Slightly dated but none the less effective film

Rating: 8/10 (21 March 2007)

I'm not afraid to admit a few small portions look a little silly by today's standards, however overall I was surprised that despite film being well over 40 years old, is still more effective then any horror film released within the past decade.
A quick synopsis of the plot for the uniniated:Marion Crane has sucsessfully stolen 40,000 dollars from her boss. Going off on her own, some bad weather forces her to stop at the Bates hotel, which should be an uneventful night before getting back on track. However there is nothing uneventful about what she's going to go through...
Yes, this film is over 40 years old. Yes, this film does look dated in a few small areas. However despite all this Psycho was still, to me frightening. I first watched it on TV and thought it a well done thriller. Having watched it in movies class again, I couldn't believe how much the film had scared me. The now infamous shower scene(infamous to the point it's not even a spoiler), although looking a little dated, frightened me. A lot of it had to do with the music. The music and clever camera angles make this very effective, especially the music. Despite all the sppofs where you hear the music, this is the only time the music proves effective. Also acting ranging from competent to, in Perkins case great, helps the film along as well.
In today's age where exploitation films have gone from an underground genre to commercial and mainstream, films like Psycho will always produce more fear then all the Saw and Hostel films put together.
8/10