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"Psycho" is Alfred Hitchcock's masterful blend of artistic perfection and superb casual viewing. The gift of this brilliant voyeuristic terror tale is that you do not have to be aware of the subtle Hitchcocki an touches that make "Psycho" an artistic treasure. The terrifying simplicity of the story and compelling visuals are enough to jolt any viewer unaware of the malicious goings-on beyond the surface of the story. However, for those needing to delve into the underlying themes of "Psycho", it is a grandiose accomplishment to behold. Hitchcock's mischievous camera work places the viewer at the voyeur end of the action from the first shot which enters a lover's mid-afternoon tryst in a hotel room through an open window. The implicating camera later witnesses Janet Leigh's undressing through a peephole (notice that the peephole is covered by a painting of a rape) and the violent and ultra-voyeuristic shower scene which compels viewers to intently watch for any glimpse of nudity that the quick editing might provide.
This infamous shower scene rivets the viewer with guilty glimpses (that reveal nothing, though many viewers may recall differently, further exemplifying Hitchcock's brilliance for audience manipulation), but this scene also horrifies with its brutal stabbing which is seemingly viewed from the killer's point-of-view. The vulnerability and nakedness of a common shower as a murder scene is a mischievously calculated event meant to involve and effect the viewer to full capacity. Surprisingly, no matter how many times the scene is parodied or viewed, the scene is still breathtakingly brilliant in its purveyance of fright. Hitchcock goes beyond a common suspense yarn to implicate the viewer in the action by making the audience sympathize with the crimes of the characters.
For instance, Janet Leigh's theft and subsequent flee is not met with repulsion by the audience. Instead, it is a realistic crime by a common person easy to relate to. Thus, the audience feels anxiety when the state trooper follows her progression. The same is nearly true of Norman Bates' clean-up of the bathroom-murder scene. While that is not nearly so easy to relate to, the idea of a loving son cleaning up (and hiding) his "mother's" crimes is. Most viewers would almost certainly react the same as Norman Bates if their mother were to commit such a heinous act.
And how many viewers are prone to irritation at the fact that Norman Bates did not discover the newspaper containing the stolen cash when he dumped the murdered girl and her car into the swamp? Some of the great minor touches of "Psycho" are the symbolic stuffed birds in Norman's office and the "pecking" conversation that highlight the impending chaos of the film (including the film's beginnings which occurs in Phoenix and Leigh's character named Crane), and the double image of Norman Bates reflected in the hotel window during a conversation. These are coupled with the splendidly frightful shower scene, the detective's murder in the Bates mansion and the discovery that Mrs. Bates is not quite who she appears to be. In retrospect, "Psycho" is magnificently well-written with witty symbolism and subtle sinister conversations setting up the horror magnificently. Of course, the greatest aspect of this film is the echoing observation that "We all go a little mad sometimes" after the implicating voyeurism of this dark and disturbed masterpiece.
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Research essay sample on Norman Bates Murder Scene
