Posted by The next film in my sporadic classics revisited series is another Alfred Hitchcock one – Psycho, with 97 on Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes and a ‘must watch’ and ‘fresh’ respectively. As hard as it is to imagine, considering its fame and universal adoration, I knew next to nothing about the film coming into it – barring the iconic music and that shower scene.
Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) works in a bank, and life with her boyfriend Sam (John Gavin) is on hold due to his crippling debts. A rich, slightly oafish man walks in, wielding a huge wodge of cash to buy a house for his daughter. The easy answer to Marian’s problems is under her nose, willpower deserts her and she pinches the dough and drives off. Whilst on this drive, to avoid detection she spends the night at the dark, empty and forgotten Bates Motel. Things spiral from there, with the suspense and expertly crafted tension never abating.
It is yet again another utterly absorbing affair from Hitchcock. A fear driven psychological thriller with an intricately laid out plot, with hints and breadcrumbs dropped throughout. The story, whilst undeniably good and coming to a satisfying ending, is a tad forecasted – with the trademark twists, and fatal moments, visible in plain sight. Some bits along the way stick out as well, Marion missing some very odd behaviour and obvious red flags. Also, Marion’s boyfriend Sam (John Gavin) distraction tactics near the end are as subtle as a tonne of bricks. But these kinds of things are minor and do not detract from the picture, and they have been an unfortunate part of the thriller and horror genres for a while.
It has a dark and ominous tone, which is fuelled by Anthony Perkins’ stellar turn as the awkward, fumbling and seemingly put upon Norman Bates – the proprietor of the Bates Motel. Janet Leigh’s performance is undeniable, filling the frustrated yet frightened Marion with humanity. As well as the mercurial soundtrack, done by Hitchcock and Orsen Welles collaborator Bernard Herrmann – its sombre motifs and haunting strings is the film’s bedrock. It, and the film as a whole, basically invented horror movies we know them today – particularly the slashers of the 1980s.
Whilst not quite topping Rear Window, Psycho is a psychological thriller with a nerve jangling sense of tension, a timeless soundtrack and a captivating turn by Anthony Perkins.
8/10
Lofty Music and Film 