Halloween is approaching, and for me that means only one thing: scary movies. The horror genre is one of my favorites in film, and within that I really love suspense and psychological thrillers. Though I also like classic slasher films, gore and paranormal themes generally do not frighten me – but a good psychological thriller can get under my skin.
The king of the horror/thriller genre is, in my opinion, director Alfred Hitchcock. In classic films like North by Northwest, Vertigo, Rear Window, The Birds, and Psycho Hitchcock uses camera angles and creative shots, among many other innovative techniques, to play with the mind of the audience. With Hitchcock, it is often what isn’t shown that can scare the most.
A prime example is the iconic shower scene from Psycho (1960), a clip that has become one of the most well-known scenes in cinema history.
Specifically, the shot of Marion Crane’s hand clawing at the shower wall as she dies leaves a lasting image in the mind of the audience, as does her blood running down the drain (which, fun fact, was actually chocolate syrup so that it would show up dark enough on black-and-and white film, and because it has a more realistic density than stage blood). The editing, shadow, and musical score of the scene only add to its effect as well.
Hitchcock as a director did not need blood, gore, or paranormal monsters to frighten his audience. He used what was available in his craft and his knowledge of the human psyche to produce chilling effects and a scene that is often noted as one of the most terrifying scenes ever filmed.
I don’t know about you, but to this day whenever I take a shower late at night that scene flashes through my mind and rattles me to my bones.
The other major factor that Psycho has going for it is the acting talent of Anthony Perkins, who played killer Norman Bates. Perkins does a fantastic job of balancing his character so that he seems creepy but not murderous, at least until the end. The final scene of Psycho is another well-shot scene that, no matter how many times I see it, still gets to me. The evil grin on Perkins’ face coupled with the overdub of his thoughts produces a perfectly creepy ending to the film.
