The capabilities of humankind’s advanced form of consciousness are limitless. Thoughts don’t heed to time, space, or senses; mental-health professionals can only guess what happens inside the head of someone who can’t control them. The scariest part of knowing some people are forced live their own diluted, false world is the fact that they still exist, tangibly, in ours. We see murderers and those with mental disorders on the outside as regular people like anyone else. However, they may be in a conflict with another entity in their own head, the little voice that governs their every move. Alfred Hitchcock uses the movie Psycho to show that human consciousness and mortality don’t always get along.
Countless examples of how action is derived directly from thought are prevalent in the film. For instance, the entire plot is jumpstarted when Marion Crane, the main character, decides to steal $40,000 from a client of hers. Her rationale is to free her lover from debt and run away with him (Hitchcock). It is an impulsive and life-altering decision. Marion’s far-fetched plan would never wor...
In the film, American Psycho, Patrick Bateman was a wealthy investment banker who also happened to be a serial killer. He was highly intelligent and was charming which attracted many of the women who came his way. Unlike most people in the world, he lived in constant pain. He was rarely happy with himself, and also hated everyone around him. He felt that he needed to inflict his pain on others in violent ways. He always had something disgusting to say such as, “I like to dissect girls; I am utterly insane.” It is outside of the norm to speak in this way, therefore he would be considered deviant. He displayed feelings of distress as he became frustrated very easily with himself and others. Everything
How Alfred Hitchcock Makes the Viewing of Psycho a Frightening and Worrying Experience I am currently studying Alfred Hitchcock Psycho. Psycho is such an important film because it redefined the genres of thrillers and established the genre used by many film writers today such as Wes Craven (Scream 1/2/3) of stalk and slash movies, using camera angles and other techniques. Hitchcock creates tension in a variety of ways using specific camera angles and high and low pitched music. Although the film proved a big box office success, only gradually did this macabre experiment in black humour become the object of closer scrutiny and more intense analysis. The consensus today is that Psycho is a classic of cinematic art and admiration worldwide.
make the sets look in such a way that the audience were on edge from
Hitchcock's Film Psycho Ever since the first horror movies were produced they have attracted huge audiences seeking to be scared, chilled and thrilled. Horror movies are so popular because the audience can get the adrenaline rush of being scared without actually putting themselves in danger, and also the audience ultimately get a rush of relief at the end of the film when the killer is killed. This is the same reason why people go on roller coasters because you get the adrenaline rush and then the relief when you get off. Also often horror movies are highly sexual films, and what's more it's a great excuse to hug your girlfriend! Horror movies started in the 1920's with German masterpieces of the silent era such as the ''Nosferatu'' directed by F.W Murneau (1922).
Anticipation, suspense, tension, excitement - these words come to mind when we think of the genre, Thriller. According to The Script Lab, thriller’s aim is “to keep the audience alert and on the edge of their seats” (Buffam, 2015). In these movies the main character, or the protagonist, is faced with a problem - whether it being a mystery, an escape or a mission. Just like every other genre in the film industry, Thrillers also contain a few sub-genres - but the main focus of every Thriller film out there it will always underline the menace that the hero faces.
Lorie Myers begins the film Halloween as a normal, happy teenager and everything in life is fine. Michael is the brother of Lorie and he is locked up in an insane asylum for murdering his older sister Edith. He eventually escapes and decides he wants to murder his sister Lorie. Lorie is unaware that she has an older brother because she is adopted by another family when she was an infant. On Halloween night, Lorie is babysitting and her friends are being murdered. Lorie losses everything and she had done nothing wrong. Michael blames Lorie for the situation because of her relationship to him. Lorie is traumatized from Michael terrorizing her, but she makes it out alive. As the Halloween series progressed, Lorie becomes successful, but the fear
The functioning of the average human mind has intrigued and plagued philosophers and thinkers over centuries, one of the most curious and fascinating studies have been made into personages with dual personalities, schizophrenia being one of the factors. Similarly, in the book, The Strange Case, as well as in the film, Psycho, the books are taken place in late Victorian London, but Psycho is in late 60’s in the USA. The respective authors in these two texts portray that duality of human nature exists in society and humanity through the use of characterization and setting.
