Greetings, and welcome back! Day 4 of October Horror Fest is upon us, and I decided to watch a truly special horror movie today. This film was terrifying, and made me realize why I truly love the genre of horror. Today we’ll take a look at the movie that started the modern horror genre, and one that was created by a filmmaking genius. Without further ado, sit back, relax, turn off the lights, grab some Candy and Popcorn, and let’s review…
Psycho (1960)
From the mind of Alfred Hitchcock, Psycho is the film that kickstarted the genre of modern horror. Being the backbone and inspiration for movies such as Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Child’s Play. Being created in 1960, it was a truly terrifying movie for the audience to consume, and it was scary for me as well, all the way in 2023.
Our film begins with Marion Crane, a girl from Phoenix with big dreams for her life. She’s a beautiful woman, and is always ready to get married. With her is her “boyfriend”, Sam Loomis (yes, the direct inspiration for Dr. Sam Loomis from Halloween!!! There are several other nods to influential horror movies in other films I’ll be reviewing, so be on the lookout!). Marion eventually leaves Sam, as he has a plane to catch. She travels to work, where she works as an accountant. Stumbling into her work area is her boss and his friend, who we learn to be extremely wealthy. This wealthy man immediately begins to flirt with Marion, who’s advances she rejects. He even gives her an absolutely insane 40k dollars in cash, which Marion is told to put into the bank. This is where our tragedy begins.
Marrion decides to get away from it all, and steals the money for herself. She drives out of town and all the way to California, where she just keeps driving down the roads. The shots that show her driving are accompanied by beautiful cinematography, further pushing Psycho as the quintessential horror film. Marrion eventually gets caught in the rain, and has to pull over. She is still driving, until she sees a motel on the side of the road. The Bates Motel is open, and has a vacancy for Marion. She gets inside, and runs into the “owner” of the motel, Norman Bates. Norman lives in a house close to the motel, and comes running down to check Marion in. Marion fills in on the checkbook using a pseudonym, and gets into room #1. Norman, seeing she’s tired and hungry, invites her for milk and sandwiches in his house. Marion accepts, and Norman goes running up to his house. This is where one of the most important scenes in the film takes place.
Norman’s mother begins yelling at him, telling him he’s useless and should never have that “girl” (Marion) inside of her house. Norman begrudgingly obliges, and goes down to the motel. He meets Marion, and she’s upset about his mother talking to him about that. They sit down and begin to eat, and Norman tells her it’s ok. He doesn’t hate his mother, but she is… “ill” according to Norman. Marrion says she’s running away to go to a private island using the newly acquired 40,000 dollars, and she suggests that Norman run away too, and put his Mother away in an asylum. This is where Norman snaps. He says he would never do that, and that “Everyone goes a little mad sometimes” in reference to his mother. This line would go on to become one of the most famous in horror history. Norman then brings Marrion to her cabin, and walks away. This is, until, we see him spying through a peephole on her getting undressed. He then walks back into his house, and we think everything is fine. What follows next is one of if not the most famous scene in horror history, accompanied by one of the most iconic themes in horror history as well. Norman’s Mother walks into the room, slowly comes behind Marrion in the shower, opens the curtain, and kills her in the Psycho Shower Scene, one of the most influential scenes ever filmed.
For the next twenty minutes we are with Norman as he walks back into the room and almost throws up at the sight. He spends the time cleaning up the room, and even sinking Marrion’s body and car into the swamp next to the motel. We find ourselves with Sam and Lila, Marrion’s sister, as they attempt to find out what happened to Marrion. Lila is terribly worried, and Sam is as well. This is until Arbogast walks in. Arbogast is a private eye, and was assigned to find the 40k that Marrion stole. He sets out through the night, searching many motels. He eventually stumbles upon the Bates Motel, where he questions Norman. Holes in Norman’s story begin to appear, and Arbogast pursues them. Norman is nervous throughout the entire interrogation, and wants Arbogast to leave. Arbogast sees Norman’s mother in the window, and asks to see her. Norman immediately declines, and sends Arbogast away. Shortly after, Arbogast calls Lila and tells her that he still wants answers from the motel. He sets back out, even breaking into Norman’s house. Arbogast climbs the steps to the upstairs, when another truly iconic scene plays.
The Mother rushes out of her room in a movement that actually scared me while watching, and stabs Arbogast. He falls down the stairs, and the Mother kills him brutally. Lila and Sam become worried, and set out themselves, posing as a married couple, to find the location of Arbogast. They first stop with the Sheriff, who tells them shocking news. Knowing Norman, he thinks he is a sweet and king boy, but truly a hermit. Sam tells him about the mother, and the Sheriff is shocked, telling Sam and Lila that Mrs. Bates has been dead for 10 years. Lila and Sam eventually reach the motel, armed with the shocking news they discovered, and begin searching the place. Lila walks into the house to search for Marrion, while Sam distracts Norman by having a talk with him.
Lila begins to walk around the house, leading us into the climax of the movie. Sam gets more and more agitated with Norman in the meantime, eventually threatening him about the $40k. Norman knocks out Sam when he gets too close, and runs into the house. Lila sneaks into the basement, and finds Mrs. Bates. However, when she gets close enough, she turns around, to find a corpse. Mrs. Bates was truly dead, and now Norman is coming. We see Norman appear, wearing his Mother’s clothes and holding a knife, until Sam subdues him.
We end the film in a police station, with a psychiatrist explaining what happened in the film. Norman’s mother was extremely controlling, and they lived alone for his entire life. Norman was deeply disturbed already, until his Mother found another man after his father passed. This was the final straw for Norman, and he killed both of them, the town and the Sheriff all believing it was a double suicide. Norman, because of this, keeps his Mother’s body. He steals it from her casket, and even tries to keep it healthy to the best of his ability. Two personalities take root in his head. Norman, and the Mother. The Mother and Norman are jealous of one another. According to the Psychiatrist, when Norman found Marrion, he was entranced by her, he wanted her. Because of this, the Mother went berserk, and killed Marrion. Norman was only trying to be a good son by cleaning up the murder, fully believing that his Mother killed her. This only adds further complexity to this amazing film. When Norman as the Mother was subdued by Sam, the mental battle between the two sides finally ended, and the Mother took full control of Norman. We end the film with Norman, now the Mother, talking to herself about how she had to step in for her idiot son. Norman, The Mother, peers up at the camera, and smiles, spawning for the third time, an extremely, extremely famous shot that went down in horror history.
Psycho was a movie I’m shocked I haven’t seen, and I’m so happy that I finally did. Psycho was truly the beginning of the modern horror genre, and spawned the entire sub-genre of the slasher. I recommend this movie to all horror fans, and even to film fans in general, so that everyone can see the movie that truly started it all. Thank you all for reading! I hope you all enjoyed Day 4, and I hope you’re ready for even more! Just before I go, I want you all to remember, We all go a little mad sometimes…