Psycho

By 1960, approximately 65 years after the birth of Cinema, the general audience was already familiar with the concept of the main character and accustomed to seeing them survive until the end. So, imagine the surprise of many who hadn’t read the book and went to the theatre to see Psycho for the first time (following the famous strict schedule). Alfred Hitchcock was famous for breaking many of the cinematic norms that had been established well before he adapted Robert Bloch’s novel to the big screen. For and in Psycho, he does that so many times that one could say the movie was the epitome of rule-breaking, at least for that time. Not that it’s important to the plot, but it’s interesting to know that this was the first time people saw a toilet being flushed onscreen.  In an eerie and strange way, this is also a film that mirrors the life of Anthony Perkins, who unfortunately lost his father at the age of five. We don’t have direct quotes from the late actor stating that he drew inspiration directly from those sad circumstances, but one cannot help but think that must have played a part in creating one of the most terrifying characters in Cinema history. Norman Bates is a person of contrasts. He can be meticulous, but also sloppy. At first, he appears to be normal, but he has darkness inside him. These dualities are essential to the character and Perkins brings them to life effortlessly. The actor is so good at making Norman Bates seem like your typical next door, friendly neighbour, when in reality he’s much worse than that.  Building off of a book that was well received , Hitchcock and Joseph Stefano joint forces to conceive a script that would eventually result in one of the most influential films of all time, a recognition that goes beyond the Horror genre. Instead of resorting to cheap thrills and easy frights, Psycho scares you with the idea that we might have a monster inside of us that is trying to get us to do things that should be left as intrusive thoughts. This might not have been the first big production to tackle a topic as sensitive as mental health, but for sure it was one that did it in a truly unsettling way. Psycho is featured in a great number of lists of The Best Movies of All Time, and deservedly so. Hitchcock himself wasn’t sure that his movie would be a gigantic success, but its influence has rippled across time and is felt to this day, when references to its plot and set are still being made.