Very Different From The Rest Of The Hitch Collection

Rating: 10/10 (8 March 2017)

There is no debating that "Psycho" is one of the classic psychological thriller movies of all-time. Heck, some might say that it even invented the genre! What is perhaps even more interesting, however, is how different this film is from the rest of the Alfred Hitchcock collection of motion pictures.
For a basic plot summary, "Psycho" sees young secretary Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) steal a large sum of money from her employer in order to have an affair. While escaping the city in the dead of night, Crane pulls into the Bates Motel, owned and run by one Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), when the weather takes a turn for the worse. What Marion, as well as a private investigator (Martin Balsam) and Lila Crane (Vera Miles) later one, discovers is that Norman is hiding a deep and terrible secret revolving around his beloved "mother".
In most other Hitchcock movies, the plots are more generic and the picture full of color. In short, they are lighter experiences that as much showcase the stars and styles of the time as they do cultivate rich plots and intriguing characters. With "Psycho", however, the entire experience is gritty and filled with some of the most interesting characters (in particular Perkins' Bates) ever to grace the big screen. The movie was even purposely filmed in black and white to give it that extra "edge".
When a film like "Psycho" achieves such a high degree of popularity, it sometimes loses a bit of its edge due to the fact that ever scene, character, and line has been dissected a thousand times over. In this case, though, "Psycho" can be watched at fairly regular intervals without getting too stale. Even if you know what is coming (and most people by now do), it is still creepy.
In short, "Psycho" is a seminal film of American cinema for its character studies and raw thematic material (when its contemporaries, generally speaking, were much lighter and sometimes little more than vehicles for their stars). Whether the first time or the twenty-first time watching this gem, you will pick out "just one more thing" that amazes you, as well as experience that "creepy-crawly" feeling regarding Mr. Norman Bates.