Review of Psycho (2007) by Joe P — 30 Sep 2012

Alfred Hitchcock is arguably the greatest film director that ever lived and Psycho is also arguably his finest movie. Perfectly blending horror, mystery and suspense Hitchcock creates a masterpiece and a film that is still looked upon as one of the best horror films ever. While the suspense and scares are one of the best things about Psycho it is also worth noting that Hitchcock broke new ground by introducing some things such as adultery and he may even have started the Slasher trend with Psycho.

Psycho introduces us to a secretary named Janet Leigh who is desperately unhappy with her life, when one of her clients asks her to deposit 40'000 impulse takes over and Janet skips town without telling anybody. She soon comes across a rundown motel off the side of an old highway that is owned by Norman Bates and his sickly mother. Bates is a seemingly charming man in his mid to late twenties and is extremely polite and kind to Janet until she suggests that he should institutionalize his mother he reply's angrily and visibly frightens Janet who soon returns to her hotel room where she is promptly murdered by Mother Bates. When Janet's sister and her boyfriend begin to question her disappearance they hire a private detective but when he arrives at the Bates motel he is also murdered by Mother Bates. With no other option Janet's sister and her boyfriend head out to the Bates motel in order to find out just what happened to the two missing people.

Psycho is a fresh, invigorating horror film that will have you on the edge of your set from the minute Norman Bates is introduced. Anthony Perkins is superb as Bates as he plays the kind and worried motel owner in a career defining role. The supporting cast is very good but a little underdeveloped due to the plot centering on Bates which is not a bad thing. Overall psycho is an inspiring, scary, thrilling, classic film that is one of Hitchcock's absolute bests.