Psycho (1960 film)

Psycho is usually short for psychopath. Robert Bloch wrote a book named "Psycho" that was made into a movie by Alfred Hitchcock. The movie starred (in alphabetical order) John Gavin, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, Simon Oakland, and Anthony Perkins. "Psycho" is more suspenseful than most horror movies, with a minimum of gore. Hitchcock does a masterful job in this black-and-white film; I believe it's easier to portray nuances of emotion and mood than in a color movie. If you're unaware of the plot, READ NO FURTHER than the next paragraph!!

The basic plot is the search for a missing woman (Janet Leigh). The first scene (risque in its day) shows Leigh and Gavin in their undies after a lunchtime "quickie". Next, Leigh steals money from her job, and goes on the lam. She is quite sleepy, so she misses a turnoff and eventually ends up on a nearly-deserted road. This road was originally the main route, so it has an old motel on it. Although it's seldom used, Perkins keeps the motel open. It's a change from taking care of his ill mother.

It turns out that Perkins' mother is not ill physically, but mentally. She slashes Leigh to bits in the famous shower scene. Perkins is horrified when he finds the corpse, but cleans up as if he has done this several times before. Meanwhile, Leigh's sister, Vera Miles, and boyfriend, John Gavin, are wondering where on earth Leigh is. They hire a private detective, Simon Oakland, to find her. He traces her to Perkins' hotel...and eventually meets the same fate as Janet Leigh. Miles and Gavin next go to the motel to follow up when the private detective disappears.

Plenty of suspense follows... and eventually we learn that Perkins' mother is really dead. For several years, he has been a split personality; the dominant personality is his re-imagining of his mother. The Perkins personality has no idea that his mother is dead, so has no knowledge of "her" crimes. The last scene shows Perkins totally taken over by the "mother" personality...and he is so spooky that it's easy to see why this movie typecast him.

In short, this is a MARVELOUS movie... go rent it!