Psycho analysis

Psycho Analysis

Psycho finds a young woman known as Melanie Daniels in a very dangerous situation, after running from her job with a stolen $40K to try and live with her would be lover, Melanie stops in a motel she finds known as the 'Bates Motel' run by Norman Bates. After a short discussion Melanie and Norman agree to have dinner together as there isn't anyone else staying at the motel and Melanie doesn't have any food.

Shortly after the police are sent to look for Melanie after the disappearance of the $40 grand is noted. however no one actually knows where she is.

While Melanie goes to get ready we discover that Norman has a small hole in the wall which he uses to spy on Melanie (Creepy right?). Melanie overhears shouting coming from the Bates home atop the hill behind the motel, which quickly turns into Norman delivering sandwiches to her hotel room, but pressuring her into his office as he thinks it will be nicer for them to eat. This is where the Director Alfred Hitchcock really shows Normans personality, hinting at the name of the film, Psycho. As we learn that Norman enjoys stuffing animals for a hobby the sense of oddity builds up. Melanie returns back to the motel room to shower, however her life is quickly ended by what we assume to be Normans mother (SPOILERS).

Once Norman dumps the body our attention is turned to Melanies lover and sister as they desperately try to find Melanie.

Hitcock uses a wide array of techniques throughout the film to really emphasise the tension, especially the Macguffin of the money. As we do not really care about it the thought of it is always on our mind as to when will someone find it.

The film uses a wide array of camera shots, a notable one being the finale few scenes as we discover Normans mothers true hiding place, showing a rather rotten corpse in a very close shot, leading into a pan that becomes a closeup of Norman dressed as his mother as the film nears its climax.