Alfred Hitchcock has always been known as the master of suspense, but many fans of his movies have long thought of him to also be a master of black humor. Psycho is considered by many to be his quintessential black humor film. At first glance critics and people alike thought it gruesome and disgusting, but upon second viewings the true meanings of each scene were coming out. People would find themselves laughing at odd events that people would normally not laugh at. This is black humor at its best, used to express the absurdity and cruelty of the modern world, and used by Hitchcock repeatedly to get viewers to think.
Even from the beginning Hitchcock considered Psycho to be an experiment. It was an obvious departure from his normal, sophisticated, suspense film. He even went so far as to call Psycho his “little joke”. Even before the movie is made his sens
Throughout the movie itself there are numerous moments where the viewer finds themselves laughing. Consider one of the beginning scenes with Marion driving out of the city with her stolen money. She has lied to her boss and told him she needs to go home and rest because of a bad headache. Instead she decides to run away with the forty-thousand dollars in her possession. As the scene develops Marion is seen to be very nervous. When she stops at a red light her boss strolls across the street and sees her in the car. It is just hilarious to think that this simple, good girl is running away with that much money only to be spotted by her boss just a few minutes into her getaway.
Hitchcock prides himself on his originality and his creativity. He uses these profound talents to bring the people thought provoking, complex films. Although these films may be suspenseful and scary they may also inclu