A landmark in horror history housing one of the greatest, if not the greatest, movie villain in history,

Rating: 10/10 (17 October 2008)

Psycho is a landmark in horror movie history. Alfred Hitchcock uniquely directed the first ever slasher movie, and did so with wit, quality, and absolute brilliance. Psycho is the first Alfred Hitchcock movie I've seen, and I am very impressed by it. Now I've seen lots and lots of slasher flicks in my day, but never have I seen one anywhere near the caliber of Psycho.
Psycho is about a young woman named Marion Crane (Janet Leigh). While she's at work one day, out of the blue she decides to steal 40,000 dollars in cash from an investor. She goes on the run telling nobody where she is going, and soon becomes paranoid and wary of her surroundings, and also the people around her. On a particularly rainy night, Marion stops at the Bates Motel where she meets the odd owner Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins). Norman invites her to eat dinner with him, and takes a considerable liking to her. At first he seems like a regular nice guy, but it turns out that he does have a dark side after all. Norman's "mother" is a very controlling woman, and as it turns out may be a murderer as well. Using Norman to cover up her vicious attacks. Marion goes missing, and tensions and suspense raise to unbearable heights as Marion's sister and boyfriend, and also a private investigator, begin looking for her. Leading them all the way up to none other than the Bates Motel...and Norman "himself".
This is the greatest horror movie I've ever seen, and definitely one of the greatest horror movies of all time. The suspense is built up incredibly, and the story's twists and turns are amazing. I could never successfully guess what was going to happen next in this movie. And you can't say that about most slasher movies these days. After watching Psycho I realize how much recent slasher films blatantly rip off Hitchcock's masterpiece. However Psycho will now remain an unmovable cinema classic in my eyes, and those new age ripoffs will not. It amazes me how a film that is nearly 50 years old, and in black and white, can still terrify audiences. It's simply astonishing what Hitchcock created here.
Now I'll get into the film itself. Just about everything is done right in Psycho. The editing is among some of the best I've ever seen. The cinematography really helps a lot of scenes, and only adds to the terror. Take the "shower scene" scene for example: It was shot in such a way that you couldn't see any nudity; and I also appreciated how the scene starts up very bright, and as the dark sinister figure moves closer to the curtains, you get that ominous feeling that tells you that something very bad is about to happen. The acting is also very good. Janet Leigh gives a strong performance, and I'm telling you to keep an eye on her facial expressions, because they reveal her character's paranoia and regret. But the real star of the show, the reason the movie is called Psycho, is Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates. Perkins plays one of the best villains of all time, and one of my personal favorites. You don't know what is going on with this guy. At first he seems normal, then he's covering up a murder with a boyish grin on his face, and then you get to his real personality underneath. Perkins plays Norman as a complete mama's boy who stutters under pressure, and on the spot tries to think up ways to cover up his "mother's" murders. At first it seems to be an average performance, but then you begin to notice how Perkins makes his character stutter with nervous ticks, and laughing when he makes a joke. It's the tiny details, of which there are quite a few, that make Perkins performance into one of the scariest movie villains in history.
Psycho is an ingenious horror film because it blends natural horror with great acting, surprising twists, red herrings, suspense, and a constant sense that something is very bad is about to happen. Hitchcock has created the best horror I've ever seen. After 50 years it is still suspenseful and terrifying, and that is the mark of a brilliant filmmaker. I can't wait to see more of Hitchcock's movies. Psycho gets a 5 out of 5 from me.