Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho

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In 1960 one black and white movie shocked us all. This movie attacked our minds and our hearts in one of the most vulnerable places in what is considered to be one of the greatest and most epic scenes of all time. Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho made women and even some men afraid take a shower. This movie was the first of its kind and gave birth to a whole new genre of movies, the slasher film. Without this movie Freddie Kruger, Jason, Michael, Leatherface, and all of the other psycho killers would cease to exist. All these killers, even Ghost Face from Scream owe Norman Bates a huge debt of gratitude. If it wasn’t for him these killers would not exist Norman Bates was the first of the masked psycho killers.

The shower scene where Marion Crane is murdered is by far one of the most epic and influential scenes to come across the movie industry. The 2002 American Film Institute even named it this film the number one most thrilling film of all time. This scene brought about a revolution in a number of ways. It changed the way that a villain can be viewed, that a hero can die, that the mind is warped and fragile. There are so many things to pick from just this one scene just like the one before it and the following scene after it. None of those scenes are as important as this scene beginning at 45:37.

I chose to start at 45:37 because of the significance of what she is doing. Here Marion Crane is checking her bank account and check book. She is trying to figure out how much money she has spent and a way to pay it back, because in the previous scene after talking to Norman Bates she has decided to return home and give back the money. What this shows is the switch in Marion’s character. Her nature is now back to ...

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...It made watching a movie interesting again because no one was safe.

In the end Psycho gave birth to movies as we know them today especially our horror films. It inspired more mystery in murder films and even played a small part in detective films. It was an unconventional film especially for its time and pushed the boundaries of the industry. This daring step gave rise to the villains that we know today. There would be none of the masked murders that we have grown to fear if it were not for Alfred Hitchcock and his Psycho. His bold and daring movie that cost him money from his own pocket gave rise to a whole new genre of slasher films; films that we have grown to love and fear. This film gave us a new type of monster to fear one that can live inside anyone. It gave us so much more than just one scare but scares that have continued for fifty years now.

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