"Psycho" can quite rightly be called the grand-daddy of modern horror films, and yet manages to trounce all that came after it. You'd be hard pressed to call any film perfect, and save one scene towards the end, this film is as close to perfect as you can get. It's incredibly suspenseful, deeply disturbing, intellectual and defies convention by managing to kill off the main character a third of the way in to the film. Arguably, this is Hitchcock's best film, simply due to its ability to go between simplicity of story and complex intellectual detail on the other. It's a film that doesn't rely on gore but gives the suggestion of it, making the film far scarier and shocking. This is a film that will draw you in and leave you waiting on what comes next.
The plot of "Psycho" can be somewhat deceiving when you first start to watch it; we are introduced to Marion Crane, a woman who runs off with $40,000 of her boss' money in a spur of the moment act that sees her drive off in to the country to start a seemingly new life. Along the way she is consumed by guilt and becomes increasingly afraid that she will be caught out. A truly scary scene comes when a policeman pulls her over and stands imposing over her car, demanding to know why she decided to stop on the side of the road to sleep in her car. At this point, you're thinking the policeman is the evil killer about to pounce, especially as he starts following her as she continues her journey. To shake the policeman, she eventually stops at the "Bates" Motel, and we are then introduced to Norman Bates, the seemingly shy motel operator who checks her in for the night. They eventually talk, and it turns out Bates is living alone with his demented old mother who needs his constant care. Later that night, in one of cinema's most famous scenes, Marion is knifed to death as she is taking a shower in a terrifying scene where the only hint of the killer appears to be the outline of an older woman. When Bates discovers her dead body, he recoils in horror and proceeds to cover up all evidence of the crime, believing his mother actually did it in a fit of jealously. What is truly amazing from a story telling point of view about this turn of events is that as an audience we've invested so much time in to Marion that it comes as a complete shock when she's killed, and all of a sudden we have a new protagonist in Norman Bates and we start to follow his journey. There is enough twists and turns to keep you on the edge of your seat and an ending that you don't really see coming until you see it. It's obvious that Hitchcock must have read up on Freud and psychology to explain the motivations of the killer, and bearing in mind that it was 1960 this film was initially released, a lot of what was in this film would have been fairly new and shocking to people watching it.
Arguably, the best scene in the film is the death of the private investigator. Out of all the shocks in this film, the tension is built up so well that in the end when the shock comes, it almost feels like its come out of left field and will literally have you jumping out of your seat, and of course, chilled. There have been so many horror films since Psycho that have featured killings but I would suggest that there really aren't many that can come close to matching the ones portrayed in this film, largely because later horror films have relied on gore rather than suspense, and 'Psycho' also has the added benefit of an intellectual reasoning behind what's going on. It also has a more general appeal, where as most films in the horror genre have a limited appeal.
The only downside to this film, and possibly an example of what was needed at that time, is one scene at the end when a psychologist explains exactly why everything happened the way it did. Perhaps looking back at it from today it's far simpler to see what was happening rather than having someone explain it to you. It's not really necessary, but again, at the time this may have been more new to a general audience and perhaps Hitchcock needed it in there to help the audience along with this truly disturbing story.
Perhaps the most chilling moment is the final scene in the film where we see Norman Bates sitting solemnly in his chair, but we hear the voice of his evil mother. Even almost 50 years later, this scene will send a chill down your spine as you realise how deeply disturbed Bates is. It's all very simple, quiet and a fantastic piece of acting by Anthony Perkins, especially the final shot where he glances up at you and smiles.
Probably the best horror film you'll see. It's dated but still incredibly effective and chilling.
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