Psycho begins by featuring Marion, a young woman who has stolen money and is on the run. However, halfway through the film Marion is murdered by Norman Bates and viewers begin to follow Bates while he is investigated for her murder. Hitchcock introduces the theme of sexuality early on in the film, when we see Marion in bed with her lover. Although this opening scene adds a positive light to sexuality through the film, Hitchcock quickly darkens the motif. By the conclusion of the film it is evident that sexual appeal was the driving force behind Marion’s murder. By sexualizing and objectifying Marion, Hitchcock is able to create a meek quality about the leading lady. This meekness makes the transition of her death not only bearable, but predictable. Bates views Marion as a sexual distractyion, someone who will bring about jealously from the other woman in his life, his mom. Unfortunately, women in this film tend to be characterized as emotional and are highly objectified. 

Another theme throughout Hitchcock’s Psycho is taxidermy, more specifically, the blank stare associated with eyes of dead things. As specific as this theme might sound, Hitchcock incorporates a plethora of close up shots in the film, which focus on the character’s eye. When Marion first meets Bates at his hotel, Bates is set against a backdrop of dead animals hung on his walls. The eyes of the animals seem to stare into the souls of the viewer, thus creating the unnerving affect Hitchcock desired for the scene. Another famous eye shot is the last time viewers see Bates. Bates sits in a cold cell wrapped in a blanket. The blanket, wrapped like a shawl reminds readers that Bates is his mother, through the simple femininity in the way Bates warms up. The camera slowly pans deeper into his eyes, creating a depth in the shot which contrasts the beady, falseness of Bate’s stare. This final, unnerving look at a psychotic Bates helps end the film with the necessary instilled fear of any good horror movie.

Overall, Psycho conjoins film technique, underlying themes, and much more to create a suspenseful horror. Although parts of the film felt predictable, Hitchcock’s cinematic genius threw viewers for a loop with every scene. There was not a single moment of the film where tensions were not unbearable, almost as if being mocked by the impending question of a conclusion. The film concludes on a cliffhanger, as Marion’s body is found and Bates awaits trial. This cliffhanger instills a suspense in the viewer long after the film is over, as all of the best thrillers do.