Review: Psycho

I enjoyed Hitchcock's Psycho, and i found the character of Norman Bates very intriguing, particularly the psychological reasoning behind his behaviour. I also thought that the behaviour and death of (female lead) was interesting, because although at first she is shown as deceitful and sexual the audience still empathises with her and expects her to escape. Then when she is suddenly and brutally killed it comes as quite a shock, i think Hitchcock chose to put this twist in to get the audience to expect the unexpected, and to hint at the other major twists left in the story.
I thought the setting was perfect also, to me the haunted mansion screamed something warped happening behind closed curtains. The house seemed to have a sense of regality to it and was probably quite valuable, but once inside this is killed by the stuffed animals which i think signifies the other losses in the story - his mother, the business. Another point about the setting is how isolated it was, she seemed so trapped in the tiny cabin making her even more vulnerable
However, i think that the climatic scene with Bates' mother's skeleton was shot and edited quite poorly, because although it does still make you jump it could have been to look even more twisted. To make Bates seem more warped the light probably should have been shafted in through a tiny window, and i think the skeleton should have been positioned as if supposedly doing something - like knitting. Also possibly wearing make-up or jewewellry - but perhaps this would make it too comic.
Overall though i think the film was brilliant, and i think Hitchcock was a genius.

Rating: ***