The grandfather of all slasher films

Rating: 10/10 (10 March 2006)

Master filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock's already tremendously successful career reached arguably a new height with Psycho, a powerhouse film way ahead of its time (the filmmakers even seemed to realize this fact; the film's tagline was "A new- and altogether different- screen excitement!!!") which inspired and pretty much pioneered the slasher film genre. It's the story everyone knows, with innocent worker Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) running from the law with a stolen $40 000, making the mistake of checking into a certain infamous motel along the way, run by a quirky and antisocial proprietor (Anthony Perkins) and his mysterious, never seen mother.
The key to Hitchcock's classic as opposed to the hundreds of generic garbage teen slasher films theaters are unfortunately bombarded with every year, is the suspense element. Hitchcock proves his genius by realizing that the key to truly inspiring fear in the hearts of an audience is by showing less rather than more. Instead of having horrendously gory deaths every 30 seconds we have a single, infamous shower stabbing, which becomes all the more chilling by how we as an audience have to essentially imagine exactly what is happening.
What is truly frightening about Psycho is the eerie tension constantly building throughout the film, reaching a point of almost feeling tangible it is so vivid. This is of course helped by the truly creative and innovative camera work, representing the film's spirit of being way ahead of its time. Psycho is perhaps one of the most cleverly shot films in cinema history, which only amplifies the feeling of dread throughout, ably backed by Bernard Herrmann's chilling score.
The film also boasts some rather spectacular acting, especially for its time period. Anthony Perkins is nothing less than superb in his infamous performance as the eccentric, socially awkward Norman Bates. Perkins creates a genuinely believable character, who is all the more unsettling and yet captivating by how strangely realistic as a real person he is. Janet Leigh also helps maintain the excellent tone for the movie with her iconic performance as on-the-run Marion Crane. Vera Miles also gives a strong performance as Lila, Marion's concerned sister, and Martin Balsam is great as the Detective searching for Marion.
Psycho can be considered as nothing less than a classic, withstanding the test of time and coming off as just as masterfully made and honestly tense and frightening to this day. Fueled by excellent acting, and helmed by a master of the craft, Psycho is now one of those movies which would be considered almost essential viewing. Simply put, if you have yet to see this movie, don't continue to miss out!
-10/10