There’s no doubt that Psycho not only ranks up there with the greatest horror films, but with the greatest films period. No director could manipulate audience sympathy and generate suspense like Alfred Hitchcock, and many acknowledge Psycho as his masterpiece. It combines pathos, humor and terror without falling into extreme gore or sentimentality. This is monstrosity as its most human, most basic and most inexplicable.
The boy-next-door looks of Anthony Perkins, the creepy house on the hill, the famous score of Bernard Herrman, and Janet Leigh’s sympathetic turn as Marion Crane; all come together in a perfect symphony of terror with the Master of Suspense at the helm. Few scenes in cinema are as often imitated as the shower murder scene, and few villains are as frightening as Mother Bates.
Psycho relies on suggestive moments – like Janet Leigh naked in the shower, or Arbogast’s suspenseful walk upstairs – for its terror. The crux of the film doesn’t take place until almost half an hour in, playing like a criminal-on-the-run thriller until Marion Crane spots that famous flickering sign that reads Bates Motel.
It is a complex tale of the chaos world, part thriller, part mystery and part unadulterated horror. Even the explanation of the psychiatrist at the end of the film does not diminish the closing shots of Mother, or of the car being lifted from the marsh. We all know what’s in the trunk. The fact that we never see it is part of the horror.
That concludes our list but we hope you enjoyed it. This was a collaborative effort between a number of the staff here at We Got This Covered. We’d like to thank everyone for their contributions and as always, if you agree, or disagree with us, head to the comments below and sound off on your picks for the top 100 horror movies.