Robert Bloch’s portrayal of a seemingly innocent hotel owner takes a dark twist as the murder of a young woman takes place at the hotel.
Norman Bates is convinced his unstable mother was the one who murdered the guest while in the shower, as he suffers from a personality disorder and puts the blame on his deceased mother. A detective is hired to investigate the mysterious disappearance of the murdered woman, Mary Crane, as she has stolen money from her boss and fled in order to hide from her crimes. Norman answers the detective’s questions nervously, making the detective more suspicious of Norman for being a potential suspect to her disappearance.
‘Psycho’ explored the themes of the insanity of a man with a split personality disorder due to his dysfunctional relationship with his mother. He blames her for his dark thoughts, and inevitably blames her for the murder of Mary Crane. I really liked the portrayal of his insanity and how he thinks he is innocent due to his split personality. It reminds me of my favourite gothic novel ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ – both these novels both explore the themes of good versus evil. I haven’t seen the movie adaptation of the book, which I am looking forward to.