Psycho (1960) is a Hitchcock film based off of the novel of the same name by Ed Gein. It is a film belonging to the suspense horror/thriller genre. The features that set this film apart as a suspense horror/thriller include monochromatic filming, an aggressive, suspenseful soundtrack, and tense, close shots emphasizing fear and exciting moments.
Some of the influences for this film were the novel Psycho by Ed Gein and Robert Bloch, the films Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), The Last Laugh (1924) and M (1958), and the expressionist genre of art.
The movie was first envisioned by Alfred Hitchcock, who was shown the novel by his production assistant, Peggy Robinson. He went on with the project in order to recover from two previously abandoned projects, and to film new material compared to his previous work.
Psycho fits with his other works in the way that he incorporates darker elements, like murder, crime, and insanity.
- More specifically, Psycho incorporates the theme of birds, “audience as voyeur” (Rear Window (1954)), “the charming sociopath” (Notorious, Frenzy), and “transference of guilt” (also seen in Vertigo (1958), Suspicion (1941), and Shadow of a Doubt (1943)). There are others, but do you honestly expect me to list all of them. What is this, IB?
The major theme of Psycho is that of multiple personalities and/or roleplay. The narrative structure itself is said to be as fractured as the characters who play in it, most notably Norman Bates, the central character of the movie.
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