Mandy has never seen Psycho. She has, however, seen Hot in Cleveland, which — it turns out — quotes Psycho constantly, meaning Mandy has been unknowingly absorbing the cultural shrapnel of a movie she’d never actually watched. It’s the kind of realization that says more about the half-life of a seventy-two-minute-in shower scene than anything else could. Enter Jesse Pfister: voice actor, day trader, and a man who showed up to this recording with a wig, a suspiciously well-lit prop murder weapon, and enough notes to make Mel Gibson’s conspiracy board in Conspiracy Theory look understaffed.
What follows is somehow both a tender character defense of Norman Bates and a forensic audit of Hitchcock’s lighting choices, his taste for laxative-based practical jokes, and his opinion on a certain pop star’s music-video security protocols. There’s a real serial killer involved. There’s a fruit cellar. There is a genuinely upsetting amount of chocolate syrup standing in for blood. Press play.
Guest Highlight
Jesse Pfister, voice actor of nearly a decade, day trader, and regular host on the Trade the Pool YouTube channel, where he covers market analysis and trading strategy. Formerly co-hosted the Love of Life podcast (currently on hiatus).
- Trade the Pool: https://tradethepool.com/
- Instagram: @JesseFister
Films & Shows Discussed
- Psycho (1960): https://letterboxd.com/film/psycho/
- Psycho (1998 remake, dir. Gus Van Sant): https://letterboxd.com/film/psycho–1998/
- The Godfather: https://letterboxd.com/film/the-godfather/
- Jaws: https://letterboxd.com/film/jaws/
- Hot in Cleveland: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_in_Cleveland
- Rear Window: https://letterboxd.com/film/rear-window/
- Dial M for Murder: https://letterboxd.com/film/dial-m-for-murder/
- Rope (1948): https://letterboxd.com/film/rope/
- North by Northwest: https://letterboxd.com/film/north-by-northwest/
- Charade (1963, dir. Stanley Donen): https://letterboxd.com/film/charade/
- Hitchcock (2012, dir. Sacha Gervasi): https://letterboxd.com/film/hitchcock/
- The Babadook: https://letterboxd.com/film/the-babadook/
- Diabolique (1955): https://letterboxd.com/film/diabolique/
- National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983): https://letterboxd.com/film/national-lampoons-vacation/
- The Maltese Falcon: https://letterboxd.com/film/the-maltese-falcon/
- Taxi Driver: https://letterboxd.com/film/taxi-driver/
- Raging Bull: https://letterboxd.com/film/raging-bull/
People Mentioned
- Alfred Hitchcock: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Hitchcock
- Robert Bloch (author of the novel Psycho): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Bloch
- Joseph Stefano (screenwriter): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stefano
- Anthony Perkins: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Perkins
- Janet Leigh: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_Leigh
- Vera Miles: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vera_Miles
- Martin Balsam (played Detective Arbogast): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Balsam
- Bernard Herrmann (composer): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Herrmann
- Ed Gein: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Gein
- Grace Kelly: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Kelly
- Cary Grant: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cary_Grant
- Eva Marie Saint: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eva_Marie_Saint
- Ingrid Bergman: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingrid_Bergman
- Anthony Hopkins: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Hopkins
- Vince Vaughn: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vince_Vaughn
- Stanley Donen (director): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Donen
- Patricia Hitchcock (played Caroline): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patricia_Hitchcock
- Taylor Swift: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taylor_Swift
Music
- Taylor Swift, “The Fate of Ophelia”: https://music.youtube.com/search?q=The+Fate+of+Ophelia+Taylor+Swift
