Psycho (1960)
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Critic Consensus: Infamous for its shower scene, but immortal for its contribution to the horror genre. Because Psycho was filmed with tact, grace, and art, Hitchcock didn't just create modern horror, he validated it.
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Cast
as Norman Bates
as Marion Crane
as Lila Crane
as Sam
as Arbogast
as Sheriff
as Dr. Richmond
as Millionaire

as Caroline
as Mrs. Chambers
as George Lowery
as California Charlie
as Highway Patrolman

as District Attorney

as Chief of Police

as Official

as Woman Customer
as Police Guard
as Man Outside Office in Cowboy Hat

as Bob Summerfield

as Perkins' Double in Shower Scene

as Leigh's Double in Shower Scene
as Norma Bates (uncredited)
as Norma Bates (uncredited)
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Critic Reviews for Psycho
All Critics (86) | Top Critics (13) | Fresh (83) | Rotten (3) | DVD (5)
Paramount won't let anyone enter theatres where Psycho is playing after the picture starts. No one will want to leave before it is over.

The obvious thing to say is that Hitch has done it again; that the suspense of his picture builds up slowly but surely to an almost unbearable pitch of excitement.

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

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.

Audience Reviews for Psycho
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 well-constructed characters, a lot of revealing dialogue and a huge regard for details.
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Super Reviewer
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 infamous, 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.

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Psycho Quotes
Norman Bates: | People always mean well. They cluck their thick tongues and shake their heads and suggest oh, so very delicately... |
Norman Bates: | Mother! Oh, God, Mother! Blood! Blood!! |
Norman Bates: | A boy's best friend is his mother. |
Norman Bates: | We all go a little mad sometimes. |
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