Macabre...ish Horror Review: Psycho

 

Psycho, 1960/ 109 min

 

Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) is a real estate secretary turned thief. She has a boyfriend, Sam, who says they cannot get married because of his debts. When Marion’s boss tasks her to deposit a client’s deposit, $40,000, she decides to leave work early, steal the money and drive to Sam in Fairvale, Ca, from Arizona.

 

On the way, she sleeps on the side of the road and after getting spooked by highway patrol, she trades in her vehicle, at a dealership. And then a storm stops her again and forces her to stop at Bates Motel. Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), the proprietor, checks her in and invites her to dinner. During their dinner conversation, she has a change of heart and decides to return the money she stole.

 

She doesn’t make it, she’s stabbed in the shower that night. Then her sister, Lila, her boyfriend, Sam and police arrive looking for her and is rebuffed by Norman with a story about his mother. The police return later, determined to talk to his mother and make it into the big gothic house on the hill, that sits behind the motel.

 

And find a lot more than they expect about the Bates and what goes on in that house and motel. The twisted relationship of Norman and his mother plus what happens when Mother becomes jealous of Norman’s attraction to women.

 

Very good movie! Great score that was almost entirely the reason this movie is scary. Black and white but I didn’t even notice after a while. Expect graphic violence and jump scares.

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