Innovations in Psycho
Matthew Collins
3/20/14
Psycho
Hitchcock’s film Psycho is considered to be one of the best horror movies ever made. The film was able to do many innovative things in the genre of horror. Psycho is arguably one of the first slasher movies. A slasher movie is a sub-genre of horror where there killer often wears a mask, uses unconventional weapons, and there is often back story describing how the killer got to his violent mental state. The film Psycho was considered innovative and horrifying when it came out for its use of the now classic slasher formula. Norman Bates was disturbed man who motive for killing was unusual for 1960. His impulse for killing comes from his split personality he acquired after his mother passed away. Instead of using practical weapons like a gun, he uses a knife. When he murders Marion he is wearing his mother's clothing. Although the slasher formula is considered to be cliché, at the time what made Psycho truly scary was the fact that Norman is able to blend in with society which makes the film relatable. Many horror movies use a cheap jump care to instill fear in the viewer, but a truly scary movie is one that replays in your head after the credits have rolled.
I agree with this. One of the reasons Psycho was such a good horror film, was that Norman seemed to be a fairly normal guy. He was pretty innocuous, only socially awkward, and a bit too attached to his mother, but that could also be taken as extreme devotion. He could assimilate pretty well into the town, seeing as the Sheriff and his wife found nothing wrong with him, and even looked torn up when he discovered Marian's body. This only reinforces the argument, because Norman is so psychotic that he has no idea that he himself is capable of murder and that he has done so already, let alone any other people believing the same thing.
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