Plot – A Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer’s client, goes on the run, and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother – Psycho.
Director – Alfred Hitchcock
Starring – Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles
Genre – Horror | Mystery | Thriller
Released – 1960
If you liked: Peeping Tom, The Invisible Man, Eyes Without a Face
By far the most famous of Alfred Hitchcock’s movies, Psycho and in my opinion his most frightening, This is a movie that has spawned multiple copycats, maybe gave birth to both the slasher and psychological-thriller genres and even if generations of parodies and knock-offs might prevent first-time viewers finding it as scary as I found it, you can’t help but admire the genius of Hitchcock and how innovative some filmmaking decisions were at the time.
This is a plot that at the time was unlike previously seen on the big screen, taking the time to explore mental health issues and how they can devolve into criminality if left unchecked. Helping to make Norman Bates (Perkins) a seemingly shy and awkward individual living in a run-down motel in the middle of nowhere, one of the most complex and interesting antagonist in the slasher genre.
Hitchcock masterfully crafts suspense and horror throughout Psycho so much so that the truth of the events is never fully revealed until the truth about Bates unravels towards the end of the film. While the infamous shower scene remains one of the most iconic and impressive sequences in motion picture history.
Psycho is a movie that bent and broke the previously established roles of film making, going on to change the course of horror films in the process. A must watch for anyone who loves genre films.
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