THE TRILOGY OF NORMAN BATES

The shocking true story of killer Ed Gein inspired Robert Bloch to create the iconic character of schizophrenic serial killer Norman Bates. By building off aspects of Gein’s childhood and twisting them he was able to tell a very unique and terrifying story that has since captivated audiences for decades. That story would be turned into one of the most beloved and influential horror movies of all time; Alfred Hitchcock’s groundbreaking macabre masterpiece Psycho. The impact Psycho had on the film industry is immeasurable; it broke ground in terms of how movies were made, how much creative control a director has on the finished product and how films are marketed to the viewing public. Hitchcock made many controversial choices that almost prevented his movie from being made or distributed. Hitchcock insisted on adding a scene where the audience not only sees a toilet on screen for the first time but the main character flushes it, he fought for the use of the word transvestite to be used knowing that may critics would oppose a decision that almost prevented the movie’s release completely and finally when the movie was played in theaters Hitchcock demanded that theater owners not admit anyone after the movie started in order to preserve the surprise ending. With all of these methods and controversy people swarmed to their local theater to see what all of the buzz was about. Psycho also created a whole new movie genre, the slasher movie. A slasher movie is a film where audiences see the killer murdering their victim with a phallic weapon, usually a knife or blade of some kind. Other classic slasher movies include John Carpenters masterpiece Halloween, Wes Craven’s iconic A Nightmare on Elm Street and Sean Cunningham’s legendary Friday the Thirteenth; just to name a few. Since its release, Psycho has come to be regarded as one of the best horror movies ever made by both fans and critics alike. Despite all the success that is attributed to Alfred Hitchcock’s bold decision making and creative genius, the core reason people loved the movie was Bloch’s story; the story of Norman Bates.

Psycho tells the story of lonely middle aged motel owner Norman Bates; whose childhood and relationship with his overbearing religiously fanatical mother lead him to have a defect in how he processed his feelings towards woman that would eventually lead him to kill. The most important woman in Norman’s young life was his mother; the two were unusually close for a mother and son relationship, living as if they were the only people in the world. The two lived in emotional isolation until his mother got a new man in her life, replacing her son as most important in her life. Norman was unable to handle the rejection, so he killed the couple by poisoning them with strychnine. After the crime he was ridden with guilt and unable to live with what he had done, so he did everything to “erase” the crime from his mind. He developed dissociative identity disorder, or multiple personality disorder, and started becoming his mother himself. He dressed in her clothes, talked to himself in her voice and maintained her corpse so she would be there physically; all in an attempt to create the illusion that she was still alive. Norman was able to hide this deviant behavior, as well as the crime itself, as no one seemed to pay attention to the lonely hermit motel owner. Bates stayed under the public’s radar until a beautiful blonde woman named Marion Crane checked in to the Bates motel. Crane was on the run for stealing money from work to start a new life with her severely in debt boyfriend. She met Bates who became strongly attracted to her, which made the “mother” personality he had extremely jealous. This jealously would lead to him/ her to murder the unsuspecting young woman while she was in the most venerable of places, the shower. Unlike his previous crimes, Bates would be found out when Crane’s sister Lila, boyfriend Sam and private investigator Milton Arbogast came looking for her; Arbogast would also be killed by “mother”. They were hoping to find the lost and troubled Marion; they instead found a shocking truth no one could imagine. It was revealed that “…Bates was now a multiple personality with at least three facets. There was Norman, the little boy needed his mother and hated anything or anyone who came between him and her. Then, Norma, the mother, who could not be allowed to die. The third aspect might be called Normal- the adult Norman Bates, who had to go through the daily routine of living, and concealing the existence of the other personalities from the world. Of course, the three weren’t entirely distinct entities, and each contained elements of the other. Dr. Steiner called it an ‘unholy trinity.” (A psychologist’s description of Norman in Robert Bloch’s book, which was used to clear up all confusion about the crime).

