If you've never seen Psycho it's not what you think. It is a masterpiece of horror and it is deeply disturbing, even if you are coming to it having consumed a great deal of other related media which may incline you to see this film as quaint or cliched. This film holds up and defies all expectations providing a singular cinematic experience which has stood the test of time.
Psycho is structured in a way to set the audience off balance. It continues to change course, keeping us from getting a hold on it right until the end. It starts off sexy with the stunning Leigh and beefcake Gavin having an affair in a hotel room, and the scene transforms before our eyes into a slightly and wonderfully tragic beginning to a tale of a desperate woman. We follow her on the run and the effect of this part is palpable. There is a tension that Hitchcock and Leigh create which is unforgiving. We're gripped as she makes a break for it, throwing caution to the wind. It is both liberating and confounding. Until she reaches the Bates Motel... when everything changes.
Perkins gives one of cinema's most amazing performances as he takes over the film, robbing us of Leigh and instilling in his audience a chill that is unshakable. His disturbed young man is quietly and powerfully terrifying. Hitchcock frames him in increasingly menacing configurations until just his look it enough to send shivers down your spine.
The infamous shower scene, which broke all sorts of barriers at the time, is brilliant for evoking more titillating terror than far more graphic depictions of violence and nudity which would flood our cinemas in the decades to follow. It remains a heart pounding moment that has perfectly constructed visuals and sound. Even if the twist is spoiled for modern audiences the film and the moment are not ruined as they remain so powerful. Hitchcock manages to make all Norman's attempts to cover up the murder gripping and tense, and Perkins is so charismatic he almost pulls us into his side, we root for him to not get caught.
And as the film careens towards its conclusion it takes your breath away. Terrifying and emotional and overwhelming it ends with one of the most chilling shots on screen. I have never felt unshaken after watching it and I imagine I never will.
Psycho
Starring: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Martin Balsam, John Gavin
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Writer: Joseph Stefano
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