Alfred Hitchcock, the master of suspense, a brilliant director, who never fails to release a
successful horror movie, that not only captures our attention but puts us on the edge of our seats. In this movie “Psycho” Alfred Hitchcock utilizes several different film techniques including close up shots, music choice, and overall cinematography. He utilizes these several different film techniques to add to the horror and suspense of the film to engage the audience, even more, keeping them on the edge of their seats.
Firstly, to give a brief background of the film, the movie starts off with Marion running
off with $40,000. She makes a stop at a motel for the night which is where the movie picks up. She encounters Norman bate who ends up being the killer in this film. He kills not only her but the private investigator as well who went looking for her, towards the end of the movie we learn that he did this because he is living two lives. One of his own and the second of his mother, this is due to jealousy and therefore it was the mother side of him that was coming out making him kill these Marion and the investigator.
To start off one thing that really captured my attention throughout the film was the music.
Alfred Hitchcock did a phenomenal job with the music in this film. Not only did I feel more engaged in the film but also made it made it so much more suspenseful and had my heart racing. He utilizes this type of powerful music to add to the intensity of the film and to make it more suspenseful for the audience. It builds fear and anxiety within the audience making them want to know what's gonna happen next. He used significant horror music like this to convey emotions that he knew images cannot. In certain scenes, like the shower scene, it’s the music that builds the tension and tells us what's happening in the scene and not necessarily the actions of the killer, which is what makes the music so powerful.
Furthermore, the cinematography in this film was outstanding. Hitchcock used several
techniques so brilliantly. One thing I definitely noticed from the beginning of this film was how Hitchcock filmed several scenes as close up shots. For example, while Marion was in the car while it was raining heavily, or the shower scene at the end where the showed an extreme close up of Marion’s eye. Hitchcock is aware that close up shots fill the screen with emotions and add to the intensity of the scene. Additionally, several times throughout the film the scene would cut from wide to close up, Hitchcock does this to emphasize the suspensefulness and given the audience a sudden surprise which builds anxiety. Furthermore, throughout this movie, Hitchcock uses the camera as if it had human qualities. For example, the camera would roam around the room playfully looking for something suspicious, Hitchcock did this several times in film because it allows the audience to feel like they are involved in uncovering the story and that they’re actually there living this movie through the characters eyes. For example, Hitchcock brings the audience into the bathroom with Marion and allows them to struggle with their own values and beliefs while Marion makes her own decision and continues with her journey. Hitchcock also utilizes point of view editing a couple of times throughout the film. This is one of the most powerful forms of editing, which builds the tension tremendously. This is where the scene starts of with a close up shot then cuts to a shot of what the character is looking at and then back to the actor to see his/her reaction. This has a huge effect because this makes the audience feel like as if they were experiencing the scene with them and they were gonna react the same time as the actor on screen. It keeps the audience more engaged and on the edge to see what's gonna happen next. This will make the audience believe that they are sharing something personal with the character. This is what Hitchcock calls "pure cinema." Additionally, we see that Hitchcock utilizes montage very effectively, this is especially seen in the famous shower scene, in this scene we see that he uses montage to hide the violence. You never see the knife hitting her, but it is understood that she is being stabbed and the killing takes place inside the viewer's head instead of it being directly shown on the screen. The impression of violence is done with quick editing, the audience, now in a vulnerable state looks to Norman to replace Marion as its main focus in its subjective role. To add to the suspense, Hitchcock will show the audience what the characters can't see, in this case, we can say that “suspense is information”. If something is about to harm the characters we, the audience, will know about it before the characters will. Which will build the tension, making us nervous and tense because we know what's gonna happen and therefore we feel anxious for the characters. A good example of this in the film is how we knew about the crazy mother before the detective did, making the scene in which Balsam enters the house one of the most suspenseful scenes not only in this film but in Hitchcock's career. Additionally, the way in which this scene was filmed was very interesting to me. The murder of Balsam was treated quite differently in the film. This goes back to the fact that the audience was already aware of the mother and so they were apprehensive. A medium shot was used to film the scene of the detective coming into the house but then changes to a high angle shot when he gets stabbed and then a close-up shot as the knife goes to his face, Hitchcock shot the scene like this to really shock and frighten the audience.
Furthermore, I believe one of the most important techniques that Hitchcock used in this film was the “The Kuleshov effect.” Not only is this one of the most powerful editing tools but it is a basis of visual storytelling. Hitchcock utilizes this technique in the famous shower scene. It plays with the idea of editing and specifically in this scene, the audience comes to an understanding that Marion, the subject of the frame has been stabbed to death right after watching the scene. However, only part of the scene directly shows the stabbing, therefore, the understanding that Marion has been stabbed to death comes mostly from the edited images and the sound/music, not from the image of a knife going through her. Hitchcock used the Kuleshov Effect in this scene to allow the audience to create and make their own meaning of the scene, even though we never actually see the knife enter the woman's flesh it is still understood that she has been stabbed. What adds to it even more and ties it all together is the sound effects and the powerful music. What really builds the tension and makes us know that she has been stabbed to death is because of the sound effects/music.This is how significant the Kuleshov Effect is.
Furthermore, the lighting played a significant role in the film, Hitchcock has utilized
different lighting techniques to help drive the feeling of the movie and engage the audience even more. He utilizes both low key and high key lighting very effectively. To start off, the scene where Norman Bates sinks the car was shot using low key lighting, this was done to emphasize the shadows making the overall scene darker. This was done to shroud the wrongdoing of Norman Bates and furthermore to allude to the darker parts of him. Norman's dreadfulness and creepiness are enlightened by lighting him from behind (the shadows) which attracts the audience to view and concentrate in on his responses as the car is sinking. In this shot through Mise en scène, I ended up as a watcher feeling Norman's nervousness when the car stopped sinking and practically afraid for him at getting caught. With regards to high key lighting, director Hitchcock utilizes high key lighting effectively in the shower scene, as the scene was brighter with less shadows. This was employed because Hitchcock wanted the audience to understand the differences between Marion’s vulnerability to Norman’s aggressiveness along with him in the darkness. The portrayal of Norman being enclosed in darkness is used to show the viewer the heightened sense of fear and mystery as to create tension towards the climax. The use of high key lighting in Marion’s death is aimed at displaying to the audience Marion’s inevitable death as her hopes of survival are dim. Furthermore, the camera stills of the drain and her eyes allow for the viewer to understand the magnitude of the horror, thus allowing for an emotional interaction with the viewer.
More often than not, the lighting in horror and mystery movies tends to remain similar due to the need for the suspense in order to engage the audience. Interestingly, Hitchcock utilized high key lighting in numerous ways to magnify and expose his character's’ flaws. Hitchcock employs this strategy in order for the audience to relate to the character, as fear is an obstacle we can certainly relate to.
In conclusion, Alfred Hitchcock has used several brilliant styles of editing to enhance the feeling of suspense and horror to the audience throughout the movie. He has done an amazing job at creating that sense of fear and anxiety within the audience. From using techniques like the Kuleshov effect to low-key/high-key lighting to montage he has successfully created one of the most powerful horror films of all time, a film that will definitely be keeping you on the edge of your seat.