Suspense In Alfred Hitchcock's Film Psycho

The shocking twisted ending in film Psycho (1960) was a most successful Hitchcock’s mystery. Owing to such unexpected finish, the film made a powerful impact on the audience. The whole movie was a build up of suspense with mystery resolution. The suspense is often weakened by the fact that the plot is not clear enough to the public. In the case of Psycho, all the details were shown to the audience, some shots even were played twice to achieve better understanding. A spectator was aware of the danger but not prepared for such resolution. “Don’t give away the ending, it is the only one we have!” was the slogan of the movie. (Robb, 2010) Everything was planned to penetrate the emotion of the audience. Music was a significant element in penetrating emotion. “Hitchcock himself admitted that at least a third of the movie's impact depended on the music”. (Nixon, n.d.) “The violins wailing away during Psycho's shower murder scene have achieved the status of cultural shorthand - denoting imminent violent insanity” (Robb, 2010) Hitchcock not only developed mystery and suspense in the movie, he also

achieved it in the marketing of the film. “To keep secret the film's final twist, Psycho was not screened for critics or cinema-owners before release”. (Robb, 2010) For the first time, the cast and crew “had been made to sign non-disclosure agreements preventing them speaking about the film”. (Robb, 2010) “No-one was allowed into the cinema once the film had started - enforced by uniformed guards, this was an extraordinary measure in an era when people were used to coming and going during theaters”. (Robb, 2010)

“Mystery” refers to an intellectual process where there is a puzzle that needs to be solved; “suspense” refers to an emotional process where there is an unknown situation, event, or threat that produces anxiety and fear and needs to be resolved.

In suspense moments the viewer gets involved in what is happening on the screen, he feels as a direct participant in the events that unfold in the film. The most important thing is the ability of the director to suspense and mystery. Hitchcock had the ability to involve the viewer in a movie. The verdict of the three movies Sabotage, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Psycho is Alfred Hitchcock designed everything to achieve what he believe was the important distinction “mystery” vs. “suspense”. He has done it with great attention to the applicable musical accompaniment, delivery of information to the audience, and penetration of

emotion.