Timing, Hitchcock made it special.

Rating: Null/10 (20 February 2000)

In reading the comments of some, I think that to have seen Hitchcock's Psycho when it opened in '60, is to fully understand its impact today. It was a masterpiece then and remains a masterpiece today. Superior direction and camera work, and as one person commented, the film was released at a time when [psychological] monsters in the form of the "boy next door," was not explored in films. Yes, Psycho started slow by today's standards, but the style back then was to move from the pleasant familiar to the darkest of horrors. Hitchcock understood how to create atmosphere and mood. His shower scene, while some today wonder what the hoopla is all about, set a standard of horror in an ordinary setting. How many films have copied this scene? I remember as a kid, fearing showers and hotels after seeing this flick. Hitchcock reportedly said that it was a good thing he didn't place Crane on the toilet (sic), or people would have a phobia about toilets. Ironically, in Psycho 3 (?), a character was killed while on the toilet. The remake of two years ago sucked--big time. Hitchcock's Psycho not only had the master at the helm, but it was also a matter of timing in cinema history. Those elements cannot be duplicated.