With any movie adaption, aspects of the characters and the story have to be adjusted to fit the new medium of storytelling, and this case would be no different. What is unique however, the book Psycho would be made into two not so different movies; Alfred Hitchcock’s original version and Gus Van Sant’s remake. The two movies are extremely similar; the scripts are virtually the same (almost word for word) and the remake was made almost shoot for shoot the same as the original with only a few artistic differences. The main difference between the two movies is the actor’s portrayal of lead character Norman Bates. Anthony Perkins, who in the minds of fans will always be remembered as Norman, was the first to take on the task of brining Bates to life, and later there was the unexpected choice of usual funny man Vince Vaughn. (There was also a sequel in Psycho movie series and a currently airing television show both portraying a young Norman, but those will not be addressed in this article). Both actors brought a different take on the role, both were different from the book, and each made the role his own.

The book was overall more baleful and macabre than either movie; which may be hard to imagine. The book’s version of Norman was more aggressive, dangerous and outwardly disturbed than either of the movie versions. Even the book’s version of victim Marion Crane was more sinister than the movies; in the book Crane was an un-empathic criminal who relished in her crime. What the film makers did was tone down most of the unappetizing character traits to make them more palatable for movie goers. Hitchcock was unrelenting about having an actor who was visually wholesome and physically attractive play Norman, so audiences would not be instantly turned off by him. This line of thinking was carried on by Van Sant. This method of casting helped audiences identify, almost sympathize, with him and extend the suspension of belief just long enough to fool them until the surprise ending. The infamous shower scene was also changed for that reason. The book’s scene was far more brutal and ended with Crane being decapitated; an act that would not have been acceptable in 1960 cinema. Bloch’s Norman had more courage than the movie’s as well; he stood up to “mother” more fiercely, he brought the attractive Crane into the home he and his mother shared for dinner where as in both movies they ate in the parlor of the motel office and he became more defensive of his mother when it was suggested that he put her some place. There were also shades of Bloch’s Norman being more disturbed than the movie’s versions lead on. The book’s version had him addressing his past, revealing that he resented the man his mother was with to the point where he would not allow her to marry him; this was a fact that he claimed to feel guilty about and is most likely where the already existing disconnect from reality turned violent. Also he had several plans to lie to the police or any other visitors he knew would come looking for Marion; this was a sign of his criminal intelligence and is an example of how he can manipulate others around him. This trait could possibly explain how he was able to get away with the murder of his mother and her boyfriend for so long. With all of these factors, it is obvious that Bloch’s Norman was the most lawless of the three, and therefore it may be a possibility that he created the other personalities as a “gang” or type of support group for himself that could aid and enable him to commit crimes in the future. It could be argued that this version was most in control of his actions and most aware of his surrounding and crimes, making a true mental illness (aside from the ability to commit murder) less likely or less severe than the others.

Anthony Perkins played the violent and disturbed Norman with a childlike demeanor about him. Overall he seemed to be the most peaceful and passive of the three portrayals; as hard as that may be to believe. It would not be until the sensitive subject of placing his beloved mother some place that the viewer starts to see that there might be something off about the seemingly charming motel owner. It is almost like a character switch was turned on, and then turned it back off just as quickly. This scene is a perfect example of how Perkins brilliantly demonstrated the extreme differences in the personalities; the childlike Norman to the over baring-abusive Norma with the average Normal in between. Another scene that demonstrates Perkins supreme talent is when Norman discovers the body of Marion and instantly changes into the eager to please child-like persona, who struggles with right and wrong but ends up trying to help hide his mother’s crimes. In that single moment one can see the transformation occur in front of their own eyes; there is a wide spectrum of distinctive dispositions. Perkins was able to switch in between Norman/Norma/ and Normal instantly and with such severity that it is easy to believe that there were three people inside of one man’s body; a talent that is not as evident in the other two versions (provided one is a literary medium). Of all the three, Perkins does the best at expressing the “Trilogy of Bates”. One thing that the book and Perkins portrayal shared, that was absent from Vaughn’s version, was how disgusted the child-like Norman became watching Marion undress and enter the shower. In the book he was outwardly disgusted at the display calling her a whore amongst other things (a line of thinking he got from mother no doubt). Perkins would not take it that far, but is still repulsed by it. With all of the evidence and character traits presented, it is obvious that Perkins’s version was the most mentally disturbed in terms of having what one would call multiple personalities. Dissociative Identity Disorder, commonly referred to as having multiple personalities, is a mental process which produces a lack of connection in a person’s thoughts, memories, feelings, actions, or sense of identity. It is brought on by an experience that’s too violent, traumatic, or painful so it becomes a coping mechanism (WebMD.com).With that definition, it can be argued that the self-inflicted trauma of knowing he killed his own mother and her boyfriend may have been enough to cause the thin thread of sanity to break and the only way to fix it was to create a whole new one by believing she was not really dead.

