Alfred Hitchcock's Use Of Suspense In Psycho
Suspense is the name of the game when making a movie. Suspense is a strange aspect in film, the audience almost knows that something is going to jump out, but they still scream as if it was unexpected. Alfred Hitchcock was the king of suspense, especially in his film Psycho. Hitchcock uses different camera angles, lighting, and especially music/sound effects to really get the audience's heart racing.
Alfred Hitchcock is notorious for using McGuffin’s in his films. A McGuffin is an occurrence or action that seems like the whole movie is going to be about, but is then totally flipped upside down in an instant and changes the plot completely. In the movie Psycho a woman by the name Marian Crane, the main actress, is on the run after stealing $40,000 from her employer. As Marian is on the run she encounters a cop that seems to be following her and she starts to become paranoid. To avoid the police officer, she decides to stay in a Motel, the Bates Motel. This is where the real plot begins. She meets Norman Bates, the motel manager, he is the real Psycho. Norman is crazy, he dresses as …show more content…
Camera angles are what makes films more understandable and more intriguing. Alfred Hitchcock does a marvelous job at using camera angles to make scenes more scary. For example, the scene where Arbogast, the private investigator, is looking around Mr. Bates’s house looking for clues as to where Marian might have went (she’s dead). As he is walking up the stairs, the camera gets a close up of Arbogast’s body slowly moving up the stairs with soft ery music playing in the background. The camera keeps cutting back and forth to a creaking door up the stairs which he is walking towards. When he reaches the top of the stairs Norman comes speed walking from that door with a knife and repeatedly stabbed him and he tumbles down the stairs. Again we hear the classical high pitch orchestra music which adds more shock and fear to the
Alfred Hitchcock is notorious for using McGuffin’s in his films. A McGuffin is an occurrence or action that seems like the whole movie is going to be about, but is then totally flipped upside down in an instant and changes the plot completely. In the movie Psycho a woman by the name Marian Crane, the main actress, is on the run after stealing $40,000 from her employer. As Marian is on the run she encounters a cop that seems to be following her and she starts to become paranoid. To avoid the police officer, she decides to stay in a Motel, the Bates Motel. This is where the real plot begins. She meets Norman Bates, the motel manager, he is the real Psycho. Norman is crazy, he dresses as …show more content…
Camera angles are what makes films more understandable and more intriguing. Alfred Hitchcock does a marvelous job at using camera angles to make scenes more scary. For example, the scene where Arbogast, the private investigator, is looking around Mr. Bates’s house looking for clues as to where Marian might have went (she’s dead). As he is walking up the stairs, the camera gets a close up of Arbogast’s body slowly moving up the stairs with soft ery music playing in the background. The camera keeps cutting back and forth to a creaking door up the stairs which he is walking towards. When he reaches the top of the stairs Norman comes speed walking from that door with a knife and repeatedly stabbed him and he tumbles down the stairs. Again we hear the classical high pitch orchestra music which adds more shock and fear to the