Saturday, August 21, 2010

PSYCHO (1960)


When a film has had books written soley to discuss and analyze it's subjects and themes, one feels a little unsure of what to say about this film. It's probably fair to say Psycho has been over-analyzed as a film, as many are, but the subtle touches remain.

The film opens in Phoenix, AZ on a warm December morning. The opening overview of the city is apparently designed to make you feel as though you're being watched. Suddenly we're in a hotel room where we find Marion Crane and her lover Sam Loomis (A name we'd hear again) finishing fornication. Marion is tired of life and see's no concrete future with Sam. At the same time he is paying alimony to an ex-wife whilst still paying his deceased father's debts. They just don't have enough money to break away from their unhappy lives.

That is until she is entrusted to deposit $40,000 cash by her boss. Suddenly she has a solution to her and Sam's problems. She flees the city. The change of scenery from big city to open rural area is deliberate, designed to make the viewer feel less secure. Suddenly Marion seems more vulnerable than ever as well. The music that plays as she makes her journey to the Bates Motel is mindtwisting and extremely tense. On her journey we see Marion lie her way through two situations and we watch her do so in clumsy fashion. Her guilt is obvious as is the fact she has no idea what she's gotten herself into. This allows us to feel sympathy for her.

Enter the Bates Motel. Anthony Perkins was the only big name actor chosen for this film by Hitchcock and the choice proves invaluable. The dinner conversation scene with Norman Bates and Marion Crane is superb, from design to dialogue and of course acting. Norman explains his life to Marion, and it's easy to feel akward while listening to him. Marion realizes how Norman's life is essentially a trap, one that he's gotten used to. She understands now not to become trapped and decides to return to Phoenix the next morning and straighten things out. The scene, after having the film build tension brilliantly, lowers it right away. This is apparently done to enhance the impending shock to the audience. Marion enters the shower, cleansing herself, seemingly reborn as the fresh clean water pours over her. She is a new person. Then she is attacked and killed brutally.

This first half of Psycho is an introduction to the rest of the film, however this intro is more important than what remains after Marion's death. Psycho is in many respects, an art film. Art house film if you will. The Citizen Kane of horror films. It's reputation is built on it's opening. The second half, though still grand, doesn't pack the same punch as the first. Psycho's most memorable scenes are early on. Still there are some interesting moments that merit mention.

As Norman covers up for "Mother" and pushes Marion's car into a swamp, we watch it slowly sink. Suddenly it stops, the car roof still exposed. We feel worried for Norman and the tension in that one brief moment before it continues to sink is higher than the tension in MOST films that have been made. Perhaps it's Norman's plight, his struggle which allows us to sympathize.

The Bates House apparently represents 3 stages of Psychosis or something to that effect, because it has 3 floors. That, I suppose is for the viewer to decide, but personally I think it's just a house.

The toilet being shown may be the first in a mainstream film. It certainly was the first time America got to hear a toilet flush on the big screen however....

It's interesting to consider the number of references to birds throughout the film. The film opens with a bird's eye view in the city of PHOENIX. Our main character Marion CRANE, not to mention all the stuffed birds in Norman's parlour. Was Hitchcock trying to send us a message? Like maybe what his next film was going to be about? Just a theory on my part.

As previously stated, there are many underlying themes of Psycho, far too much for one review to contain. Many of them are only interpreted and completley speculative. It's therefore not important to discuss any of them. This is a review site, not a book after all.

Psycho is truly Cinematic art, perhaps not a true film of the fantastic but more one of brutal reality. A slasher film that comes off as totally believable with no glaring flaws. We can however relate Psycho to what we consider fantastic and this art house film is one I consider essential to review. Few movies can twist one's emotions and security the way Psycho does through it's musical score, and a rare trait, as that combined with the more minor yet brilliant touches to this film places Psycho in it's own company. One of the ten best films ever made and the forerunner of so much carnage to come, Psycho is one of the most inspirational and important works of art this world has ever seen. Five Stars out of Five.

FRANKENSTEIN (1931)





Frankenstein(1931) is a film which has stood the test of time. Far better than most other films of it’s generation, there is probably no film better than this to sit down with, and spend a rainy, thundering evening eating chips and drinking tea. Even a first-time viewer can watch and feel the nostalgia. The old watch tower set is among the most famous towers seen in any movie, and by far the most memorable. Not many people mention it, but I think Colin Clive had the perfect voice for the role of Henry Frankenstein. It's too bad he was taken from us in his youthful thirties (alcohol). Though it seems impossible, the film could have looked quite different with Bela Lugosi to be the first choice to play the monster, but refused due to the uncomfortable makeup and lack of dialogue. That mistake would prove disastrous for his career while giving birth to another. Boris Karloff was given a screen-test, and created the monster that we all remember today. It was this interpretation of the Frankenstein Monster, and this make-up design by Jack Pierce that have inspired the thousands of knock-offs we have all seen. This is the definitive version of Frankenstein. No October will be complete without a viewing of this work of art of a film. The beautiful backrounds and Teutonic sets give the film it’s feel, and for some reason, it all seems part of the nostalgia.

Let's talk about staples:

- Abandoned Watchtower

- Static, decomposing labs

- Hunchbacked assistant

- Angry villagers (An angry torch weilding mob was first seen in Phantom of the Opera (1925), not villagers but angry Parisians)

- Mad, over the top Scientist

How many films of the Fantastic use these ideas? All introduced by Horror's most groundbreaking (but not best) film.


We all know the story, but in case you don’t this is a review. We begin with Edward Van Sloan introducing us to the film, warning us that it may “shock” or even "horrify" us. From there, we see Henry Frankenstein and his hunchback assistant Fritz peering into a graveyard, waiting for a funeral to end, opening up an opportunity to exhume dead bodies for their experiments. The plan to create a man in Henry’s image goes awry when Fritz steals an abnormal, criminal brain, which is of course inserted into the monster. All this, right before Henry Frankenstein is to be married. From there on the film gets more exciting from an action standpoint but I won’t reveal it for the few who have yet to see it. It is somewhat dated by today’s standards, at least as far as acting style and directoral style are concerned but somehow the style of both enhance the film. Colin Clive and Boris Karloff give two great performances, and watch out for Frederick Kerr as the Baron Frankenstein, in a comic relief scene that I believe fits in well. I recommend this back-to-back with it’s surprisingly superior sequel, Bride of Frankenstein. Buy the Frankenstein Legacy collection for around $30. Containing five films all of which are top calibre horror. Then you'll know how it feels to own the god of all DVD sets. 5 STARS OUT OF 5.