Chilling and totally unpredictable

Rating: 10/10 (3 February 2007)

This is rightly considered Hitchcock's greatest film. The black and white cinematography, combined with low key lighting in most of the (indoor)scenes, gives the story a mysterious look which is reminiscent of the film noir genre of the 1940s. The film score is at its most powerful in Marion's driving-in-the-rain scene and in the famous shower scene. Anthony Perkins is really perfect as the psychotic killer, having just the right combination of rage, vulnerability, fear, and compulsion. The finale, where the psychologist explains the character of Norman Bates,completes the film very well. All in all, one of the greatest films ever made.