Trailers are an art-form, ones that have an incredibly important job in piquing your interest in the film it’s presenting. Should we have an Academy Award for trailers? Probably undoubtedly, though that’s a bigger conversation for elsewhere. In this new series, we’ll be looking at different trailers we love and why, or even how they have evolved over the course of time.
I didn’t plan to start two articles using Psycho as its inaugural entries (our look at Anthony Perkins in Roles We Love being first), it just happened by accident. I debated changing my choice here at first, but decided against it, as the trailer for Psycho is one that presents a different experience than most might be used to, essentially selling the movie in its own short film form that also works towards presenting the filmmaker in a way that we are familiar with.
Alfred Hitchcock was never shy of the camera (his long list of playful cameos goes to show), but whenever he was made to be the focal point of something, it was very much for a reason. Psycho would set the way for many films to follow, as its major plot twists were protected with full force by the director, even going so far as to do what Clouzot had in France with Les Diaboliques in France and not demanding theaters not to allow late arrivers into the screenings. So how exactly would one sell a film revolving around such a controversial topic and such major changes during its runtime?
Hitchcock had a great idea for how exactly to present the film, and without using any real footage from it at all. Running a total of about six-and-a-half minutes, we are presented to Hitch visiting various locales from the film, mostly around the set of the motel and the Bates home. He talks of the gruesome on-goings and how they… well, it’s too horrid to talk about. He repeatedly builds up to some vital information, some that make even the master of suspense and thrills shudder, but they are so upsetting that he opts not to discuss them and moves on. This keeps going until he ends up in the infamous bathroom, with one hell of an exclamation point (and not involving the original actress you would expect, a fun fact).
Even without nary a word of the “plot” as it is, we are immediately drawn in. Hitchcock always had a level of charisma to him, his way of speaking drawing you in and leaving you hanging on every word. Like mentioned prior, his sheepishness at the details draws us in as well. Here is someone who has explored a variety of thrilling topics, but here, he avoids any details as they make even him squeamish.
He gives you enough details about each set he visits to draw you in, only to stop right at the point of reaching the big “payoff”. It makes you want to know just what exactly happened, or what it is he doesn’t feel comfortable discussing from the events. It portrays the events in a sort of ‘real world’ light, working even better in piquing your curiosity.
It’s all very playful, going towards Hitchcock’s sense of humour perfectly (his delivery of the line "the bathroom" is incredible) while doing a great job at capturing our imaginations and thinking about what could have possibly happened at this motel and house.
