"We All Go A Little Mad Sometimes..."

Rating: 10/10 (29 June 2008)

Psycho takes a lot of credit for starting the modern horror genre. Well, I must say that it deserves it. Before Psycho, censorship was extremely strict. Psycho broke a lot of rules in its day... not only did it go above and beyond with its famous murder sequences, but it also went above and beyond with smaller censorship rules. Psycho was the first American film where the audience could clearly see a flushing toilet in full frame. Psycho was also the first film to show a women walking around in her under-garments for an extended period of time. If Psycho had not come around, it could very well be possible that the idea of Jason stabbing a teenage couple having sex would have been frowned upon by the censorship boards. Psycho changed the way movies where made, which is what opened up the idea of the slasher film, and the horror genre in general.
There had been horror films before Psycho, but none broke all of the rules that Psycho had. All the rules that Psycho broke became rules that everyone broke. For this reason, there have been too many Psycho rip-offs to count. Scream, Friday the 13th, Saw, A Nightmare On Elm Street, Halloween, and even Black Christmas are all pure rip-offs of Psycho's success. This could very well be Psycho's only con, and it isn't even the film's fault. Now don't get me wrong, Halloween and Friday the 13th are good films, but if you are at all interested in horror/suspense, you have to view the movie that set new standards for the genre when it was released in 1960.
Today, in 2008, Psycho doesn't seem nearly as well done as it was when it was released. However, it is just as good as it used to be. The only reason it doesn't seem good is because of one thing... publicity. AFI, Youtube, Google... It's all the same. Surly everyone alive today has seen the shower scene somewhere, whether or not they have seen the movie. I had personally seen certain scenes before viewing the film itself, so a large amount of the impact was lost for me. Psycho still left a chill on my back, and worked very well. If you are one of the lucky few who haven't seen clips of Psyhco, I highly encourage that you do not search for any. Search out the movie itself.
As for the film itself, it is purely remarkable. The cast is extremely remarkable. Anthony Perkins is extremely amazing in his role as Norman Bates. Perkin's performance isn't only Oscar-Worthy, it is also one of the greatest performances of all time. It is up there with Anthony Hopkins' role as Hannibal Lector in my book. Janet Leight and Vera Miles are also very good actresses, and fit the role of heroine in Psycho very well. The acting in Psycho doesn't seem dated at all.
The suspense is also spectacular in Psycho. Alfred Hitchcock's brilliant directing and Bennard Herrman's chilling score work together to build up atmosphere and suspense for the film. This is done extremely well. Psycho may very well be one of the most suspenseful movies of all time. Another thing that helps with the amount of atmopshere of the movie is how real it looks and feels. Everything in this movie seems realistic to the viewer. You can relate to the people in the film, especially with the way the characters are developed.
Psycho may very well be the flawless movie. It has everything to not only make it a great horror film, but a great film as well. Any horror fan should check out Psycho, simply because it set so many new levels in the genre. Any film fan in general should check out Psycho is well, simply because it is so well made. Psycho is a must view for everyone.
A lot of the movies from the 50s and 60s seem very cheesy by today's standards of computer animation and slang talk. However, Psycho still fits in with the classics. This is because Alfred Hitchcock directed his movies for the audience, not for the critics. This is obviously why the critics responded terribly to it. There were very few positive reviews for Psycho by all of the huge film critics, yet it still ranks as the 21st greatest film ever made on the IMDb top list. Hitchcock was able to not only make this movie well, but he was also able to make it enjoyable.
Psycho still ranks in with the HORROR classics as well. Perhaps this is due the way it inspired so many films to come after it. This may also be due the fact that Psycho plays with all of the fears that thrilled audiences just as much today as it did in 1960; The thrill of running from the police; The fear of run-down motels; The fear of strangers; The feel of taking showers alone; and of course: The fear of our mother's rage.
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