Last October, the Angelika sponsored ’Hitchcocktober,’ a contest where artists were asked to submit works of various mediums (paintings, drawings, music, short films, etc.) influenced by Alfred Hitchcock. Being the HUGE Hitch fan that I am, I decided to put together a short little 3 minute parody of Hitchcock’s original Psycho. To make a long story short, my crappy little film won the contest - but, not "officially." (Don’t ask. I’m under oath not to discuss the details.)
Psycho Vader originated from one of my college audio projects in which we had to tell a story using only music and sound effects (no dialogue). Because I wanted an audibly recognizable character, I had Darth Vader sneak up on a woman who was singing in the shower. In the audio version, all Vader does once he’s inside the bathroom is flush the toilet to make the woman scream. (It was the only way I could get bathroom humor past Russ Campbell.) The film version of Psycho Vader has a different plot twist that I won’t reveal here for those who haven’t seen it yet.
Psycho Vader originated from one of my college audio projects in which we had to tell a story using only music and sound effects (no dialogue). Because I wanted an audibly recognizable character, I had Darth Vader sneak up on a woman who was singing in the shower. In the audio version, all Vader does once he’s inside the bathroom is flush the toilet to make the woman scream. (It was the only way I could get bathroom humor past Russ Campbell.) The film version of Psycho Vader has a different plot twist that I won’t reveal here for those who haven’t seen it yet.
In the film version, I took the opening CGI text from Hitch's Psycho and updated it (except for June 16th – a nod to the original’s 1960 release date). I also used the same type of slow zoom in through an open window to introduce the main character. For the rest of the film, I just incorporated Hitch’s traditional themes and motifs (voyeurism, suspense, and mistaken identity) as well as some of his cinematography (high angle shots, elongated shadows, subjective POV, canted angles, etc.)
The only overt Hitchcock references I put in the film were the book Hilary reads at the beginning and the 2 silhouettes (white on black seen downstairs, and its visual opposite upstairs) that I painted the night before the shoot. My intent was for the paintings to be a visual clue for the audience, but I over-thought the idea as usual. Also, the binoculars in the opening shot were actually taken from Rear Window instead of Psycho. Oh, well. Only anal-retentive film geeks like me even notice stuff like that.
Anyway, that’s the background story for Psycho Vader. I hope you like my half-assed tribute to my all-time favorite director. If not, suck it.
The only overt Hitchcock references I put in the film were the book Hilary reads at the beginning and the 2 silhouettes (white on black seen downstairs, and its visual opposite upstairs) that I painted the night before the shoot. My intent was for the paintings to be a visual clue for the audience, but I over-thought the idea as usual. Also, the binoculars in the opening shot were actually taken from Rear Window instead of Psycho. Oh, well. Only anal-retentive film geeks like me even notice stuff like that.
Anyway, that’s the background story for Psycho Vader. I hope you like my half-assed tribute to my all-time favorite director. If not, suck it.
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