Why is Psycho the only 20th century horror movie I like?
About 8 years ago I saw the Conjuring in theaters. It was the first time I had ever sat down and watched a horror movie from start to finish, and I was hooked. After the conjuring I spent the next few years scrounging the internet for all sorts of horror movies trying to find one that really really scared me. Since I discovered my love for horror movies, I have found many movies that I thought were good and/or scary, however I still have not found that bone-chilling nightmare inducing horror that some people report experiencing after seeing any mediocre horror movie. A couple years ago my mom was talking to me about the horror movies I watch and asked me If I had seen any of the horror movies she grew up with (The Exorcist, The Omen, Poltergeist, Psycho). Of course I had no interest in watching old people movies so my answer was no. But the conversation got me curious and eventually I found myself watching all four of these films within the next couple of days. I found The Exorcist, The Omen, and Poltergeist to be very formulaic and predictable films with dry and uninteresting characters. Upon further analysis I theorize that I found these films to be so formulaic and predictable because many of the plot elements and ideas had been reused countless times in lots of the more recent horror movies, so basically because these movies had such a powerful influence on todays horror movies, while watching them I felt like I had already seen them. But then I watched Psycho.
Black and white. A color scheme that screams boredom made me naturally avoid watching any form of entertainment that used said scheme. But I had heard Psycho was a must see, and it also was the first slasher film made so I reluctantly clicked the play button on the sketchy free movie streaming website I was using. At first I was bored. I was expecting to hate this movie, I was expecting to fall asleep, so of course during the first few black and white scenes of the movie I was bored and uninterested. However, I was surprised to find that the person I thought was the main character had died right smack dab in the middle of the film. The murder scene was quite corny compared to the crazy gore we can see today, but It was still shocking nonetheless. By the end of the movie I was surprised by the twist and deep in thought about Norman Bates. Only a couple horror movies I have seen besides psycho have been stuck in my head like that. It was the unpredictable story, and the interesting characters that made this movie so great for me. While other horror movies seem to focus more on pushing scary themes such as satan or ghosts at the viewer, Psycho introduced the viewer to a scary person who did some very scary things. Psycho was unique, it was unlike any movie I had seen before, and this is why it is the only 20th century horror movie I enjoy.
Charlie, I enjoyed reading your response to Hitchcock's "Psycho"! I can relate to your love of horror movies, especially your admiration for 20th-century horror movies. The synchronization of color, sound effects, and gore adds to a film's excitement.
ReplyDeleteI, too, was pleasantly surprised by this film. It was challenging to watch at first because modern movies present such a different take on psychological thrillers! I am glad that it turned out to be incredibly unpredictable and mind-twisting. It is funny that you, too, were making a note of how this film approached horror versus modern-day thrillers.
What an excellent analysis, Charlie! Thanks for sharing!
Delilah Rose
I find myself in opposition. I thought the build was the best part it was the most interesting to me because the plot was moving forward quicker. The second half of the film didn't come to a surprise at all to me because I was so sure that Norman was the killer.
ReplyDeleteI Agree that many modern horror movies are not incredibly scary. They mostly just rely on predictable jump scares and gruesome images/scenes. I was not sure what I was expecting from the film, but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it.
ReplyDelete-Xander
I really enjoyed reading your analysis of "Psycho." I agree with you that the film had many unique elements to it, such as the sudden killing off of the main character, that made it such an interesting piece.
ReplyDeleteSomething that I did not consider, but that I also enjoyed about "Psycho" was the lack of scary themes like ghosts or satan as you suggested. Although these and other more fantastical elements can explore a different side of horror, it added a whole other the level to the film for the scary element to be a person. I thought the analysis of Norman was interesting and made "Psycho" really stick out to me.
It was cool to see your comparisons between "Psycho" and other 20th century horror films. It is true that more impressive horror movies tend to be the ones that can rely on a genuinely terrifying and bone chilling human being to carry the plot rather than demonic creatures. From the introduction of Norman Bates, his presence was undeniably unsettling, so it was thrilling to see how his character would be impact the overall story.
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