Psycho

This shot from the film really represents thriller. It's a medium close up, straight angle and the character is very central. The character is blacked out with their right arm raised above their head. We can see in the background the outline of the door. It is a black and white shot. The lighting in this scene was articficial.

The character raising their hand in the air demonstrates that they are about to stab someone. It's a very threatening position.The character all blacked out hides the expression on the character's face and also means that we can't really see who the murderer is, which adds to the sense of mystery. The shape of the character's head gives the audience a clue that it's a women as it looks like the character is wearing a wig. The shot is distorted with grey streaks which add to the effect of mystery and makes the shot look really old. In this shot the audience is positioned directly in front of the character which would be the position of the victim, which would mean the victim had a chance to look at their killer.

I found Psycho quite interesting, it was full of suspense and mystery. The setting of a derelict looking mansion and a rarely used motel was excellent. It added to the atmosphere of the film, it added to the thriller effect. The death scene with young girl wasn't as good as it could have been, I think the acting was a little melodramatic and the stabbing took too much time. The most thrilling part was seeing Bates' mother in the fruit cellar and realising that Bates' really was the killer!! The psychological aspect of the film also added to the thrill felt in the audience. The film at the beginning seemed really predictable but the psychological twist changed that and the ending was very unexpected, it made the Bates character seem even more deranged and twisted. It's almost incomprehensible to understand that the Bates character was two people, his mother and himself.