Psycho (1960)
★★★½ — Psycho (1960)
Alfred Hitchcock made Psycho in 1960 as something of a deliberate provocation, financing it himself through his television production company Shamley (keeping the budget to around $800,000) after Paramount declined to back it in the usual studio fashion. He recruited much of his TV crew from the Alfred Hitchcock Presents series, which kept costs low and gave the film its unusually gritty, almost documentary texture. The screenplay, by Joseph Stefano, adapted Robert Bloch's 1959 novel, which was itself loosely inspired by the real-life case of Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein. Hitchcock famously bought up as many copies of the book as he could find, hoping to preserve the ending's surprise. The casting of Janet Leigh, a recognised leading lady of the period, in what turns out to be a supporting role was a calculated misdirection that became one of cinema's most discussed structural gambits.
The Simpsons parody spoiled this ending for my girlfriend. Probably the first true slasher flick, and could be argued as the most influential. But honestly? Nowhere near Hitchcock’s best. Its impact on cinema is undeniable, but ironically, that impact kind of works against it. The famous twists have been parodied, referenced, and spoiled to death (thanks, The Simpsons). I showed this to my girlfriend recently and she was terrified and completely hooked… but she called the killer in the first 10 minutes so it definitely lost the shock value it could have had. Still, for a film over 60 years old, it holds up remarkably well. The shower scene alone is worth the price of admission. But let’s be real, it’s aged just enough that it doesn’t hit as hard as it once did.
Rating: ★★★½ | Year: 1960 | Watched: 2025-04-02
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Related on Movies With Macca
More from Alfred Hitchcock: Sabotage (1936) · Rebecca (1940) · Vertigo (1958) · Dial M for Murder (1954)
More from the 1960s: Viy (1967) · Persona (1966) · Carnival of Souls (1962) · Daisies (1966)
More horror: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) · Viy (1967) · Nightmare City (1980) · Angst (1983)
More thriller: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) · Angst (1983) · The Long Walk (2025) · Punishment Park (1971)
