"Why, she wouldn't even harm a fly..."

Rating: 10/10 (10 November 2014)

In a long line of great films, Psycho has got to be Alfred Hitchcock's most entertaining. Despite being a horror movie, and having its fair share of genuinely frightening moments, Psycho has always struck me as being made to have a certain lighthearted charm. I have to imagine when Alfred Hitchcock made this film he was having fun and wanted the film to be as fun for us as it was for him. It's one of my favorite scary movies, but when I look back to it I don't think of it at all like I do the others on the list. This movie is just a good time.
If Psycho was a person, and its fun, creepy atmosphere was its skin, and Anthony Perkins was its face I guess, Its structure would be a crazy adamantite skeleton and its pacing? Well, synthetic cyborg muscles of course. For a horror film to maintain the feeling it needs to keep its viewers attention in the events leading up to the scares, it needs to have a solid setup for the plot that goes on long enough for it to not feel rushed but not so overlong that it becomes boring and takes away from the impact of the scary moments it's building up to. It needs to be interesting enough to not feel like a chore, but still understand its role as a vehicle for the frightening moments in the films. The story takes a back seat to the scary stuff in a horror movie. The good ones understand this, but the best of them do it in a way that doesn't compromise the quality of the story. Psycho is a shining example of a balanced and well executed horror film narrative. It's the king of this technique. the events leading up to Marion Crane's trip to the Bates motel work exceptionally well, and her encounters with the police officers at the dealership and on the road do an amazing job of establishing the spooky feel of the film in a seamless way and work to keep the viewer interested in what's to come. The ease with which Hitchcock leads into the events that take place at the motel are a huge part of what allows him to make the film such a good time.
You can't sing the praises of Psycho without applauding the incredible work Anthony Perkins does as the film's criminally insane leading man- the one and only Norman motherloving Bates. Perkins' ability to personify a person with such a severe case of dissociative identity disorder is so unbelievably good you'd think this guy went home at the end of the day and lived life as Norman Bates instead of himself. Not only does he have such an intrinsic ability to play the psycho, but he does such an impeccable job of committing Norman's crimes as well. When he sneaks up on the woman in the legendary and absolutely immortal shower scene, he does so like he was made to be a movie monster, and when he rushes in to attack the detective to the sound of Bernard Herrmann's screeching soundtrack he could scare a banana straight out of its goshdang peel. And bananas don't even have eyes or ears or even watch movies in the first place.
I love this film. it's a champion of horror. In a genre where so many films can only be fun by sacrificing the scares or just by being low budget bargain bin Netflix dumpster movies, Psycho triumphs in its ability to conquer everything important to entertain horror fans. Alfred Hitchcock's talent is so palpable in this film it may just as well turn itself into a big spoonful of Bates flavored gelato and fly its way right into the brain mouths of everyone watching. Gelato only has half the calories of regular ice cream, too. You ever try it? It's like ice cream pudding. It's great. Just like this film.