Psycho II
the sun, which now shines in a luminescent shade of gold, rises over the old and quiet house. all is good, it’s a new day after all.
one theme i’ve always been fascinated with in film, specifically horror, is the idea of returning. returning back to a place once full of life, or evil, now lined with cobwebs and coated in dust. returning back to a place that is now haunted by the ghosts of the past. returning to the madness you tried so hard to suppress. 352
and when it’s something so iconic as the bates motel, it feels as though we are arriving at a landmark once only seen in colourless photos where, now, in the light we are able to uncover its secrets.
essentially functioning as a deconstruction of the genre as a whole, it’s it’s devastating in a way few horror movies are. turning a mirror onto the audience, asking the question “why are you rooting for the killer?”, not just for the victim’s sake, but for the killer himself. where the handle of a knife in his hand feels as painful as the blade in your chest. the feeling of dread lingering not for the actual event of the kills, but for norman who will succumb to the archetypes of the genre that he thought he had finally escaped.
as the sun sets, the neon sign, which now glows red and blue, lights up once again. rooms available, come stay a while. 133