Psycho (1960)

"A boy's best friend is his mother." Norman Bates 

Psycho (1960) is about a Phoenix secretary Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), on the lam after stealing $40,000 from her employer in order to run away with her boyfriend, Sam Loomis (John Gavin), is overcome by exhaustion during a heavy rainstorm. Traveling on the back roads to avoid the police, she stops for the night at the ramshackle Bates Motel and meets the polite but highly strung proprietor Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), a young man with an interest in taxidermy and a difficult relationship with his mother. (Source: Wiki)

This is probably one of the favorite Hitchcock films. It has the right amount of pacing and scenery. This movie truly keeps you on the edge of your seat. 

I'm going to start talking about the setting. The Bates Motel is a deserted motel in the middle of this highway stripe and its the only hotel. It has the creep old house in the back. The way Marion (Leigh) drives up to the motel, it almost just appears out of no where. It's like a ghost hotel. Hitchcock really had a way of creating a scene with just the minimal amount. 

Next we're going to talk about our leading lady, Marion, which is played really well by Janet Leigh (mother of Jamie Lee Curtis). She does a great job, until of course she dies. She is sort of like a red herring, making you think that she is going to be the survivor. 

This is the infamous shower scene, which has been parodied numerous times in countless moves and tv shows, so this really isn't a spoiler. HOWEVER, this is a total SHOCK. It is completely unexpected and comes out of no where. She is innocently taking a shower and then gets stabbed to death by some unknown figure. I read in various facts, that Hitchcock wouldn't allow late entries into the theater, because they would be spending the entire movie wondering where Janet Leigh was. I also enjoy the fact that the blood was actually chocolate syrup, which is pretty clever, mainly because of the way it flows down the drain. 

Lastly, I want to talk about Norman Bates who was played amazingly by Anthony Perkins. Like his performance is over the top and insane. I don't want to spoil the ending, but I feel like it's already been spoiled by so many movies and tv shows. Anyway, at the end you find Norman's mother dead in a chair and he was the killer all along. He was taking orders from his mother to murder. I honestly believe he murdered her himself. Norman Bates was based on serial killer Ed Gain (which is similar to LeatherFace in Texas Chainsaw Massacre). 

Psycho was released on September 8th 1960 to wide critical acclaim and amazing box office numbers. It had a budget of $806, 947 and went on to make $50 million. They did go on to create three sequels to this movie, and I've heard Psycho II is regarded as one of the best sequels ever made. Also there was a remake in 1998, to which I heard did not do so well. Either that or it's just me. I am not a huge fan of remakes, especially when they recreate every scene. Another adaptation was Bates Motel (which is available on Netflix) and it was met with raving critic reviews as well as ratings. It's really nice to see Alfred Hitchcock

Anyway, I highly recommend checking out this amazing classic horror film. 

IMDB: 8.5/10 || Rotten Tomatoes: 96%

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A Nightmare on Movie Night