Psycho

Having never watched any of Hitchcock's movies, I can now see why he is aptly named the "Master of Suspense". The combination of many different cues such as the ominous music and dramatic overtones it provides to each scene, definitely makes this an excellent thriller and kept me entertained throughout the whole movie. This is easily the best detective/murder mystery movie I have seen to date, and it honestly has given me more of an interest in Hitchcock himself and the mystery film series overall. 

Getting into Psycho itself, something I would like to focus on is the creepy (but apt?) use of scary smiles by Norman. I found two instances, one at around 1:12 and one at the very end of the movie, where Norman has this demonic, almost psychotic (ha ha) look on his face. Given the events that happen in the movie, and the final revelation at the end where Norman was found to have murdered his mother all those years ago, I'm not really sure what to think about this. Could it potentially be his motherly half coming out and dominating him at these moments? Or is Norman himself really the psycho? I would interpret this probably in a slightly different manner than most would, as I believe that Norman actually is sane; it is just his mother's spirit or influence that is making him feel so crazy and psychotic. The reason I believe this is simply because, after all is said and done, at the end of the movie, the "mother" half of Norman completely takes over him and his consciousness. It is this mother half that tells the police all of the stories which they of course will believe. The whole time, when talking about the truth, the "mother" half of Norman incriminates Norman himself. But who is to say that she isn't trying to protect herself? Maybe she is psycho? This aspect itself of the movie makes it so much better; the fact that there is no definite answer to the events that occurred throughout the movie and before it took place were never settled. All we got was a possible version of truth. We did not get the actual truth. It is this very technique which, in my opinion, makes this a true mystery story and one of the best examples of how the genre should impact an audience, reel them into the story, and keep them questioning and guessing throughout the course of the film/story.