The progenitor of the modern slasher film is as effective today and IMHO reigns as the best of the genre because it tells its chilling story with class and style - every angle, every shadow, every sound embodies the Hitchcockian ideal, and he achieves this on a modest budget using his television crew. While North by Northwest saw Hitch going bigger and brighter, Psycho is a more intimate, smaller scale production, steeped in dread.
The shower scene remains as horrifying as ever—the transition from the swirling drain to the victim's eye is among the most striking images in Hitchcock's oeuvre, or any film for that matter. The later sequence in the dark, foreboding house, where Vera Miles seeks to question Mother, features a storytelling tool we are by now familiar with, that regardless, works wonderfully; as each step of her search uncovers aspects of Norman's character, from his "little boys" bedroom to the shocking revelation in the cellar.
While the segment with Simon Oakland towards the end is overly expository -these parts should have been pared down to the essentials or removed entirely (writer Joseph Stefano pushed to have this scene included, but it violates Hitch's rule of the MacGuffin and forces the audience to examine the mechanics of the story too closely). Thankfully it rebounds with that final eerie scene, with Norman enveloped in shadow, hearing mother's voice in his mind. (Hitch used 3 women to voice dear old mom. And while we consciously might not be aware of this, we do notice that something’s not quite right. It's another beautiful touch that again, highlights the directors command of image and sound).
It's true that we are too familiar with the story these days - it doesn’t surprise us the way it did theatergoers in the 60s (my mother spoke of the lingering effects of the picture, and how it continually set you back on your heels). Nevertheless, it remains essential Hitchcock viewing, distinguished by Anthony Perkin’s sympathetic/disturbing performance and Bernard Herrmann’s iconic score.
Memorable Scenes: The shower - Mother revealed - The final shots of Norman with Mothers face quickly superimposed over his.
Memorable Quote: "You know what I think? I think that we're all in our private traps, clamped in them, and none of us can ever get out. We scratch and we claw, but only at the air, only at each other, and for all of it, we never budge an inch." - Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates
Hitchcock Cameo: 7 minutes in he can be seen through a window, wearing a Stetson hat, standing outside Marion Crane's office
Of Note: Hitch had to finance the film himself because Paramount didn’t want to make it and was expecting him to direct "No Bail for the Judge", with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn instead.
