Psycho

"Psycho" is Alfred Hitchcock's masterful blend of artistic perfection and superb casual viewing. The gift of this brilliant voyeuristic terror tale is that you do not have to be aware of the subtle Hitchcockian touches that make "Psycho" an artistic treasure. The terrifying simplicity of the story and compelling visuals are enough to jolt any viewer unaware of the malicious goings-on beyond the surface of the story. However, for those needing to delve into the underlying themes of "Psycho", it is a grandiose accomplishment to behold.

Hitchcock's mischievous camera work places the viewer at the voyeur end of the action from the first shot which enters a lover's mid-afternoon tryst in a hotel room through an open window. The implicating camera later witnesses Janet Leigh's undressing through a peephole (notice that the peephole is covered by a painting of a rape) and the violent and ultra-voyeuristic shower scene which compels viewers to intently watch for any glimpse of nudity that the quick editing might provide. This infamous shower scene rivets the viewer with guilty glimpses (that reveal nothing, though many viewers may recall differently, further exemplifying Hitchcock's brilliance for audience manipulation), but this scene also horrifies with its brutal stabbing which is seemingly viewed from the killer's point-of-view. The vulnerability and nakedness of a common shower as a murder scene is a mischievously calculated event meant to involve and effect the viewer to full capacity. Surprisingly, no matter how many times the scene is parodied or viewed, the scene is still breathtakingly brilliant in its purveyance of fright.

Hitchcock goes beyond a common suspense yarn to implicate the viewer in the action by making the audience sympathize with the crimes of the characters. For instance, Janet Leigh's theft and subsequent flee is not met with repulsion by the audience. Instead, it is a realistic crime by a common person easy to relate to. Thus, the audience feels anxiety when the state trooper follows her progression. The same is nearly true