How can I review this film without giving it away? I don't know but I'm going to review it anyway and since it's the first or first well known slasher film, I'm going to review on this film on the day of terror and that is Halloween. ON WITH THE REVIEW...
A secretary (Janet Leigh) in Phoenix, steals a million dollars from her boss and is now on the run. However, she makes a wrong turn to stay at the "Bates Motel" that's owned by Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) who lives with his Mother. The women gets murdered at the Motel and the clues to the ladies disappearance lead up to this Motel where more strange and secret things lurk.
I already talked about the villain Norman Bates on my "Top 20 Favorite Movie Villains" and why he's so scary, and if I explained more then I did, I'd probably be spoiling the film for newcomers. All I'll say is his performance is really horrifying and unsettling. As for his Mother, we don't see her until the end which I won't give away how insane she is. Janet Leigh as our main character is incredible as this guilty women where every scene we see her in, her guilt level and anxiety just keeps rising and rising. As for the supporting cast of actors such as Vera Miles, John Gavin, Martin Balsam, John Mcintire and Simon Oakland they're all perfect for their roles.
STOP! It's time to play...
"WHERE'S ALFRED HITCHCOCK?"
HINT FROM THE MASTER
"You won't see my face but you'll see me by our victim in the beginning".
Good luck, back to the review...
Speaking of Hitchcock, one of the many great things about his work were his teaser trailers which to me are always good and fun to watch before the film. In the teaser trailer to the film, he takes you on a tour of the Motel and House, tells you about the events but stops himself to not give to much away by leaving the viewer with questions, uses a bit of his dark humor and it ends with him opening the shower curtain where we see a screaming Janet Leigh in the shower, hear the score and see the title of the film. If you read the tag line, it says "The picture you MUST see from the beginning...or not at all! For no one will be seated after the start of...PSYCHO". That means if you were late to see the film and missed the start of the film, you will not be seated which were Hitchcock's wishes and demands at the time that this film was released.
The most iconic scene in the movie is the shower scene which is remembered for it's hardcore violence, fast editing, screeching music, and scarring people from using their shower. It may look tamed and nothing much in today's standards, but at the time this film was released it was really realistic and violent. The film also has a plot twist that's so good, so scary that you can call it the MOTHER of all plot twists. Who can also forget the film's thrilling and unsettling iconic score? It does its jobs of giving the film its identity and taking you in by suspense.
The film itself is important for how it influenced a lot of the slasher films, horror films and films in general with it's violence, dark humor, sexual appeal, music and cinematography that we see today on screen and I'd like to point out a few homages and influences from this film.
For starters, if you watch the "Nostalgia Critic" then you already know where Alex from "A Clockwork Orange" got his smile from.
The music is so iconic, where do you think John Williams got his inspiration for the "Jaws" score from?
The infamous Chainsaw scene in "Scarface" is shot and done just as similar the shower scene in this film.
The parodies on the film are endless and there are so many good ones out there, that I am determined of making a list of my favorite "Psycho" parodies some day.
Even histories next giant slasher film took a lot of influence from this film and payed homage to it. Such as starring Janet Leigh's daughter Jamie Lee Curtis as a screaming victim, Doctor Loomis is named after Sam Loomis, there's a crazy slasher villain with a murderous past, and the film (Just like "Psycho") was a major milestone in horror film history!
"Psycho" is Hitchcock's master piece that really brought a lot of influence and to this day, it's still consider a milestone horror classic.
RATING 5/5
Well that was Halloween Month and I guess the question is, will I do it again? To be honest...NO. I'm sorry, but there are so many horror films out there that I simply can't review them all in just 31 days and I don't know if I'm willing to do a month again where I have reviews ready throughout the entire month. But I will review a film from a famous horror franchise on Halloween, what is it, well join me next Halloween.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
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