Vince Vaughn took on the almost impossible task of playing a true icon of horror in a remake that some argued did not need to be made. Despite the skepticism of critics, Vaughn was successful in putting a new spin on the role even while using the same words as Perkins. Vaughn veered away from childlike persona that Perkins used and opted to play the role with a more deviant twist. His mannerisms instantly indicate that he is dangerous and disturbed unlike the inviting Perkins; in that regard Vaughn played Norman closer to the books version. One sign of deviant behavior that Vaughn demonstrated that is unique from the others is in the scene where he watches the young woman undress and becomes aroused to such a degree that he masturbates, as opposed to becoming angry like the others did. The first visual sign of him being potentially dangerous is when he goes to hand the young woman her room key; he selects one then reconsiders and hands her a different key. With that, one can see plots and ideas forming in his head. Vaughn also elected to play the role with an apparent mental disorder of some kind. From the first time you hear Vaughn speak you can tell there is something off about him, like he is disconnected from the world and unable to process “normal” situations. A mental disorder of some kind is rapidly apparent; it is however difficult to label what exactly is wrong with him. Vaughn’s portrayal is very close to the inspiration of the character, real life serial killer Ed Gein in terms of having a mental disorder. Perhaps this Norman was developmentally slow just like Gein was. Overall Vince’s Norman was creepier, visually off putting and did not have the boyish charm that Anthony Perkins had. Also the three dispositions that dwelled inside of Bates were not as distinct in Vaughn’s performance. There was not much difference between the “boy” Norman and the adult male “Normal”. It is not as easy to tell that there are different people simultaneously inside of one man’s body. With that being said, it can be argued that his version was less likely to have Dissociative Identity Disorder. If he did have a mental disorder that caused him to converse with a trilogy of dispositions that were in his head, I would have to say that it would be schizophrenia as opposed to having multiple personalities. Being schizophrenic is extremely close to having multiple personalities with two giant differences; the severity of personalities and the connection that person has with reality and the world around them. Someone who suffers from schizophrenia thinks or believes things with no basis in reality, hallucinations (WebMD.com) as opposed to having distinct personalities that they switch back and forth from. The fact that the three are not as strong indicates that they might be hallucinations as opposed to a completely different personality. Both disorders are believed to be caused by trauma, usually during childhood, so the murder of his mother and her lover may still be when he disconnected from reality.

What is truly terrifying about Norman Bates is that he could be the guy next door. There is nothing unique about his appearance or abilities. He is not a zombie or an alien or monster from another planet, he was not cursed and does not have magical powers and he does not have super human strength. He was a seemingly average motel owner who looked no different from any one else. And if that was not enough we know that he was based off of a real person further adding to the terror. There were so many reasons why Psycho could have failed, fortunately it did not and we have a horror masterpiece to cherish. Aside from the brilliant writing of Robert Bloch, a large part of the success of the movie is the bold choices made by Anthony Perkins and Vince Vaughn, who both gave us something to be scared of. Despite the actors making drastically different choices of how Norman Bates should be played, both were successful in creating something original and horrifying.