Perhaps no other film changed so drastically Hollywood's perception of the horror film as did PSYCHO. More surprising is the fact that this still unnerving horror classic was directed by Alfred Hitchcock, a filmmaker who never relied upon shock values until this film. Here Hitchcock indulged in nudity, bloodbaths, necrophilia, transvestism, schizophrenia, and a host of other taboos and got away with it, simply because he was Hitchcock.
Horror, crime and thriller movies are three entirely different genres, but they share some similarities. Crime movies typically focus on a hero and the pursuit of a criminal. In the end, the protagonist solves the crime. On the other hand, horror movies usually focus on the dark side of life. Evil spirits or supernatural powers often creates destruction, but the protagonist defeats them. The end of the film, however, suggests that such forces will likely come back. The horror films are designed to get frightened and give panic attacks to the viewers. Again, the thriller is a genre that revolves expectation and suspension. Marion Crane and Norman Bates crimes, guessing
“The Help” is a white mock feel good movie, which seems to feature amnesia of racial conflicts in the South as its primary theme (Stockett, 2009). Author Natasha McLaughlin suggests that ‘The Help’ focuses upon the home and the relationship between African-American domestics and the laws of Jim Crow’s neglected ‘other half’: Jane Crow (McLaughlin, 2014). The American Civil Rights Movement mainly accommodates the public with a view concentrated upon a male dominant perspective but appreciations to Stockett and her moving interpretation of the relationship of Caucasian housewives and their African-American maids the public gets a rare white-washed version of events dealing with the civil rights movement going on within the interior of the households
Sex, love, depression, guilt, trust, all are topics presented in this remarkably well written and performed drama. The Flick, a 2014 Pulitzer Prize winning drama by Annie Baker, serves to provide a social commentary which will leave the audience deep in thought well after the curtain closes. Emporia State Universities Production of this masterpiece was a masterpiece in itself, from the stunningly genuine portrayal of the characters of Avery and Rose, to the realism found within the set, every aspect of the production was superb.
Since the birth of movies, Hollywood has strived to delve into the human experience and present certain aspects of life to the general population. Mental disorders are just one of many topics that are often explored for use in the media. The film A Beautiful Mind focuses specifically on paranoid schizophrenia, and follows protagonist John Nash’s life as he lives with the disorder. The film details Nash’s presymptomatic life at Princeton University, follows him through the early stages of the disorder, and continues as the symptoms begin to overrun his life. Luckily for Nash, his disorder is eventually clinically diagnosed and he is treated. The movie not only shares the tale of Nash’s life, but also shares with audiences a lesson about the
Entrails torn from the body with bare hands, eyes gouged out with razor blades, battery cables, rats borrowing inside the human body, power drills to the face, cannibalism, credit cards, business cards, Dorsia, Testoni, Armani, Wall Street; all of these things are Patrick Bateman’s world. The only difference between Bateman and anybody else is what is repulsive to Bateman and what is repulsive to the rest of the world. Bateman has great interest in the upper class life, fashions, and social existence, but at the same time he is, at times, sickened by the constant struggle to be one up on everybody else. On the other hand Bateman’s nightlife reveals a side of him never seen during the day. Bateman is relaxed, impulsive, and confident while torturing and killing. He doesn’t have to worry about being better than anyone else. The only competition he has is his last victim. Torture and murder are the two true loves of Patrick Bateman.
1980. Warner Bros. Directed by Stanley Kubrick. Music by Wendy Carlos and Rcachel Elkind. Cinematography by John Alcott. Editing by Ray Lovejoy. With Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd.
The shocking twisted ending in film Psycho (1960) was a most successful Hitchcock’s mystery. Owing to such unexpected finish, the film made a powerful impact on the audience. The whole movie was a build up of suspense with mystery resolution. The suspense is often weakened by the fact that the plot is not clear enough to the public. In the case of Psycho, all the details were shown to the audience, some shots even were played twice to achieve better understanding. A spectator was aware of the danger but not prepared for such resolution. “Don’t give away the ending, it is the only one we have!” was the slogan of the movie. (Robb, 2010) Everything was planned to penetrate the emotion of the audience. Music was a significant element in penetrating emotion. “Hitchcock himself admitted that at least a third of the movie's impact depended on the music”. (Nixon, n.d.) “The violins wailing away during Psycho's shower murder scene have achieved the status of cultural shorthand - denoting imminent violent insanity” (Robb, 2010) Hitchcock not only developed mystery and suspense in the movie, he also