The first true slasher film

Rating: 8/10 (15 December 2010)

Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film Psycho is often considered to be the first slasher film in that it follows the actions of a psychopathic killer as he stalks and murders his prey in graphic scenes. Hitchcock is a master at making the audience feel what he wants them to feel. He knows when to when to hold back for suspense and when to let it all out for shocks. Hitchcock created one of the most chilling characters in cinema with the schizophrenic Norman Bates, played by Anthony Perkins. Bates is a quite motel clerk at the Bates Motel who is seemingly dominated by his "mother", who is actually his homicidal altar ego. Bates is deeply disturbed because he killed his mother and preserved her body in hopes of sharing his mind with her.