The film “Psycho” is one of the most prominent films by A. Hitchcock. The film has a profound impact on the development of the cinematography in the second half of the 20th century. In this respect, it should be said that the film produces a profound impact on the audience due to the high degree of realism, which is achieved through the skilful use of the film technique and its narrative structure. In fact, ”Psycho” is an original and very significant work because the director creates initially illusory world which gradually absorbs and involves the audience making viewers believe in the reality of the film and events depicted in the film. Moreover, the high degree of realism makes the audience a kind of participant of the films because the film unfolds the event and the story in such a way that the audience grows more and more involved in the film. In such a way, the entire film gradually increases the psychological tension erasing the impression of the illusion the audience originally has and replacing it by a highly realistic depiction of the story which practically forces the audience to believe in the realism of the evens depicted in the film to the extent that the audience can hardly keep from feeling being a participant or eyewitness of the story.

First of all, it should be said that A. Hitchcock pays a lot of attention to the psychological effect of the film and its impact on the audience. Practically from the beginning of the film, the director attempts to increase the psychological tension through the creation of a mysterious, unclear environment. In fact, the film depicts quite a strange place, a remote motel, with strange owner and his mother. In such a way, the director manages to puzzle the audience since it is quite difficult to predict what can happen next minute. The film keeps the audience in a permanent psychological tension as the events unfolds and the inability of the audience to foresee the development of the film creates an extremely realistic impression as if the film shows the real life.
To put it more precisely, the audience is puzzled because viewers cannot solve mysterious hints Hitchcock skillfully placed throughout the film. He rather indicates directions to the further development of events than explains them clearly to the audience. Such unpredictability of the film creates the impression that the film depicts the real life because people normally cannot predict what can happen in their life definitely. The lack of the definite, concrete information and facts, along with the presence of a permanently growing psychological tension contributes to the growing realism of events depicted in the film.
Furthermore, the explanation of the mystery of the motel and its owner is kept in suspense until the end of the film. In spite of the fact that the audience can hardly keep from making presuppositions concerning the further development and the end of the film, it is impossible to tell for sure the outcome of the events depicted by the director. At the same time, the further events unfold the more mysteries the audience sees. In such a way, the author uses a bit paradoxical technique: instead of explaining the mystery, Hitchcock tends to introduce more and more puzzles which increase the psychological tension and make the audience believe in the realism of the events depicted in the film.
In addition, it is worth mentioning the importance of audio-visual effects which contribute to the growth of psychological tension and realism of the film. At this point, the famous shower scene is particularly noteworthy. In fact, the scene may be viewed as a culmination of the film when the presence of a mysterious villain is eventually revealed and when the presence of the direct threat to the life of the main character is eventually revealed. This makes the audience more compassionate in relation to the main character, though it does not really solve all the puzzles and mysteries Hitchcock raised throughout the film.
The shower scene is highly realistic since the audience cannot see clear who actually attacks the character in the shower. In such a way, the audience is practically views the scene from the point of view of the victim that increases the realism of the scene dramatically. In addition, the director uses the background sound effects, such as screams and screeching violins, violas and cellos, which mirror the inner state of the victim being under the attack and struggling for the survival.
In such a way, the director attempt to influence the audience’s mind, which, according to Barthes (91), shapes the reality which is perceived through interpretation of external signs by means of human feelings and emotions, processed and evaluated in human mind. In other words, the audience perceives the reality subjectively through its senses and feelings as well as emotions, while Hitchcock influences them and creates a highly realistic impression of his film. In such a context, the use of narrative structure and film technique prove to be crucial for the realism of “Psycho”.

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