Use of sound and music in the film Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock - Research Paper Example

When music and sound are used efficiently in a movie, a certain flow that comes up that makes the movie seem to fit better. The 1960 Alfred Hitchcock horror movie ‘Psycho’ is a perfect example of movies massively relying on the process and technique of music and sound editing (Khairy 09). The ultimate aim of this context is to examine the use of sound and music in the movie Psycho. It specifically looks on how music and sound was used to convey suspense. To begin with, Alfred Hitchcock is believed to be the ‘master of suspense’ and an immense leader.

Psycho created in 1960 was one of his great movies that were one top ten of the American Film Institute’s top breathtaking films (Kolker 12). Hitchcock has a tendency of using suspense and tension to shock his audience. He achieves this through efficient use of cinematography and correct position of camera, use of movement, angles and shots. He also managed to employ scary music and lighting when he intended to shock his audience or generate suspense (Schickel and Capra 29). However, he misleads his audience to come up with shock but at least that is expected in a horror movie.

At the start of the film, Marion Crane and Sam Loom are seen in the bedroom together. This seemed to suggest that it was a love and romantic story but after stealing the money from her boss, then it is believed the genre of the movie is about crime. Nevertheless, the genre of this film was not about romance or even crime, it was a thriller where the main character died a third way through the film. That is too shocking and unexpected because she was the main character and a good person as well (Kolker 12).

Another suspense and shock came when the audience realized that Norman Bates dresses like his “mother” in women’s clothing, which comes up odd and bizarre. Besides, untrue suspense makes shocks more shocking in the sense that the audience never