When you are looking back at the greatest films of Alfred Hitchcock, you have to spare a thought for Psycho - which is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential horror movies of all time.
It was back in 1960 when Psycho hit the big screen for the first time, changing the way that horror movies were made forever. Since then, there have been sequel, remakes, and retellings but they have never been able to live up to the original.
The movie is loosely based on the novel of the same name by Robert Bloch, and saw Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins on the cast list.
Psycho follows secretary Marion Crane, who steals $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.
With Psycho, the director turned all of the traditional trademarks of this genre on its head as he re-wrote the rulebook. Hitchcock showed that you don't need your leading lady from beginning to end as he killed her off in the first act.
Janet Leigh was one of the biggest stars at the time and to see her killed off in the first thirty minutes was a huge shock - now it is something of a regularity. This was a daring move for the director… but it was one that was to be a huge success.
The shower scene remains one of the most terrifying and iconic in cinema history - it really does send a chill down your spine over fifty years later.
Psycho is Hitchcock at his suspenseful best - with Janet Leigh killed off so early in the film, you really didn’t know what was around the corner and which other actors might bite the dust before the credits rolled.
Not only did Hitchcock build the tension with every scene, but he was also not afraid to show the brutality and violence when it come to the infamous shower scene.
The close up of Leigh along with Anthony Perkins' shrieking score makes this a film moment that you will never forget. This seminal moment really has paved the way for all other horror/slasher films that have come since Psycho hit the big screen over five decades ago.
Psycho is a dark and compelling film from start to finish, and is packed with rich movie moments that shows Hitchcock was a director who was way ahead of his time when it came to the horror genre.
As well as being on the most entertaining and iconic horror movies ever made, Psycho is one of the most influential, as directors have used this as a template when making their own horror films.
Psycho is the movie that really took the horror genre in a brand new and exciting direction, and it remains the film against which all other horror movies are measured against.
To Catch A Thief is re-released 8th August.
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