Psycho (1960)
We all go a little mad sometimes.
THE SUMMARY: A runaway woman goes missing after a stay at a mysterious motel, and her friends and family’s search uncovers an odd relationship between her killer and his mother. Certainly some scenes are very aged, which is forgivable after a half century, and even though I saw nearly every development coming, I still enjoyed watching the mystery unravel.
FROM MOVIE-PICKER KYLE: An iconic horror film that was revolutionary for its time. It faked out audiences into thinking they were seeing a thriller only to switch it up, kill the main star and turn into a murder mystery. And it has one of the most famous twists of all time - coupled with a great performance by Anthony Perkins as Norman, a guy who had almost as messed up of a real life as Norman did, it makes this an all-time great film that's as watchable today as it was when it was released.
THE BEST:
Back half saves the first half: The first half of the movie involving Marion’s theft and runaway to Sam was much less interesting. It’s slower, less tense, and most importantly, it lacks the movie’s best character, Norman. However, as movie-picker Kyle notes, the back story is useful in that the movie sets you up to think the main plot point is the theft and the runaway, only to end that point abruptly and turn it to a murder mystery. To create that shift and juxtaposition, and to make Marion’s murder more shocking, the first half is necessary, but until you can see that in retrospect, the first half does drag a bit.
The back half is when the movie becomes much more fun to watch, trying to guess who exactly the killer is, and what exactly is happening with Norman’s mom. Whether the movie gives it away or whether I’m just a great guesser, I was able to predict that Norman actually is his mom, mostly because they’re never seen together at the same time. Even though I saw the surprises coming, it was still fun to piece together the puzzle as it developed.
Anthony Perkins’ performance as Norman: A+. Hard to nail a character who is surface-level friendly and charismatic, but base-level sinister, but Perkins does. As movie-picker Kyle explains, maybe it was just method acting or reliving his own experiences. Much like Norman, Anthony Perkins himself lost his father at a young age, endured emotional struggle because of it, and developed an ‘abnormally close’ relationship with his mother. Perhaps much like Norman is his mother, maybe Anthony Perkins just is Norman - the character is just another piece of his own psychology.
He’s a transvestite!: Not much of a substantive point, other than I enjoy wholesome moments like this in old movies, back when you could call a spade a spade.
THE WORST:
Norman’s failure to cover his obvious tracks: Much of this point might actually not be a flaw at all. It’s possible that Norman wants to get caught, for his own twisted reasons, or perhaps he doesn’t cover up what should be because his mentality is stuck in something of a child’s state. But it’s notable he leaves himself vulnerable to investigators in obvious ways. He doesn’t alter or remove Marion’s guestbook record. He leaves room one completely open for Sam and Lila to walk right in. He’s right next door in the office as soon as they’re done snooping in room one, implying he knew they were inside. He leaves his home door open, even after Arbogast has already intruded.
If the explanation is Norman is a ‘psycho’ killer looking to trap his victims, sure - but that would imply a habit. If it’s a habit, and people went missing at his hotel routinely, he’d automatically be suspect number one upon Marion’s disappearance. If this is Norman’s first experience with murder, and he’s just bad at it, why now? His mom has been dead for a decade, he’s assumed this ‘mother’ character for a decade, but only now has a woman hot enough come to the hotel for his attraction to trigger mother murder mode?
Overthinking, I suppose. I’m just confused if we’re supposed to view Norman as cunning or incompetent.
The murder scenes are hokey decades later: I get it. The shower scene is iconic. I get it. Convincing violent effects were in their infancy when this movie was made. Still, the murders come off more funny than scary at their old age. It doesn’t discredit the influence of classic scenes. It just means I laughed when I was supposed to be shocked with fear. Arbogast’s stair-falling death is especially hilarious, with the ‘slash’ across his face, even though the knife never comes close to his face at all. Comedy gold.
I know, I know. I have to respect the legend.
It’s Hershey’s syrup on his face after an ice cream accident.
THE RATING: 4/5 Wickies. More like 3.5, but half points round up and I’ll be generous because I enjoyed the movie after the slow start.
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NEXT UP (for July 9): The Lion King (1994)
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