Chapter Seven
Tippi’s Takes Presents:
What Hitch Taught Me About Life
An exploration of life and cinema from the viral sensation
by Tippi Rathbone
Chapter Seven
Psycho (1960): Expect the Unexpected
Arguably one of horror’s greatest cinematic achievements, and undoubtedly the director’s biggest success, is Psycho.
The drama starts when Marion Crane decides to steal from her employer and skip town.
Along her journey to the Bates Motel, Marion tries to predict the drama unfolding—how her lover will react to what she’s done, the possible legal implications imposed by her employer—speaking to a person’s tendency to overthink, sometimes rightfully so.
And yet none of those alarm bells begin to ring when she encounters Bates and (whom she believes to be) his overbearing mother.
The “psycho” of the film (arguably, that is), Norman Bates, even resembles Marion’s love interest, reminding audiences that there’s often a fine line between charming and creepy, passion and insanity.
(It should also be noted that Marion’s love interest has plenty of red flags of his own, a pile full of debt and one failed marriage under his belt, to name a few.)
From its sultry opening scene to the twisty climax, Psycho gave contemporary audiences shocks they didn’t anticipate.
Even if they thought they knew what was coming, those expectations soon went out the window when the film’s biggest star, Janet Leigh, perished in the iconic shower scene within the first forty-five minutes of the film.
For this reason and many others, my primary takeaway from Psycho is to expect the unexpected.
There’s no telling what might come next in life, but with Hitch behind the cameras, it’s sure to be a thrilling ride.