It's too clear an instruction to work and so Hitchcock films just feel like an intellectual exercise.
I'm not denying that the man was a technical genius, the structure, layout and cinematography in each film is perfectly suited to the themes. It's nigh on faultless. I just find it all very... cold. It's so calculated that there's no heart. I haven't been moved in any way by any of these films. I wasn't scared in Psycho and I wasn't intrigued in Marnie. I see exactly what he's trying to do and what techniques ought to be leading to my emotional response but it's like reading a card that says "be sad". It's too clear an instruction to work and so Hitchcock films just feel like an intellectual exercise.