Psycho

Alfred Hitchcock's powerful, complex psychological thriller, Psycho is the "mother" of all modern horror suspense films it single handedly ushered in an era of inferior screen 'slashers' with blood-letting and graphic, shocking killings with a transvestite killer and shower scene. While this was Hitchcock's first real horror film, he was mistakenly labeled as a horror film director ever since.

 So, why does Marion come from Phoenix, and is her last name Crane? Why does Norman keep a stuffed owl in his office, or is Marion’s room full of pictures of songbirds? Why while watching her peck at a sandwich, does Norman observe, fondly, “You eat like a bird”? I believe Hitchcock is trying to tell us that birds are odd, unknowable creatures, moving in masses and by instinct. And they are just as likely to fly into their own death as away from it, singing merrily all the time. And why does Hitchcock’s camera so often capture his characters in two-shots, facing each other in matching profiles? The names Marion and Norman even look a little alike just as Sam resembles a slightly buffed-up Norman. And actual mirrors are everywhere, constantly surprising the characters with unexpected reflections. Is it just the movie’s way of teasing out its theme of multiple personalities? Or is it suggesting that all of us shelter secret selves?