Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Psycho’ (1960)

Written by John Edward Betancourt

The word iconic gets thrown around a lot when it comes to discussing classic films that are beloved by everyone and I fully understand why. Because some of these movies truly changed the landscape of cinema, by offering us stories that quite frankly took us by surprise from the get-go, and because they were able to captivate us like never before and influence generations of filmmakers, they do indeed deserve their ‘iconic’ status through and through. But even that definition of the word and how it is applied to cinema is broad and vague in its own right, since any film can influence someone to go out and make art and so many have captivated us in unique ways.
 
Which begs the question then, what makes an iconic film, iconic? And personally, I believe a few key things go into that. First and foremost, it has to offer something fresh and original to audiences everywhere, in every sense of the phrase. Which means that the story has to wow us with something that is completely unexpected and powerful and from a technical standpoint it has to impress with visuals that sear into our mind and also, it needs to be timeless in its own right. To the point where one doesn’t notice the little clues that remind the viewer of when it was filmed, because they’re utterly drawn into the story on the screen.
 
If anything, that’s quite the tough criteria when all is said and done because accomplishing all of that in a single film takes a lot of work and a masterful eye, direction wise. Yet, back in the 1950s and 1960s, there was a filmmaker who managed to pull off that particular feat on a seemingly regular basis and that’s due in large part to the fact that Alfred Hitchcock had honed his craft to the point of perfection at that point in time, and everything he produced and directed during that timeframe was cinematic gold, the kind that is iconic in its own right. But of the many films he gave life to during that era, there is only one that stands out above the rest, and deserves its standing as a true icon, and that would have to be Psycho.

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​Because this particular film revolutionized the horror genre in so many ways, starting with the fact that its story, based upon Robert Bloch’s novel of the same name, surprises you at just about every single turn. Because at first glance, this movie looks like it is going to provide us with a crime story that revolves around an everyday person who lifts a little cash from the boss, before shifting gears to become an outright nightmare. It’s the kind of twist storytelling you rarely see in cinema anymore, and it is Hitchcock’s ability as a director that allows for this work since he lulls us into a magnificent false sense of security minute by minute until that all-important shower scene arrives, and this was revolutionary simply due to the fact that this twist demonstrated that horror didn’t need a monster in a rubber suit, that the evils of man are enough to terrify us.
 
Yet it is Norman Bates that offers us something new in this particular tale, simply because I am hard pressed to think of another horror film from this era that provides the audience with such a slick villain, one that truly resembles an everyday man. And the film’s frank portrayal of a serial killer that clearly suffers from mental illness was also revolutionary at the time and it is still chilling and unsettling after all these years. Simply due to the fact, that men who are eventually caught for similar crimes in this day and age, have that Norman Bates, everyday look, and it makes this film feel prophetic in its own way and really, it is Anthony Perkins that we have to thank for that since his portrayal of this disturbed character is powerful and terrifying.
 
In the end however, this is one of those movies that you can watch repeatedly and find something new with every viewing. Simply because this is an incredibly layered story, one that oddly features few redeeming characters since most of our leads are thieves and murderers and that’s really what I love the most about this motion picture. The fact that it leaves you compelled to learn more about unsavory people who do bad things, and that your fascination only grows as the story progresses. But most importantly, this is a scary film, one that still makes me wince once the shower curtain is pulled back and it is one that I think we will continue to pour over for decades to come since it has so much to offer and because it is an outright masterpiece. 

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