We all know the corny thrillers and scary movies that are thrown at us constantly. There are some scenes from thos movies that could almost be considered overdone for how often they appear. But where did the stereotypical scary movies get their ideas?
Psycho is a 1960 directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It was the first real thriller based on the book Psycho by Robert Bloch. Bloch's book was inspired by Ed Gein, a serial-killer from Plainsville, Wisconsin.
The film begins in Phoenix, Arizona with Marion Crane, played by Janet Leigh, and her lover Sam Loomis, depicted by John Gavin. They want to marry, however, Sam does not have the money because he is still paying alimony to his ex-wife. In attempts to help Sam, although he never asks for the help, Marion steals money from her boss that she is supposed to take to the bank. She takes the $40,000 with her on her long drive to Sam's home.
Marion gets lost during a storm and accidentally ends up off of the main road. She stops at a Bates motel, a 12-room lodging, to get a good rest and rents cabin 1. The owner and supervisor Norman Bates, played by Anthony Perkins, invites Marion for dinner when he discovers she has not had an evening meal. He rushes to his house to make the meal when Marion agrees to join him. While she is freshening-up, Marion overhears and argument between Norman and his mother, who believes that Norman is up to something bad with Marion.
When Norman finally returns, he has sandwiches but says he isn't hungry as he already ate earlier. In the parlor, Marion carefully suggests that Norman send his mother to a mental institution. Norman becomes agitated at first, but quickly recovers. He tells Marion about his love of taxidermy, especially stuffing his favorite animals: Birds. He also admits that he would like to leave and have his own life but he is trapped because he cannot send his mother away. He notes that most people have a trap in their life at some time. Marion recognizes her theft of the money as her trap and decides to drive back to Phoenix the next morning. Marion excuses herself and goes to her room in which she undresses in preparation for her shower while Norman watches through a peephole in the parlor.
While taking her shower, a human figure can be seen through the shower curtain. The curtain is ripped open and the figure stabs Marion to death. The figure has gray hair and a dress giving the viewer the impression that the murderer is Norman's mother. The viewer cannot see the murderer's face, however.
The film is suddenly about Norman. He runs into Marion's room after discovering blood on his mother. He is startled but cleans up the scene carefully. He brings Marion's car to the swamp and pushes it in with Marion and all of her belongings in the trunk.
A private detective, Detective Arbogast is hired to find Marion. He is led to Bates Motel. After questioning Norman, Arbogast is very suspicious that Norman has something to do with Marion's disappearance. Arbogast decides to continue searching for clues after calling Sam and Marion's sister, Lila, to tell them the news. Arbogast goes up to Norman's house to see the mother, but when he reaches the top of the stairs in the house, Marion's killer comes out with the same knife and stabs him. He falls dramatically down the stairs and dies.
Sam and Lila become worried when the detective never returns. They decide to visit the motel and solve the crime. Pretending to be husband and wife, they rent room at the motel. Norman makes sure that he puts them as far away from cabin 1 as possible. They do as much investigating as they can. Eventually Sam has to distract Norman while Lila runs up to his house to search for Marion.
Lila searches the entire tope floor of the house and is unsuccessful. Meanwhile, Norman knocks Sam out when he realizes that Lila is in his house. As Lila rushes downstairs, she sees Norman coming toward the house. She decides to search the basement while he is on the second floor. In the fruit cellar she discovers the corpse of Norman's mother. As she turns around, Norman comes in dressed as a woman brandishing a knife. Luckily Sam comes in immediately after and hits Norman over the head. He is knocked out.
The final scene shows Sam and Lila at the police station. They listen to a psychoanalyst who tells them that Norman was crazy. he had two personalities: Norman and his mother. Eventually the mother overtook Norman and he went completely mad.
This movie was the first of its kind, a real breakthrough in the film industry. I was bored for much of the movie as I had seen most of the ideas from this movie in others. However, this movie was the first to use these ideas, therefore I would give it a 6/10. I liked the plot twists and new ideas. It was creative for its time.
My scale is set up thusly:
10-Best movie I've ever seen
9-Amazingly good
8-Definitely recommended
7-Decent
6-Worth watching
5-Average
4-Fine
3-Boring or uninteresting
2-idea is overdone, too common
1-Terrible, don't waste your time.
