Halloween Movie Diary: Psycho (1960)

I love Halloween with a passion and part of celebrating Halloween is watching a ton of amazing movies. I've already started and one that I recently got to see in theatres as a special treat was the 1960 classic Psycho. This film is about a woman who has stolen a large amount of money and ends up at the mysterious Bates Motel where she finds she has more to deal with than just getting away with the cash. 
Alfred Hitchcock is probably in my list of top five favorite directors and Psycho is one film that I start to love the more I see it. Hitchcock had been making movies for decades before Psycho came along but it is arguably his most popular movie for a reason. It has amazing acting from Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, and Janet Leigh; incredible cinematography; spine-tingling music; and great jump scares mixed with an actually interesting storyline.

Psycho was a different kind of scary movie for the day. It broke barriers (you can see the whole story on the making Psycho in the film Hitchcock) and made popular a new kind of villain in the horror movie genre. The bad guy wasn't a vampire, a werewolf, or a giant radioactive lizard. It was just a guy, a guy who seemed nice and normal, if not a bit awkward and shy. Hitchcock's films have always had a sense of realism mixed in with horror and suspense. These events could happen to anyone, anywhere, which in my opinion makes them scarier than a monster or ghost with supernatural powers. There is a Bates Motel in every town and anyone could be working there. In true Hitchcock fashion, the message of Psycho seems to be "don't judge a book by its cover; the seemingly nicest person could really be a serial killer dealing with some serious psychological issues."

Also, whether Hitchcock meant to or not, the film creates a meaningful discussion about the treatment of mental health. Norman Bates confides in Marion Cane that he could never send his mother to a mental hospital because of the awful way patients are treated. It leaves the audience wondering if mental institutions had been better, could Norman have been saved before things got out of hand. It also lets the audience question whether one should check into a creepy motel by oneself, especially if you've been inside the parlor filled with stuffed birds staring at you.
Psycho may be 55 years old this year and in black-and-white, things that many current movie-goers would call boring, but this movie is far from it. The dialogue is surprisingly relevant, the acting is still magnificent, and the story will keep you on the edge of your seat. Psycho is a must-watch during the Halloween season.