Hitchcock's Villains: Murderers, Maniacs, and Mother Issues

Written by Eric San Juan and Jim McDevitt, Hitchcock’s Villains does exactly what its title suggests. It’s a wonderfully compelling little read, particularly if you’re a fan of the subject matter, that closely explores some of Hitchcock’s most celebrated villains (and of a few of his underappreciated ones too) as well as Hitch’s obsession with the villainy of ideas, evil mothers, politics and ideologies, cruel women and opportunistic men, and antagonistic heroes. What is more, each chapter has a brief paragraph about Hitchcock in relation to his villains, whether they represent a part of his psyche, are manifestations of some hidden fantasy, or if they are men that Hitch secretly wanted to be. A phenomenally easy read, especially if you’re a massive Hitchcock fan like myself, Hitchcock’s Villains is a great book that you’ll just power through! 

From the cold charisma of Phillip Vandamm to the boyish charm and awkwardness of Norman Bates, Hitchcock’s villain canon is a vibrant, enchanting, repulsive, and frightening collection of murderers, maniacs, and mother issues. Exploring the most celebrated villains including Karl Anton Verloc (Sabotage), Uncle Charlie (Shadow of a Doubt), Alexander Sebastian (Notorious), Brandon Shaw and Phillip Morgan (Rope), Bruno Anthony (Strangers on a Train), John “Scottie” Ferguson (Vertigo), Phillip Vandamm (North By Northwest), Norman Bates (Psycho), and Bob Rusk (Frenzy), as well as taking a look at the relationships between Hitchcock and his villains, authority figures as villains, the villainy of ideas, villainous mothers, villains as innocents, the villainy of non-villains, and cruel women and opportunistic men, Hitchcock’s Villains: Murderers, Maniacs, and Mother Issues is a wonderful book that covers all the areas that make Hitchcock’s movies the brilliant and celebrates works of art they are! 

This is a very easy piece of non-fiction to read, written with a part academic, part conversationalist voice. It can, in fact, be read as the ultimate essay with an introductory chapter setting out the goals of the forthcoming chapters. Whilst there is a lack of a conclusion, the aims of the book are nonetheless achieved, as it provides a new reading and understanding of some of these classic evil characters of cinema. Between discussing the homosexuality of Shaw and Morgan in Rope and exploring John “Scottie” Ferguson as a personification of Hitchcock’s true, inner, character, the entire book is a great little piece. 

What I really liked about it was that it rekindled my love of Hitchcock movies and has actually inspired me to go out and buy up all the flicks of his that I can find (even the ones I haven’t seen). Reading about some of the villains from the movies that I’ve only ever seen once (and probably didn’t really understand properly) has inspired to get myself copies of them anyway and re-watch them, armed with this new insight. It also opened my eyes as to the evolution of cinema and Hitchcock’s progression with the changing times, something that you never really think about when it comes to movies. The bigger picture isn’t really addressed here, but hinted at, and I think that that’s something really good. 

Filled with all our favourite murderers maniacs, and malicious mothers, Hitchcock’s Villains is a wonderful read that I absolutely powered through and if you’re a fan of the Master of Suspense and any of his villainous characters, you’ll love this book too!