The genre of this film is thriller.
Works cited: wikipedia.com
Psycho is a 1960 directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It was the first real thriller based on the book Psycho by Robert Bloch. Bloch's book was inspired by Ed Gein, a serial-killer from Plainsville, Wisconsin.
The film begins in Phoenix, Arizona with Marion Crane, played by Janet Leigh, and her lover Sam Loomis, depicted by John Gavin. They want to marry, however, Sam does not have the money because he is still paying alimony to his ex-wife. In attempts to help Sam, although he never asks for the help, Marion steals money from her boss that she is supposed to take to the bank. She takes the $40,000 with her on her long drive to Sam's home.
Marion gets lost during a storm and accidentally ends up off of the main road. She stops at a Bates motel, a 12-room lodging, to get a good rest and rents cabin 1. The owner and supervisor Norman Bates, played by Anthony Perkins, invites Marion for dinner when he discovers she has not had an evening meal. He rushes to his house to make the meal when Marion agrees to join him. While she is freshening-up, Marion overhears and argument between Norman and his mother, who believes that Norman is up to something bad with Marion.
When Norman finally returns, he has sandwiches but says he isn't hungry as he already ate earlier. In the parlor, Marion carefully suggests that Norman send his mother to a mental institution. Norman becomes agitated at first, but quickly recovers. He tells Marion about his love of taxidermy, especially stuffing his favorite animals: Birds. He also admits that he would like to leave and have his own life but he is trapped because he cannot send his mother away. He notes that most people have a trap in their life at some time. Marion recognizes her theft of the money as her trap and decides to drive back to Phoenix the next morning. Marion excuses herself and goes to her room in which she undresses in preparation for her shower while Norman watches through a peephole in the parlor.
While taking her shower, a human figure can be seen through the shower curtain. The curtain is ripped open and the figure stabs Marion to death. The figure has gray hair and a dress giving the viewer the impression that the murderer is Norman's mother. The viewer cannot see the murderer's face, however.
The film is suddenly about Norman. He runs into Marion's room after discovering blood on his mother. He is startled but cleans up the scene carefully. He brings Marion's car to the swamp and pushes it in with Marion and all of her belongings in the trunk.
A private detective, Detective Arbogast is hired to find Marion. He is led to Bates Motel. After questioning Norman, Arbogast is very suspicious that Norman has something to do with Marion's disappearance. Arbogast decides to continue searching for clues after calling Sam and Marion's sister, Lila, to tell them the news. Arbogast goes up to Norman's house to see the mother, but when he reaches the top of the stairs in the house, Marion's killer comes out with the same knife and stabs him. He falls dramatically down the stairs and dies.
Sam and Lila become worried when the detective never returns. They decide to visit the motel and solve the crime. Pretending to be husband and wife, they rent room at the motel. Norman makes sure that he puts them as far away from cabin 1 as possible. They do as much investigating as they can. Eventually Sam has to distract Norman while Lila runs up to his house to search for Marion.
Lila searches the entire tope floor of the house and is unsuccessful. Meanwhile, Norman knocks Sam out when he realizes that Lila is in his house. As Lila rushes downstairs, she sees Norman coming toward the house. She decides to search the basement while he is on the second floor. In the fruit cellar she discovers the corpse of Norman's mother. As she turns around, Norman comes in dressed as a woman brandishing a knife. Luckily Sam comes in immediately after and hits Norman over the head. He is knocked out.
The final scene shows Sam and Lila at the police station. They listen to a psychoanalyst who tells them that Norman was crazy. he had two personalities: Norman and his mother. Eventually the mother overtook Norman and he went completely mad.
This movie was the first of its kind, a real breakthrough in the film industry. I was bored for much of the movie as I had seen most of the ideas from this movie in others. However, this movie was the first to use these ideas, therefore I would give it a 6/10. I liked the plot twists and new ideas. It was creative for its time.
My scale is set up thusly:
10-Best movie I've ever seen
9-Amazingly good
8-Definitely recommended
7-Decent
6-Worth watching
5-Average
4-Fine
3-Boring or uninteresting
2-idea is overdone, too common
1-Terrible, don't waste your time.
The genre of this film is thriller.
Works cited: wikipedia.com
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