Analysis of Pshychological thriller films- Pyscho

Film title: Psycho.
Year: 1960.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock.

Representation:

• Females as the protagonist and also the antagonist are both of the female gender.
• The mentally ill, the antagonist seems to have mental health issues.
• The elderly, the antagonist is an elderly woman, a mother.
• The lower class, the motel which provides the setting is very run down and these are the conditions in which the antagonist and her son live in.

Mise-En-Scene:

• The colour in this film is black and white due to the time period in which it was made.
• The key props used are a shower curtain at the very start of the opening trailer and a knife that is shown at the start of the trailer also, this knife is what the antagonist uses to kill the protagonist with.
• The main  setting of the film is at a motel in America. It is a stereotypical shack which adds to the 'haunted house' effect that is shown in most psycho thrillers.
• Most of the characters in the trailer for this film have very slouched postures which could show their anxiety or tension but also the fact that the protagonist does not know what is going to happen to her therefore she feels slightly relaxed in the presence of the male owner of the motel.
• The lighting throughout the film is very dark which is a typical element used in the genre of this movie.

Use of camera:

• The camera seems to have a very slow movement at the start of the trailer due to the black outs between shots. This adds suspense to the film as every time a black screen comes on the setting changes, leading closer to the initial attack which the audience is expecting.
• There is also a tracking shot during the trailer where the camera follows the antagonist before the brutal action is about to occur.
• There are many close up shots throughout the trailer which emphasise the protagonists emotions. This means that the audience begins to feel the same way in which the protagonist is feeling, they feel a connection with her.
• An extreme close up shot is used when the antagonist is looking through the hole in the door into the hotel room where the protagonist is staying.
• Low angle shots are a common angle to use within  psycho thriller films due to the fact that they are often focused on the protagonist to make them seem powerless. This angle is used on the protagonist and the main male character in this film.
• An over the shoulder shot is used with the protagonist in the frame when she is having a conversation with the male, little does she know that this conversation could be the reason she dies.

Sound:

• The sound consists of one continuous beat which plays at a very quick pace to keep up with the actions that are beginning to occur within the film.
• The sound is extremely high pitched and screechy which is common in this genre. This builds suspense during the trailer as it speeds up throughout it and seems to change pitches depending on who is being shown on screen.

There is unrestricted narration used in this film with the addition of a high pitched spooky sound effect which reflects the antagonists voice at the end.