Love It......

Rating: 9/10 (7 October 2008)

One of the most famous movies of all time, and quite possibly influential horror film in history, Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho traded the supernatural beings of the genres past Vampires, werewolves, zombies and the like for an all too human monster. The film made Norman Bates a household name and permanently guaranteed its director's status as the master of suspense.
Psycho is a curious shocker devised by the master of suspense Hitchcock as a tease and received most critics as an unpleasant horror piece. After enormous commercial success it achieved classic status over the years, despite effective moments of fright, it has a childish plot and script and its interest is that of a tremendously successful confidence trick, made for very little money. Probably the most visual, most cinematic picture he has ever made. I think the film is a reflection of a most unpleasant mind, a mean, sly, sadistic mind.
After many talks about a remake finally one come with Psycho in 1998 starring Julianne Moore, William H Macy and well. A terrible actor called Vince Vaughn. This version isn't a sacrilege, it's just pointless. To those who like the remake it is all very well having your tongue praising the film, but it does help having a brain in your skull. It also spawned two sequels and a TV series starring Lori Petty. The first sequel is a reasonably inventive sequel, if on the gory side. It probably holds the record for longest delayed follow up.
The narrative is very unusual for its date of release as there are two separate narrative strands. The storyline firstly is from Marion stealing the money which is helped along with misleading the audience into believing that the patrolman and Marion will be a story about a girl who steals money. The film has influenced many other especially What Lies Beneath which is literally a Hitchcock Pastiche. I also like that it is black and white photography as the blood colour (red) was to gruesome to show in 1960. And also it was less budget. What I like about the film is that it lends to the horror genre like Silence Of The Lambs is that they have no actual supernatural undertones even slashers like Halloween and Friday The 13th have supernatural undertones; honestly how many times can you be shot and survive only to appear in another.
The film is definitely one of my favourites. Like Spielberg's Jaws, Coppola's The Godfather, Lynch's Blue Velvet, this is his best film.