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What hasn't been said about Alfred Hitchcock's magnum opus Psycho? Every genre - of anything - has a permanent placeholder (ex: The Godfather in both gangster and greatest) and Psycho is the placeholder for horror movies. Seriously, you name me one list which doesn't have this film as number 1. Actually, there is a list: Mine! Yes, in my book this film is number 2 only to Nosferatu which I consider to be the greatest horror film ever made... beat that!
Enough chit-chat: Psycho is a movie which is best enjoyed if you haven't the foggiest about anything in the film and I'm glad I was one of those people. Seriously, apart from the famous shower scene (which I'd only heard about it, but never seen), I'd absolutely no friggin idea of anything and believe me, when I saw it for the first time... let's just say I started watching horror movies from a totally new perspective and as for showering, I triple-check whether the door is locked or not and then I triple-check it again, just in case!
I think this is a very brilliant, well-made horror movie which is very atmospheric and spine-chilling. Now you see, horror should be made like this: intriguing, shocking, ever-lasting and top of all, entertaining. Since I'd already read the book, I was surprised to find how much it strayed from the novel. I didn't like the changes but I think it was handled correctly but of course, the book is miles better than the movie.
Then we have the performances: Anthony Perkins made a household name out of himself by playing Norman Bates flawlessly. Out of all the performances in Hitchcock-films, Perkins ranks as the 2nd or 3rd best, so you can say it was that great. Even though she was nominated, I found Janet Leigh's performance to be just average. I mean, I liked how she handled her character, Marion Crane, in such short screen time but it was OK nevertheless. The one I totally loved was Vera Miles's performance as Lila Crane, which I think the number 1 best. I've always liked Lila on paper and Vera Miles did an excellent job on the silver screen. She possesses all the qualities of a Hitchcock girl: Blonde, icy and a determined state. What do you think? Then of course we have Simon Oakland as Dr. Fred Richmond at the end of the film (the guy who reveals Bates, remember?) His performance is often ignored but I think he did a great job and he delivered his speech in an impressive manner. I'm a sucker for long scenes which involve a-lot of talking and this is one of the best...
So there you go, the greatest (second-greatest in my book) horror film ever made by a MOAD - Master Of A Director - and no-one else could've done it better. Read the book first and then see the movie and then evaluate which one was better!
9.5/10
