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THE HITCHCOCK GUIDE TO A GOOD SCARE
Take a break from gore-filled horror films such as Hostel and Saw this Halloween season and watch a classic suspense thriller from Alfred Hitchcock instead. // SARAH BLUVAS
Photo illustration by Jerry Wang
Photo illustration by Jerry Wang Psycho killer: Alfred Hitchcock's suspenseful films from the 1940s, '60s and '80s, such as 1960's iconic psychological thriller Psycho, have become horror classics
If you're looking for a great horror flick to watch in theaters this Halloween, your choices are severely limited. Sure, Jennifer's Body might boast a half-naked Megan Fox, but why not try something a little less gimmicky when you're in the mood for a scare?
Alfred Hitchcock, the legendary British filmmaker who began making Hollywood films in 1939, made more than 50 films in a career that spanned six decades. Films such as Rear Window (1954), Verrigo (1958) and Psycho (1960) earned he nickname "the King of Suspense," a title he rightly deserves for all the nail-biting scenes he's created on film. True, Hitchcock's films fall more into the "suspense-thriller" category rather than horror, but his flicks will definitely leave you with an unsettling feeling after you watch them. So rather than shell out $8 for the umpleenth installment of Saw, choose a Hitchcock film to get in the Halloween spirit.
THINGS WILL PROBABLY GET A LITTLE TENSE
Hitchcock had a knack for creating psychological tension in his films. In Notorious (1946), for instance, tension builds between Claude Rains, who plays a Nazi, and Ingrid Bergman, who plays his wife, when Rains discovers his wife is spying on him. The tension keeps viewers on the edge of their seat. "It's the feeling that the audience knows
something the characters don't," says Kristen Soper, a Liberty Hall employee who has watched many of Hitchcock's lesser-known films.
IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR BLOOD AND GUTS, YOU WON'T FIND IT HERE
Hitchcock's films rely on sophisticated cinematography rather than unrealistic gore to shock the viewer. In fact, Hitchcock actually pioneered many film innovations, says Ryan Schirmer, Barrington senior and film buff who gravitates toward Hitchcock's technological suspense. For example, Rope (1948) appears to be shot entirely in one take but was actually done in ten, an editing feat for Hitchcock. However, not all of his films use complex film tricks to create suspense. Something as simple as showing Norman Bates' shadow through a shower curtain in Psycho (1960) is enough to chill the viewer.
IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU, TOO
In North by Northwest (1959), Cary Grant plays an advertising executive who goes on the lam after being mistaken for a government agent. As with many of Hitchcock's films, North by Northwest takes an ordinary character and throws him or her into extraordinary circumstances. "Hitchcock took ordinary situations — like going to a hotel
—and makes the story relatable," says Eric Baker, Derby senior majoring in film. "But something's just a bit off. That's what makes it so creepy."
DON'T BE FOOLED BY THE ANTIHERO
Hitchcock also had a knack for creating likable criminals. We like these psychopaths because they aren't the typical villains; they're charming rather than standoffish, and they, like the main
characters, seem ordinary, says Maggie Allen, Liberty Hall's resident Hitchcock expert. Despite the murderous tendencies of Robert Walker as Bruno in Strangers on a Train (1951), for example, we grow to like the psychotic mama's boy, even after he kills tennis star Guy Haines' wife and threatens to frame Haines for the murder.
Now that you know more about Hitchcock's films, try one of these suggestions from students and Liberty Hall employees.
>> SHADOW OF A DOUBT (1943)
What's it about?
When her Uncle Chatlie comes to visit, Charlotte "Charlie" Newton, played by Teresa Wright, discovers he may not be the man he says he is.
Why should you watch it?
Made during World War II, Shadow of a Doubt contradicted ideas of evil, turning them into something ordinary. "People had this idea that evil was something faraway during World War II," says Eric Baker, Derby senior majoring in film. "But Hitchcock shows that there's still evil here at home."
>> THE 39 STEPS (1935)
Man meets woman. Woman is being hunted by secret agents. Woman is murdered. Man is accused of murdering woman by mysterious blonde and must go on the run across Scotland.
What's it about?
One of Hitchcock's early British films, The 39 Steps had a lot of film noir elements before film noir was any good, says Maggie Allen, Liberty Hall's resident Hitchcook expert. The mysterious characters and the shadowy atmosphere add to the suspense in this thriller, which was named fourth on the British Film Institute's poll of best British films in 1999.
>> STRANGERS ON A TRAIN (1951)
Why should you watch it?
What's it about?
Guy Haines meets Bruno Anthony on a train from Washington, D.C., to New York, and each agrees to swap crimes: Bruno will kill Guy's wife, Guy will kill Bruno's father and both men will walk away clean. Stepping off the train in New York, Guy never dreams that Bruno will take him seriously.
Why should you watch it?
Like Shadow of a Doubt and other Hitchcock films.
Strangers on a Train presents twisted characters in a normal setting. Guy Haines, played by Farley Granger, is just a wrongly accused man trying to prove his innocence while trying to fight a mad man, says Ryan Schirmer, Barrington senior.
> THE BIRDS (1963)
What's it about?
A quiet weekend in a small coastal California town turns into a frenzy as swarms of birds attack the townspeople for no reason at all.
Why should you watch it?
Why should you watch it?
One of Hitchcock's most famous films, The Birds is actually more complex than it looks. Baker says. If you were to read the plot description, the film wouldn't seem like much; however. Hitcheck manages to take something that no one would think is scary — birds — and make a truly terrifying film.
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