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Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin, Martin Balsam ... see more see more... , John McIntire , Simon Oakland , Frank Albertson , Patricia Hitchcock , Vaughan Taylor , Lurene Tuttle , John Anderson , Mort Mills , Francis De Sales , George Eldredge , Sam Flint , Virginia Gregg , Frank Killmond , Ted Knight , Jeanette Nolan , Marli Renfro , Helen Wallace , Anne Dore , Marion Crane

In 1960, Alfred Hitchcock was already famous as the screen's master of suspense (and perhaps the best-known film director in the world) when he released Psycho and forever changed the shape and tone o... read more read more...f the screen thriller. From its first scene, in which an unmarried couple balances pleasure and guilt in a lunchtime liaison in a cheap hotel (hardly a common moment in a major studio film in 1960), Psycho announced that it was taking the audience to places it had never been before, and on that score what followed would hardly disappoint. Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) is unhappy in her job at a Phoenix, Arizona real estate office and frustrated in her romance with hardware store manager Sam Loomis (John Gavin). One afternoon, Marion is given $40,000 in cash to be deposited in the bank. Minutes later, impulse has taken over and Marion takes off with the cash, hoping to leave Phoenix for good and start a new life with her purloined nest egg. 36 hours later, paranoia and exhaustion have started to set in, and Marion decides to stop for the night at the Bates Motel, where nervous but personable innkeeper Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) cheerfully mentions that she's the first guest in weeks, before he regales her with curious stories about his mother. There's hardly a film fan alive who doesn't know what happens next, but while the shower scene is justifiably the film's most famous sequence, there are dozens of memorable bits throughout this film. The first of a handful of sequels followed in 1983, while Gus Van Sant's controversial remake, starring Vince Vaughn and Anne Heche, appeared in 1998. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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90% liked it

200,428 ratings

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97% liked it

78 critics

R, 1 hr. 49 min.

Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock

Release Date: June 16, 1960

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DVD Release Date: March 6, 2001

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Stats: 11,987 reviews

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'Psycho' Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates Vera Miles and John Gavin Martin Balsam and Anthony Perkins Vera Miles, John Gavin and Anthony Perkins Vera Miles as Lila Crane 'Psycho' - poster Psycho Psycho Don't Cheat Yourself! Don't Tell Your Friends Psycho Psycho Psycho Psycho Psycho Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates
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Flixster Reviews (11,987)

  • jmanard52
    August 27, 2011
    jmanard52
    What can one say about one of America Cinemas great movies. Classic film from the master of suspense. Iconic scenes and acting abound!
  • garyX
    April 24, 2013
    garyX
    Hitchcock's classic "comedy" featuring the world's most famous mother's boy is one of the most influential films ever made; every serial killer and slasher movie owes something to this, one of the true greats of cinema. Unfortunately, as the character of Norman Bates is SO infamo... read moreus, this is one of those films I wish I could forget I had ever seen and watch it with fresh eyes, but it is still fascinating to watch the awkwardly shy and fresh-faced Anthony Perkins knowing how the story plays out, especially during the exchange between he and Janet Leigh in the parlour. The only minor flaw is the fact that the first act is stronger than the second inevitably meaning a slight anti-climax, especially since the final scenes include the psychiatrist's speech explaining all which is clearly irrelevant in this day and age when the concept of multiple personalities is common knowledge. This is countered however by the brilliantly creepy final shot of Perkins as "mother", who wouldn't even hurt a fly...One of those films that I still find gripping every time I see it.
  • blacksheepboy
    March 4, 2013
    blacksheepboy
    A seminal classic of horror by master Alfred Hitchcock, with some of the most memorable iconic scenes in the history of Cinema. Tense, horrific and a superb lesson in filmmaking, it offers complex characters and revealing dialogue with a huge regard for details.
  • cosmo313
    January 20, 2013
    cosmo313
    Without a doubt one of the most influential films of all time. Timeless classic.

    Whether this is a true slasher film is debatable, but it's influence on the genres of horror and suspense/thriller is undeniable.

    If you don't know the story (which would be surprising), I'll just ... read moresimply say that it involves a young lady on the run who has recently embezzled a great amount of money from her employer. During her escape, she seeks refuge at an isolated motel where she meets the charming, though odd caretaker, and ends up getting far more than she bargained for as she retires to her room to take a nice, relaxing shower...

    This is just an amazingly well crafted piece of work. It's taut, atmospheric, and really draws you in. Hitchcock's direction is pitch perfect, and Bernard Herrmann's score is brilliant.

    Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh give some excellent performances, and John Gavin and Vera Miles are pretty snazzy, too.

    The film has a great look, wonderful set design, and a great sense of style.

    This really is a true must see. Even today, this really holds up, and is still very much a groundbreaking work of art.
  • matertenebraum
    December 14, 2012
    matertenebraum
    here is so much you can get from this film, as can be seen by anyone who has watched the film. This was the first film to be made where people could not come in halfway through and then watch the end, followed by the start. There is, of course, the perhaps urban myth of Hitchcock... read more being phoned by a desperate cinema manager telling him that there was a queue round the block, it was raining, and could he let them in? Hitchcock, undaunted, made him buy everyone umbrellas.

    Hitchcock himself called Psycho a comedy, and it has comic sections in it, although it is an extremely black comedy. At the end, you really do not expect the psychiatrist, when asked if Norman killed those people, to say "Yes...."turn of head, raise of eyebrow"and no!". This made the entire cinema, consisting fully of A-Level students, laugh. You do not expect half of the things that happen in the film to happen, but that does not make it necessarily bad. Of course, there was the 3 sequels including a made for TV one, and practically everyone had a go directing, including Perkins himself. Mind you, no-one can beat the master.
  • TheDudeLebowski65
    November 28, 2012
    TheDudeLebowski65
    In 1960 Alfred Hitchcock created one of the most enduring horror films in the history of cinema. This is a film that influenced a generation of filmmakers and spawned an entire new genre of horror, the Slasher film. What keeps you involved in the film, what keeps you on the edge ... read moreof your seat from start to finish is the lead performance of Anthony Perkins as the tormented psychopathic motel manager Norman Bates. Norman Bates is one of the most iconic horror villains in the genre and cinema in general. Mother of Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh plays Bates' victim Marion Crane with flair, and it's very easy to place her in the best scream queen list along with her daughter. The combination of horror packed into a thriller is immaculate, brilliant. Alfred Hitchcock hones his craft perfectly with this chiller, and the tone and atmosphere along with the timeless Shower scene is what makes this picture truly unforgettable. The acting is terrific, flawless and chilling. Anthony Perkins is absolutely bone chilling in the lead role, and his silent, kind nature adds to his disturbing, psychotic mental instability, and it makes this film stand out. Psycho remains a fresh experience every time you watch it and kit never gets old. The shocks, horror and tension are always there, and it's what keeps you riveted from the first frame onwards. This film is a must see for cinema and horror buffs alike, and there's many aspects of the film that will terrify you in some ways , but with effective storytelling, great performances and wonderful directing, Psycho is a landmark picture, one that set the standards for shocks and genuine terror for many years to come. After seeing this, you'll most likely think twice about taking a shower in a motel room in the middle of nowhere again. This is a work of genius, and one that no viewer should pass up.
  • jlewis07
    October 18, 2012
    jlewis07
    A landmark horror film and one who's influence can be felt in many of the horror greats. Before Carpenter changed the game with Halloween, this was the template to follow. Hitchcock was truly the master of suspense, but it's the uniqueness of the story and screenplay that still h... read moreolds up to this very day.
  • samoriley
    August 7, 2012
    samoriley
    Alfred Hitchcock: the master of suspense, is also the founder of modern horror. 'Psycho' is most likely Hitchcock's most recognised film, mainly through the infamous shower scene and its creepy music that goes so well with it. Norman Bates, portrayed by Anthony Perkins, is now on... read moree of Hollywood's most unique characters. 'Psycho' pushed the boundaries of film during its time with the shocking twist. Because of that, we should remember the power this film has had on the world of film.
  • spielberg00
    July 22, 2012
    spielberg00
    It's not just the story that makes PSYCHO such a fabulously eerie picture. It grows eerier through every viewing, in fact, when each time it is watched, more subtleties are picked up on by the viewer. This was Alfred Hitchcock's final black-and-white-shot film, following 1956?s T... read moreHE WRONG MAN. It's the claim of some skeptics that this was a cheap excuse to use cheap tactics such as chocolate syrup to simulate the effect of bleeding during the notorious "shower scene". Clearly, that isn't the case. The black-and-white gives us a sheer feeling of terror while watching the film. It's not a horror film, but it comes pretty close with such atmospheric, tasteful qualities. We feel as if Hitchcock is not directing the film, but rather directing a murder case. His technique is insurmountable. PSYCHO II and PSYCHO III each study Norman Bates in thorough depth, for example, but neither of them reach the level of suspense and shock that this did.

    read it from the beginning at themoviefreakblog.com
  • CloudStrife84
    July 18, 2012
    CloudStrife84
    Chilling, unforgettable and riddled with skin-crawling tension, Psycho is one of those landmark horror classics that ought to be on everyone's "to watch before I die"-list.

