Happy Halloween! Here we are at the end of 31 Days of Horror: 10 Years of Fear. I decided to end this year with Psycho — the movie that got me hooked on horror as child.
Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) has just stolen a large sum of money from her boss and is driving out to California to meet her boyfriend Sam Loomis (John Gavin). Sam has massive debts and can’t marry Marion, so she took the money to help them. Along the way she switches cars at a dealership and then continues driving into the night. Tired and in a rain storm she stops at an unremarkable little place called the Bates Motel.
The Bates Motel is run by a friendly but lonely clerk/manager named Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), who runs the place for his mother. Turns out Crane is the motel’s only guest — no one else is staying there since it’s off the main road. Norman has a sandwich with Marion and helps her decide to go back home and face the consequences for her actions. All good, except for the fact Bate’s mother is hostile to the idea of her son socializing with the seductive Crane. And if you somehow don’t know what happens next, then you need to watch Psycho immediately.
I love Psycho. It’s brilliantly shot in black and white and gorgeous and horrifying watch. The music, the camera angles, the acting and of course the directing is all perfect. It set the stage for modern horror and it’s influence will last as long as there are movies.
Here’s my original post on Psycho from 2010’s 31 Days Of Thrilling Horror. Happy Halloween!