Psycho

THE HITCHCOCK PROJECTFilm 24 of 30 24 - Psycho It's not as if is she were a maniac, a raving thing. She just goes - a little mad sometimes. We all go a little mad sometimes. I can't imagine what it must have been like to watch Psycho for the first time. Like other great twists, Psycho's has so thoroughly permeated the culture that my first watch felt like my tenth. We all know the shower scene, the mommy issues, the reveal that Norman's mother is dead. And yet Psycho has lost absolutely none of its power or terror. It's interesting how much Hitchcock's entire career has become associated in general culture with Psycho, a film that feels so unlike much else in the catalog. Sure, there are obvious tenets of his style here and it's not as if Psycho is a total aberration from his work, but it definitely stands out. Hitchcock continues interrogating his brand of cinematic voyeurism, especially in an uncomfortable but brilliant sequence watching Norman clean up after his mother's crime scene. Anthony Perkins delivers the best Hitchcock performance, bar none, though I always have to give my shoutout to Martin Balsam who appears for like twenty minutes and they might be my favorite in the movie. Hard to really come up with something new to say about Psycho, again with it being so completely picked apart and appropriated by the broader culture. Hitchcock's best, now and forever.