If there's a horror movie I can watch over and over again, it has to be Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho". It has a brilliant story, it has shocking twists, it has probably the best performance by an actor in history, and so much history behind it, you're bound to be interested by this film SOMEHOW. First, let's talk about the acting, which was tremendous. Anthony Perkins stole the show as Norman Bates, a realistic, yet terrifying man, who can pull of the character with ease. Also, Janet Leigh does outstanding, and Martin Balsam was really good, too. Interesting fact (By the way, I'm gonna say a lot of them, because I know a lot about this films history) about the cast, Anthony Perkins was said to be not well known enough and to young to be Norman Bates, but Hitchcock insisted to put him in, and threw in Janet Leigh so the film would have a famous actor. Also, the only performance Hitchcock didn't like in this movie was John Gavin, who was said to be to "Stiff", which I don't think so, I thought he did decent. Nothing memorable, but nothing to bring down the film. This film is known mostly for it's shower scene, and it's twists, but it's more than that. It's tension building all throughout the film, never slowing down, even when bad things aren't happening, the music and atmosphere settle into your brain, making it hard not to be intrigued. Also, the shower scene is really well put together, and the twists are really intelligent. Now, let's settle something: Is this the scariest movie ever? Well, it probably is. It has so much tension and build up, and with the death of one of the main characters halfway through, even you don't feel safe. The only film I found as scary as this was Donnie Darko, now here me out. That also had amazing build up, crazy tension, and some very scary moments. I think this was a little more scary, but not by much. Anyways, let's get to story, because you can't fully respect this movie unless you watch it all the way through. In fact, the director actually made sure people watched it from the beginning, by making the theaters that showed it close it's doors until the next showing! Anyways, the story is about a woman (Janet Leigh) who hates her job, but has to do it to earn her regular money, but when her boss gives her $40,000 to deposit in the bank for him. She then decides that she'll keep the money for herself, and this is where the movie get's interesting. You notice the characters change of attitude, always seeming in a rush, as the guilt starts taking over. She starts getting followed by a police man as he suspects she did something, and she decides to trade in her old car for a new one. At this time, she can't return the money, as she already believes she's being hunted down, and she starts gaining more and more stress, every agonizing second, it's torture, as the character herself, although she did something wrong, is a very likable and realistic character. After a nap in the car, which ended up being longer then expected, she saw a motel, and decided to stay there for a night. There, she meets Norman Bates, played by Anthony Perkins, which I admit is one of my favorite performances ever. I'm serious, he made Janet Leigh, the female lead, seem like she was OVERACTING, he was that good. He's up there with Michael Pena from Crash, Charlie Chaplin from several of his films, and Brad Pitt from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, he totally get's lost in the role, and it shocked me when I discovered he never even got a nomination at the Oscars! In fact, the film didn't even get nominated! Luckily, though, Alfred Hitchcock got a nomination for Best Director, Janet Leigh got a nomination for Best Supporting Actress, Joseph Hurley and Robert Clatworthy got nominated for Best Art Direction, and the film itself got nominated for Best Cinematography (Black and White), even though the film didn't win any of them. Now, for the reasons I liked Perkins performance. He always looked like he was on edge, like he was about to erupt into a great fit of rage, yet he also seemed to be reminding himself to calm down. He really acted like no one ever did, or ever will, it was completely unique, and always will be. I had no problems with this performance, AT ALL. Well, I should start wrapping things, as I can't really complain about anything, except trying to explain the story to friends: Me: "Hey, you ever hear of the movie, Psycho?" Friend: "No, what's it about?" Me: "A cross-dressing madman who obsesses over his mother." Friend: Wait, what? Me: "Never mind." Yeah, it wasn't a sight to see, but really, I don't care. I love this movie, and I recommend it to anyone who's over 14 and loves horror films. Overall: Probably my favorite horror film yet.
5/5
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