Pwaters' Month of Terror Day 10: Psycho

Hello ladies, gentlemen, and creatures lurking in the shadows!  This month, October, is a favorite among horror fans, such as myself.  My goal for the next 31 days is to share with you the scariest and best of the genre.  The films will range from old school classics to modern day gorefests (they won't be in any particular order).  So scout these movies out, grab a bag of popcorn (or a blood bag) and enjoy!

Psycho (1960)
Dir. Alfred Hitchcock

Psycho is hailed as one of Hitchcock’s best films, which is quite the compliment seeing as the guy is responsible for some of cinema’s best thrillers.  The story follows Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), a woman on the lam after taking $40,000 of her employer’s money and running off instead of putting it in the company’s bank account so as to marry her stud lover.  Driving away, she eventually stops at a motel during a dark and stormy night.  The owner, as Marion comes to find out during the incredible "sandwich" scene, is Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), a friendly guy who takes care of his overbearing mother in the mansion overlooking the Bates Motel, whose hobbies include taxidermy and looking at his guests showering through peepholes.  I really don’t want to go into much more detail concerning the plot, because shocking twists happen as early as the halfway through the film.

Alfred Hitchcock was already a household name by the time Psycho came around.  The genius that he was, he used his namesake to toy with the audience in a way only he could (and in a way I doubt anybody else will ever again be able to do).  His "trailers" were remarkable and often featured almost nothing from the final film; in the case of Psycho, Hitch himself acts as a "travel guide" around the Bates Motel, dropping little hints as to what might be in the film.  He also not only forced movie theater owners to adhere to a strict "no late admission" policy, but also forbade stars Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins from going to interviews so as not to give away spoilers.  All these factors only filled audiences with more anticipation, and because it's the master, the film totally delivers.

Its influence is undeniable; the 'slasher' genre may not exist today if it weren't for Hitch's horror masterpiece.  At this point, it's hard to go into this film without knowing the major plot twists - but if you're somehow hiding under a rock and are unaware of the shock moments, it really is an exciting movie.  Bernard Herrmann's score is incredible (as I mentioned on my 'Top Ten Horror Soundtracks' blog entry), Anthony Perkins' performance is chilling (and also caused him to be typecast for the rest of his career), and of course, the entire movie reeks of Hitchcock's direction.  It's a stark, black and white horror classic that may have lost its element of surprise over the years, but it still has a great story and atmosphere.