PSYCHO (1960)

What more can be said about this one? PSYCHO is not only a great product of its time, but pulled something off that few, if any, movies can do successfully nowadays. In an era of no social media, no spoilers, they managed to shock the audience by killing off its main star partway through. A feat only the Scream movies have managed to do somewhat effectively. Back tracking, for those not familiar with the story, we have a young woman looking to stay at a motel for a night…where, cue music in the shower, she is brutally stabbed and disposed of by what appears to be an older woman. All we are privy to is the man who runs the motel…and a figure he talks to throughout the film until we get to the shocking climax. Part mystery, part horror, this was one of Hitchcock’s finest where he knew how to elicit suspense and surprises as we navigate the story and see what is behind all the layers. If made nowadays, more social commentary could revolve around the conclusion but in the context of the time period, we could potentially just chalk the main villain up to the basic title…a psycho. Good performances, good suspense, and a timely classic. Also, the power of editing…you don’t actually see any ‘stabbing’ during the famous scene…all done with the power of suggestion and music with quick edits. Genius.

SLASH SCENE: Shower!

SLASH SCORE: 5/5