How could I ever capture the greatness of this movie in less than 1,000 words???

Rating: 10/10 (13 July 2005)

Let's be honest, when you are used to the horror movies of today and hope that this movie will be even a lot more scary than those movies, "Psycho" will be an incredible disappointment. The movie is a masterpiece, no doubt about that, but calling it horror isn't exactly right anymore. Sure, in the sixties, this must have caused a lot of nightmares, but we are used to a lot more nowadays. Still, that doesn't mean that this movie isn't worth watching anymore. It certainly is, I would even say more: this should be seen by everybody who is at least a little bit interested in movies...
Marion Crane, working in a real estate office, hasn't had too much luck in life so far. She only sees her fiancé Sam during her lunch breaks and they can't get married because they don't have enough money. Sam is divorced and still has to pay off his ex-wife's alimony. She feels like she is stuck in a situation she can't get out of, but then she gets a golden opportunity. When Mr. Cassidy, a rich oil tycoon, comes to the office to give $40,000 in cash to buy a house for his daughter's wedding present, Marion is trusted by her boss to bring the money to the bank. But instead of bringing it to the bank, she takes the money to start a new life. She packs up and heads for Fairvale to see Sam, but when the night falls, she ends up at the Bates Motel where she meets Norman Bates. Norman is a nice young man, but he seems to be obsessed with his mother. After lunch, Marion returns to her room where she will take a shower, the last thing that she will do in her life...
As I said before, if you think this will be a horror movie like you are used to see, than you'll be disappointed. But if you are looking for a very mysterious and suspenseful movie, which will not let you go until the credits are shown, than this is the best you can get. It's not for nothing that they call Alfred Hitchcock the master of suspense. Many have tried to copy his work in more recent times, but not one of them has been able to make a movie as good as he did. The script for this movie is absolutely brilliant and the plot twist is timed perfectly. But "Psycho" is not only a masterpiece thanks to the story. The acting and the camera-work are at least as memorable. While all actors did a very fine job, it is Anthony Perkins who was the most perfect one of them all. Somehow he doesn't give the impression of playing his role, it's like the actor and the character have become one in this movie. Believe me, that's something you will not find very often. The same for the camera-work. Hitchcock understands the art (and you can take that word quite literally) of not showing everything and still making you understand what exactly is going on. There is only one other director who I know off that was also able to say so much with so little and who knew so well how to work with close-ups and that's Sergio Leone (Not that I'm comparing both men with each other, because the movies that they made couldn't be compared either, but in my opinion these are the two best directors ever).
I really could go on for hours about this movie, but I believe that it is impossible to completely describe what this movie does to you. I'm convinced that this is a classic that should be seen by everybody. And for such a classic there is only one appropriate rating and that is 10/10. Nothing more, nothing less.