Blog Post #2 - Psycho: Mystery Thriller or Suspense Thriller?

A. Hitchcock's Psycho - Mystery Thriller or Suspense Thriller?

Yoo Hyung Justina Lee

Blog Post #2 

 According to Rick Altman, genres can be as complicated and detailed as they can be. He states that “a fresh cycle may be initiated by attaching a new adjective to an existing noun genre, with the adjective standing for some recognizable location, plot type, or other differentiation factor” (Altman 65). In other words, genres are not fixed categories, but can be characterized in such a way to describe the depth of which specific area the genre belongs to. For example, horror movies in this sense can be specified in a variety of ways such as ‘political thrillers’, ‘mystery thrillers’ or ‘suspense thrillers’. The difference between a ‘mystery thriller’ and a ‘suspense thriller’ is especially notable. Conventionally, films characterized as ‘mystery thrillers’ consist of pursuits of ‘who’ did what for ‘which purpose’, whereas ‘suspense thrillers’ first reveal the crime and tracks the villain’s course of actions throughout the film. (Bransford) Following the categorization of the genre terms, ‘suspense’ would be the strategy and ‘thriller’ would be the genre. 

Director Alfred Hitchcock has been hailed as the maestro of the ‘suspense thriller’ genre. Particularly in his movie, Psycho (1960), the genre taxonomy becomes much more interesting, due to the movie’s deviation from the traditional genre classification. Psycho’s opening scene begins with a couple having an affair in the bright afternoon.  Contradicting the usual notion of thriller movies taking place in dark scenarios, the pleasant scene only adds to the surprise audiences face when the actual crime happens. Another aspect of the film that is contrary to the norm of thriller genres is the arrangement. The film is divided into two parts: one focusing on Marion’s escape with $40,000, and the second focusing on the story following Marion’s murder. Initially, it is difficult to view the first portion of the movie as a thriller; however, the sudden change in atmosphere turns the film into a dark and scary after the appearance of the knife and blood.

With various plot twists containing both mystery and suspense aspects, it is quite difficult to determine whether the movie is clearly a “suspense thriller” or a “mystery thriller.” Keeping the identity of the murderer mysterious, his or her face is not revealed until the end of the movie, but only the silhouette of a female figure is shown for the audiences to ponder upon. Constantly leaving the audience in suspense, the movie only shows Norman throughout the movie, suggesting that he is the only possible villain in the movie. After the death of Norman's mother is unveiled, the audience enters a state of total confusion of whether to still follow the villain as Norman or to criminalize a different character.
            Through the use of suspense and mystery, Hitchcock is able to illustrate the vast world of the thriller genre in Psycho. Showing that genres are not static but dynamic and malleable in nature, Psycho and other thrillers are not restricted to one specific category or area in film.

Work Cited

Altman, Rick. Film/Genre. London: BFI Pub, 1999. Print.

Bransford, Nathan. "The Difference Between Mysteries, Suspense and Thrillers." Nathan

Bransford, Author. 1 Oct. 2008. Web. 2 Oct. 2014. <http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2008/10/difference-between-mysteries-suspense.html>.