Psycho

 I am not a fan of the horror genre but I could simply not resist the edge-of-your-seat suspense/ horror movie Psycho. Psycho, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, is certainly one of the best films this brilliant filmmaker ever made. An excellently film, and a very, very much important and great film in the horror genre, Psycho has many thrills and many scares.

Psycho is really a ‘Horror Slasher’ movie, even if you dislike horror movies like I do, Psycho is still recommended to any classic film fan. The only real problem with Psycho is the very slow first half, it was starting to be a disappointment but I am glad that I finished the movie because it was again another movie of my Films Studies class. While many consider this a ‘horror’movie, it was not scary, however it was suspenseful and sometimes very creepy in a good way.

The first very scary scene in the movie is when the character named Marion is taking a shower. A shadowy figure of a woman appears, and repeatedly stabs Marion, and then goes away, leaving Marion to die soon. It is this movie that and exactly this is the scene that spooked every American while having a shower. This scene is so very scary with the scary background music. Before this scene, there were several other thrilling, but none of them were as shocking, as scary, as unexpected as this one. This scene had also inspired many suspense and horror movies.

Near the beginning of the movie Marion Crane, a secretary, steals a lot of money in order to help her divorced boyfriend Sam. She starts for Sam's home in California. She is exhausted. A rainstorm starts, and she is forced to take shelter at the Bates Motel. The manager, Norman Bates, tells her that hardly any visitor come here. She registers with a false name. After showing her the room, he invites her for dinner, and she accepts. Then she hears Norman and his mother arguing. Mrs. Bates doesn't want Marion to come to their house. So, she has dinner in Norman's office. Norman seems to be strongly controlled by his mother. After dinner, she goes for a shower. While taking a shower, the scary thing takes place. And she if found dead on the bathroom floor.

A few days later, Marion's sister Lila is very worried about her. A private detective, Milton Arbogast, is searching for Marion. Lila meets Sam, Marion's boyfriend. Arbogast questions about Marion in different hotels and finally reaches the Bates motel. Then such things start happening that makes the movie more shadowy, more mysterious. And until the very last scene of the movie, the film just kept me looking at the screen.

The film is in fact, a great one truly. The combination of everything makes it so great. The story is wonderful and as the film goes on it gets more mysterious and makes the viewer more curious. It has got thrills, it has got scares.

I would like to give special praise to the music. The musical effects contributed much to make the film more scary, more thrilling..  

The performances are quite excellent. Janet Leigh as Marion, Vera Miles as her sister Lila and John Gavin as Marion's boyfriend Sam Loomis, all play their roles excellently. But the most remarkable performance in this film is given by Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates. I won't go into details about this character.

In short, ''Psycho'' is a great movie, and a great film in the horror or suspense genre.