Not my favorite Hitchcock

Rating: 7/10 (7 May 2014)

This one was really hurt for me by knowing all of the twists and turns. While a lot of Hitchcock films can stand up even with knowing what happens, I don't think this one does. It's such a pure horror film, there to shock and disturb. If you know where it's going, how can you be shocked? I also wasn't overly thrilled with the concept of a boy who loves his mom that much. I get that was part of what was unsettling for the viewer, but it unsettled me past the point of enjoyment.
That being said, I really loved the use of location. It's a film that stays in mostly one place, and yet never feels stale. Hitchcock did a brilliant job turning that motel into something to be feared. The actors also did a fantastic job projecting the sense that something was just slightly off, a feeling that built the farther into the film you got.
I can only wonder how I would have felt about this film had the penultimate shower sequence and reveal of the mother not been so ingrained in my memory.