmaking to improve this film, Hitchcock was already ahead of the game with his innovative techniques and improvements to the film industry, and that is how I like this film: exactly the way he wanted it told back in 1960.