Psycho Movie Review | Critique

Not one but many western classics are my favorites because of their style, their content, their presentations, & most importantly their characters. And when it is from Alfred Hitchcock, obviously the expectations rise.

Psycho is based on a novel of the same name by Robert Bloch, which was in turn based on the crimes of Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein. The basic storyline deals with a woman (Janet Leigh), who cheats her boss for money, & escapes. On her way she gets into a motel, meets the sweet owner (Anthony Perkins), & is killed! I can’t tell you what follows next or I will be taking away all the thrill & fun of watching this flick, from you!

This film boasts of many outstanding scenes especially the shower scene which has been used, remade & spoofed, countless many times. But that’s not the only one! The opening scene, the scene involving killing of Arbogast, & the scene in which the killer is revealed, all of them are simply fantastic. I also love the way camera first zooms in to the hole in the bathtub & then zooms out through the victim’s eye, when Leigh is murdered. All the murder scenes come out to you so sudden & quick that you can’t even realize whether you are shocked, surprised or scared!

However the most stunning part of the film is its concept. A film based on a psychological disorder, & that to in 1960! WOW! For the first 45 minutes you can’t even realize what amazing shocks are waiting for you.

The strong points of the movie also include Perkin’s performance. His innocence is so charming that till the end he manages to gain your sympathy. Background score by Bernard Hermann is the best that the movie could have got. The movie was shot in black & white due to financial reasons, but it works in its favor. Hitchcock has also done a cameo; he can be seen through a window, wearing a Stetson hat, standing outside Marion Crane's office (seven minutes into the film).two sequels have been made to it- Psycho-2(1983) & Psycho-3(1986) & a prequel Psycho-4-the beginning(1990,which was a TV series)

Hitchcock also put a strange condition-‘late admission wasn’t allowed’, & it was well put on the posters, because he thought that if viewers entered late & did not see Janet then they would feel cheated. Although feared, but this condition was no hindrance & the movie turned out to be a blockbuster, warmly welcomed by the crowd eagerly waiting outside the theatres!

If you have real love for movies you can’t miss out this one. It’s the mother of all the suspense movies made till date. I promise you will be overwhelmed to witness this timeless beauty. WATCH IT IF YOU HAVENT YET!

Written by Rishabh Shukla