Hitchcock Is Genius

Rating: Null/10 (24 September 2002)

*POSSIBLE SPOILERS WITHIN*
Throughout my Life, I have heard many things about this movie. My grandma, a big Hitchcock fan, used to class it as one of her favourite films of all time, and I used to always see it on the 'Horror' or 'Thriller' shelves of the video store. I guess I knew that it would be good, but never really wanted to get it, as it was old for my generation, being made in 1960, and it was in black and white. Films like that just don't suit most kids in my generation. When I first discovered the IMDB a few years back, I saw it in the Top 250, and thought that it would have to be good. And just yesterday, in fact, I finally got around to seeing it, and was I in for a treat.
The film starts off with Phoenix bank worker, Marion Crane (portrayed very well by a young Janet Leigh) spending her lunchtime with her boyfriend who owns the hardware store, Sam Loomis. They both want to get married, but Sam has to pay his ex-wife's alimony, and Marion isn't exactly Bill Gates. That day at work, Marion is given $40,000 in cash by a man who is purchasing a new house for his daughter who is getting married. Her boss tells her to put it in the safe, and they'll get him to give them a cheque on Monday, as they can't have that kind of money just lying around. After work, Marion takes the money with her, and runs off. It is raining very heavily, and she can't see where she is going. She takes a wrong turn off the highway, and ends up at a place called The Bates Motel, where she decides to stay for the night. There, she meets a nice young man by the name of Norman Bates, who runs the motel, while his 'mother' lives in the house up the hill from the Bates Motel. At first, Norman seems like a nice enough guy, but soon, Marion discovers that he is rather peculiar, and may not be all he is cracked up to be. When Marion does not come into work on Monday, and the money is gone, Sam and her sister Lila investigate, as does a Private Detective Arbogast, who has cracked onto Norman, and learns that kindness is only skin deep.
The ending was not a surprise to me, as I had already read a review of it by someone who hadn't bothered to put a spoiler warning on it, and it was not as much of a shock to me as it could have been, so even though I have put a warning above my review, I will not ruin the awesome ending for those of you who have not yet had the pleasure of viewing this cinematic gem. Hitchcock chose to film in black and white to give it more of a scary feel, and he has done a great job. I must admit, it wouldn't have been half as thrilling if it was in colour.
One of the first great scary films. Recommended for genre fans of any sort.
My rating: ***** out of *****