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Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho has been commended for forming the basis for all horror films that followed its 1960 release. It terrified audiences in 1960, and surprisingly, still holds up very well today. The characters in Psycho seem to be connected by a sense of spit personality and the presence of conscience. It is these character parallels that Hitchcock uses to convey his theme of "good vs. evil" in Psycho. It is with Marion's character that Hitchcock first …

…necessary for the audience of the time. "The fear that Psycho creates for the audience does not arise from the brutality of the murders but from the identification with the film's characters who all reflect one side of a collective character."(Hitchcock 126) The effective use of character parallels allows Hitchcock to stimulate terror through his theme. Hitchcock's brilliance as a director has consolidated Psycho's place among the most reputable and profound horror films ever made.