    An audacious tale, in the sense that it also starrs a female lead of questionable moral nature (Ma... read morerion Crane, played by the beautiful Janet Leigh). She trades in lies, beds a married man, steals money from her work - yet the performances and amazing writing still allows us to care for her.

    And when Marion in flight from her crime gets a room at the Bates Motel - owned by creepy sociopath Norman Bates and his overprotective mother - we step into her every experience, leading up to the famous shower scene, where the nail-biting, tightly wound atmosphere, culminates in pure terror and dread thick as blood.

    A lesson in suspense, by wizard-of-a-director Alfred Hitchcock, who has surely inspired a great many film-makers with this paranoid, shocking and hauntingly well-crafted thriller. Truthfully, I can't believe I waited this long to see it. Because it was every bit as arresting as I've been told for years now.

    I can't end this review though, without giving mention to the legendary screen presence of Anthony Perkins. His uncanny transformation from seemingly kind-hearted gentleman to homicidal maniac, will have your heart skipping a beat at several points throughout the narrative. Most definitely in the hall of fame next to Christian Bale's Patrick Bateman and Sir Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lecter.

    That being said, I'm happy to count myself a member now of its appreciative following. For even 52 years after its making, Psycho yet holds sway as one of the most eerie, compelling and bone-chilling stories ever told through the art of cinema. Truly a must-see, for reasons above and many others unmentioned.

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Critic Reviews

Andrew Sarris
October 8, 2012
Andrew Sarris, Village Voice

Hitchcock is the most-daring avant-garde film-maker in America today. Full Review

Keith Uhlich
October 27, 2010
Keith Uhlich, Time Out New York

The best that can be said is there are bats in the belfry and a well-preserved corpse in the basement. What else can one do but scream? Full Review

David Jenkins
April 1, 2010
David Jenkins, Time Out

It blazed a bloody trail for the much-loved slasher cycle, but it also assured us that a B-movie could be A-grade in quality and innovation. Full Review

October 7, 2008
TIME Magazine

Director Hitchcock bears down too heavily in this one, and the delicate illusion of reality necessary for a creak-and-shriek movie becomes, instead, a spectacle of stomach-churning horror. Full Review

Variety Staff
October 7, 2008
Variety Staff, Variety

An unusual, good entertainment, indelibly Hitchcock, and on the right kind of boxoffice beam. Full Review

Dave Kehr
September 19, 2007
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 masterpiece blends a brutal manipulation of audience identification and an incredibly dense, allusive visual style to create the most morally unsettling film ever made. Full Review

Mary Elizabeth Williams
January 1, 2000
Mary Elizabeth Williams, Salon.com

All those who still get a chill every time they step into a hotel shower, say aye. That, you see, is the power of Psycho. Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

What makes Psycho immortal, when so many films are already half-forgotten as we leave the theater, is that it connects directly with our fears. Full Review

Paine Knickerbocker
January 1, 2000
Paine Knickerbocker, San Francisco Chronicle

[Hitchcock] has very shrewdly interwoven crime, sex and suspense, blended the real and the unreal in fascinating proportions and punctuated his film with several quick, grisly and unnerving surprises. Full Review

James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

With the exception of Halloween, no latter-day horror/thriller has been capable of generating as many goosebumps. Full Review

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Facts

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    • Norman Bates: A boy's best friend is his mother.
    • Norman Bates: We all go a little mad sometimes.
    • Norman Bates: A boy's best friend is his mother.
    • Norman Bates: I think I must have one of those faces you can't help believing.
    • Norman Bates: People always mean well. They cluck their thick tongues, and shake their heads and suggest, oh, so very delicately!
    • Norman Bates: We all go a little mad sometimes.
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Psycho Trivia

  • On American Psycho, what weapon did Patrick drop down the stairwell, that killed the girl at the bottom?  Answer »
  • What kind of fruit was recorded being stabbed to create the chilling sound effect for the shower scene of Hitchcock's masterpiece, psycho...?  Answer »
  • In what film did this music first feature in?  Answer »
  • First American film ever to show a toilet flushing on screen.  Answer »
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