#3. Psycho (1960)

“A boy’s best friend is his mother.”

And my worst fear is Norman Bates. He’s a handsome, mild-mannered young man who runs a motel, and lives with his mother. Yet he still haunts my dreams. Psycho is a perfect film in every way, but the most stand-out thing about the film is, by far, Anthony Perkins’ portrayal of Norman Bates. It’s a performance that will stay with you until the day you die. The greatest villain in cinema history. Simply terrifying.

It’s difficult to summarize Psycho without spoiling it, or just flat-out lying, but I’ll do my best. Marion Krane (Janet Leigh) stops off at the Bates Motel after embezzling $40,000 and going on the run. Norman Bates, the owner of the motel, gives her a room and the two become acquainted. It’s not long before we learn about Norman’s mother, and his unconditional attachment to her. And that she isn’t very kind to unwelcome guests.

Psycho is the greatest horror film ever made. This is true horror. It’s a genre that is all but dead now. People used to see horror films to be genuinely frightened. Now they go to laugh at a bunch of naked teenagers be brutally murdered. What happened? Psycho is what horror is all about. One of the scariest things about the film is how plausible it is. This could really happen, and it probably has, to some extent.

Every aspect of Psycho is so incredibly well-done, from Hitchcock’s inspired direction to Bernard Herrmann’s perfect score (probably my favorite of all-time). To keep the budget low, Hitchcock opted to use his TV film crew from “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”, and to film it in black and white. While these measures were only used to keep the budget as low as possible, they are two of the films most stand-out features. The black and white adds a sinister undertone to the film that would have been lost had it been filmed in color; and the inexperience of his film crew gives the film an exploitation-like vibe, which provides a sense of unpredictability to the film. The feeling of safety that can come with a big budget film is completely non-existent here.

Psycho is one of the most renowned classics in film history, and with good reason. It created and perfected the slasher/horror sub-genre and showcases one of the greatest performances ever committed to film. I can’t recommend this film enough. It’s one of the greatest ever made. If you haven’t seen it, you are truly missing out.

Trailer

 

NIGHTNIGHT by DEDDY