Fear and Confusion in films Psycho and Carrie Essay

Perhaps no other film changed so drastically Hollywood's perception of the horror film as did PSYCHO. More surprising is the fact that this still unnerving horror classic was directed by Alfred Hitchcock, a filmmaker who never relied upon shock values until this film. Here Hitchcock indulged in nudity, bloodbaths, necrophilia, transvestism, schizophrenia, and a host of other taboos and got away with it, simply because he was Hitchcock.

Young Frankenstein has important visual effects that bring to this film a well-rounded sense of both frivolity and campy thrill. Satirically embodying the older films, Young Frankenstein includes overly dramatic scene transitions such as iris outs, wipes, and “fading to black”, like all classic Hollywood horror films. In classic Hollywood horror, there are lightening flashes, villagers carrying torches and monsters moving in slow motion. The

In the scene when the killer enters the showers while Marion is taking a bath, the shower curtains acted as a screen to the audience’s sight and later in the film, the shower curtain was used to wrap up the Marion’s body. Another example would be the parlor scene where Marion was sited on a comfortable coach while Norman sat on an upright and formal wooden chair. The usage of furniture suggested character’s attributes, as Marion has a rather relax and open-minded personality while Norman being a tense and uptight

Horror movies allow us the experience of intense emotional excitement from the unacceptable actions and their consequences in the films.

Window, by Alfred Hitchcock. This male gaze idea is present in most forms of media that

The director of the film made a change of pace by making suspense and fear in Psycho. He used elements of violence together with eery and jump-scare soundtracks that makes such scenes thrilling. The violent scenes were shown upfront with the long knife stabbing into

Not only were the viewers placed there as onlookers but also in the form of the character. Jeffries, is always looking through binoculars searching for clues and information about his neighbor, his wife, and both of their whereabouts during the film. When watching his neighbor come home one day we are placed in the scene as Jeffries, looking through the binoculars with his eyes. Another time we are placed in the scene as a detective. The camera places us there and guides us through scenes. Each time, we are unintentionally and unconsciously looking for information and answers that we were unaware of existing or at the scene in general. The camera even guides us around Jeffries’ neighbor’s room through the binoculars. As his neighbor comes home we view him talking on the phone. While looking at him through the binoculars or Jeffries’ eyes we read his lips trying to read what he is saying to the other person about the mystery on the other line. We are forced to look at him fondling his wife’s jewelry and wedding ring while asking the person on the other line what to do about it. Here, we as the viewer are presents information about the mystery, or the disappearance of the neighbor’s wife and we concluded that there was something inevitably wrong about the situation, proving Jefferies’ assumptions about his neighbor and the murder of his wife to be shockingly convincible. We are led to believe Jefferies’

In the film Rear Window, voyeurism is the most prominent theme. Hitchcock presents this theme by using different effect such as sound and camera angles and suspenseful characters and scenes. In Rear Window, Hitchcock reveals to the audience that Jeffries', Lisa and Stella are not the only voyeurs in the film, the audience are involved as well in the events that unfold in the movie and we are caught observing them. As a director, Hitchcock believes that being voyeurs can end in a tremendous disaster and it is best to not get ourselves involved. The audience experience the emotions Jeffries', Lisa and Stella feel throughout this film because of how Hitchcock has used effects and the theme of voyeurism.

Quite honestly the entire movie itself scared me to death, the only reason I even went to see it in the first place was because I lost in rock-paper-scissors to my cousin, who loves horror films. Though when I wasn’t covering my eyes, I did catch a glimpse of the asylum flashback scene, which I have to say was truly frightening. However, it had to be the scene of the lady jumping off a cliff and killing her baby after escaping the asylum

One of the most famous horror films not just of the 1960's but of all

The film begins with police and reporters surrounding a dead body in a pool. This initial opening scene of a dead body in a pool creates an investigative mood for the audience essentially. Throughout the film, Wilder constantly uses a low-key lighting to emphasize the style (characteristic) of Film Noir. Norma’s house has clearly been thought through thoroughly as each room, especially living room, involves an immensely cluster of arrogant paintings. The rooms are congested and dimly lit, constantly keeping the mood of Film Noir. The relationship between the lighting and setting of house (clutter) emphasizes that Norma is suffocating her own life (ironic as she is suicidal).

Several film theorists have used a variety of tactics and view points to analyze feature films since their inception. One of the most prominent theorists of those that analyze films from a feminist perspective is Laura Mulvey. Mulvey is famous for her essay “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,” which presents an array of theories involving the treatment of women in films. Arguably the most notable idea presented in Mulvey’s work is the existence of the “male gaze” in films. This essay will examine Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze in relation to Alfred Hitchcock’s film, Vertigo. Vertigo does not fit the criteria of a film that

Every aspect of The Big Sleep was taken even further with perhaps Alfred Hitchcock’s best film, Psycho. One of the most interesting elements of this film is how the main character and plot completely changes halfway through the film. For the first part of the film, the audience follows Marion Crane (Janet Leigh). Marion is in love with Sam Loomis (John Gavin) and decides to skip town after she steals $40,000 dollars from the company she works for. She eventually arrives at the Bates Motel where she meets Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), who runs the motel for his mother. In a twist of events, Marion is killed in a dramatic shower scene, after which the story completely shifts to follow the investigation of Marion’s disappearance, as well as the mystery of Norman and his mother. This is a very experimental way of structuring a film, but worked

Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) kills Marion Crane (Janet Leigh). Marion who wanted to lead a happy family life with her boy friend Sam Loomis (John Gavin) after marriage and hence steals money and flees Phoenix and becomes a prey for the psychopath Norman Bates. Norman Bates overpowered by his dead mother’s personality kills the woman who comes in between the relationship with his mother. Norman has no other motive. Only his frustrated sexuality when he meets a woman can be the motive. As the case of a split personality syndrome Norman takes the role of his dead mother, and targets those women who come to his motel. Possessed by his mother, he dresses like her and here he slashes Marion on the shower. When Lila Crane (Vera Miles) along with Sam comes in search of

When it comes to graphic violence, the one scene that sticks out in the film is the shower murder scene. Some people like David Thomson, the author of “The Moment of Psycho: How Alfred Hitchcock Taught America to Love Murder” thought that it was one of the most violent scenes to be shot for an American film (Robb). The scene was only 45 seconds long, but the reaction to the scene was like nothing the film industry has seen before.