Review of Psycho (2007) by Steven S — 19 Feb 2015

"Psycho" (1960).

What can be said about the 1960 horror-thriller classic by Alfred Hitchcock? It's not only one of the greatest films in the horror genre, but it's one of the greatest films of all time. Based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch and taking inspiration by the crimes committed by Wisconsin murderer and grave robber Ed Gein, at the time, Psycho was the most frightening film ever released. Ed Gein would also inspire Leatherface from the movie "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and Buffalo Bill from "The Silence of the Lambs".

The film revolves around a secretary named, Marion Crane (played by Janet Leigh) who steals $40,000 cash from her employers and arrives at a motel owned by a Norman Bates (played by Anthony Perkins) and by his heavily disturbed mother. This film was produced with a low budget, with a television crew and was filmed in black and white which is unusual considering older films by Alfred Hitchcock were in color. The film originally received mixed reviews, but did gross $60 million on an $800,000 budget and was nominated for four Academy Awards including one for Best Supporting Actress for Janet Leigh and Best Director for Alfred Hitchcock.

Today, Psycho is seen as one of Alfred Hitchcock's best films and was highly controversial for its time. It set a new level of acceptability for violence, deviant behavior and sexuality in American films which was uncommon back then, even though it's nowhere near as graphic as the films we have today. I actually wish Psycho was filmed in color; it would have been even more controversial for the time and would break more boundaries than the black and white version did. But I still have nothing but respect for this film.

Even though this film was low budget, it was very well filmed featuring some of the best camera shots in the world and I honestly have no idea how they managed to film this, you'd have to watch the movie to see it yourself, I can't do it justice by explaining it. It also features an amazing soundtrack composed by Bernard Herrmann which is brooding with atmosphere making the film all the more terrifying. Although it isn't as scary as say "The Exorcist" or "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", it was terrifying for its time and is one of the most influential horror movies ever made. Highly controversial for the time, it is one of my favorite films of all time. If you're a horror fan, you need to check out Psycho. Most horror films many years later owe their existence to Psycho.

FINAL RATING: 10 out of 10.