FAMOUS FILM KILLERS

Norman Bates, the shower killer

Norman Bates may not have a chainsaw, hockey-mask, or razor clawed gloves, but when he appeared in the 1960 Alfred Hitchcock classic, Psycho, the foundation was laid for movie maniacs to become the endearing part of horror movies for more than 40 years to follow.

 

Bates was in the ultimate dysfunctional relationship with his mother, who's corpse he kept dressed. Was she really talking to him, telling him to kill? Or was he just,as the title suggests, a Psycho? Audiences were shocked to see Janet Leigh killed early in the film in a shower scene that's easily the most recognizable cinematic murder of all time. From the screams, to the insane string music , to the swirl of blood going down the drain, it was something audiences had never seen. That sort of stuff always happened off screen in the past.

The slasher film was born.

Do yourself a favor and ignore the Psycho sequels, but surprisingly, the Gus Van Sant directed remake starring Vince Vaughn is pretty good, and definitely worth a look.

 

 

Alfred Hitchcock bought the rights to the Bloch novel for only $9,000, and bought up as many copies of the book as he could to keep the ending a secret. This was obviously before Harry Knowles was born.

During the shower scene, a sound effect of a knife stabbing a casaba melon was used.

Long before the Exorcist, Psycho experimented with single frame subliminal scenes, as a split second picture of a skull replaces Bates face in a final scene.

Hitchcock deliberately filmed in black and white, as he thought it would be too gory in color.

Questions:

1-What does Norman Bates wear for killing his victims?

2-Did his mother have a direct influence in his psychological behaviour?

3-Have you seen the film? Did you like it?

4-Who did you think was the suspect the first time you saw the film?

5-Is the shower scene important? Why?

6-What kind of sound did Hitchcock use during the shower scene?

7-Is there any remake of the film?