Psycho: Genre and Audience

Alfred Hitchcock's famous Psycho (1960) was a great representation of the film's genre and Hitchcock's style. Psycho was Hitchcock's suspense/horror creation, further noted as a potential psychological thriller. Evidence of this sub-genre exists within the presence of a mentally unstable main character. The abundance of shadows and darkness within the scenes portray a heavy horror theme throughout the film. This low lighting creates fear and anxiety within the viewer. As someone once said, "What we fear most is the unknown"

Other works that influenced or connected to Hitchcock's Psycho could include Les Diaboliques (1955) This was another suspense thriller movie that was initially offered to Hitchcock, but ended up in the hands of Henri-Georges Clouzot. It's basically the story of an abused wife who kills her husband, only to be haunted by his reincarnation. This psychological thriller seemed to have many aspects that were incorporated into Hitchcock's Psycho. Hitchcock even decided to shoot the film in black and white, not only to maintain his own self-sufficient budget, but also seen as homage to other pre-Psycho thriller films such as Les Diaboliques, The Night of the Hunter, and Touch of Evil

Hitchcock was the director of this film. However, although Hitchcock was signed with Paramount Studios, Paramount didn't like anything about the story and said that the novel was "too repulsive" and "impossible for films". Hitchcock resorted to funding the movie through his own "Shamley Productions". Hitchcock made this because his previous production was scrapped due to a main actress having to take a maternity leave.