Analysis Of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho

And last but not least is the villain in these movies. Most of the killers in these films are portrayed as mentally deranged and/or has some type of facial or bodily deformation and who have been traumatized at an early age. Even though these characters terrorized and murder people they have taken on the persona of anti-heroes in pop culture. Characters like Halloween’s Michael Myers, A Nightmare on Elm Street’s Freddy Krueger and Friday the 13th’s Jason Voorhees have become the reason to go see these movies. However, over time,”their familiarity and the audience’s ability to identify and sympathize with them over the protagonist made these villains less threatening (Slasher Film (5))”.
The 1960s brought about what some have argued is the first slasher film Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. Hitchcock was able to cast major Hollywood stars to actor in his thriller. He cast a young, handsome Anthony Perkins in the lead and a major star in Janet Leigh, whom Hitchcock kills in the beginning of the movie. In that day it was unheard of now it’s done in movies such as Wes Cravens 1996 movie Scream killing off a major star such as Drew Barrymore. According to FilmmakerIQ.com Psycho “shocked audiences into believing horror could be more than B-Film Fare (14)”.

It wasn’t until Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street that interest in the slasher genre came back. Theatrical horror releases of slasher films were getting less and less because of the straight to video market. However the character of Freddy Kruger played by actor Robert Englund would reinvigorate the genre. It had a budget of 1.8 million and grossed 25.5 million and became one the most successful franchise in horror movie history. A Nightmare on Elm Street helped to established New Line Cinema and to this day New Line is referred as ,”The House That Freddy Built (Slasher Film