10 Big Horror Movie Reveals You Can Spot Early (If You Really Look)
8. Psycho - Norma Is A Stuffed Bird
Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho is not just an all-time great horror picture, it's one of the greatest films in the history of cinema, period.
Throughout the 109-minute run time of Hitch's 1960 offering, the legendary director utilises the imagery of birds as a subtle motif for certain themes. The film also uses birds to slyly hint at the jaw-dropping reveal that Norman Bates' mother has been dead throughout the entire movie.
As Anthony Perkins' Norman sits chatting to the unsuspecting Marion Crane, he quells any concerns about his intense ma by informing Janet Leigh's character that his mother is as harmless as one of the stuffed birds on his office wall.
Right there and then, Bates is giving a verbal wink that Norma is a deceased, dressed up shell of her once-alive self.
Additionally, the songbirds seen dotted around Marion position her as prey for something bigger and badder. And that bigger and badder? That's similarly indicated by Norman being framed by both peaceful and predatory birds during this scene - showing the duelling personalities of the Norman Bates character.