Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Written by Joseph Stefano (based on a novel by Robert Bloch). Starring Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, John Gavin, Martin Balsam, John McIntire and Janet Leigh.
Plot: Norman Bates has serious mommy issues that spill out into the world in some fatal ways.
The first time you see this movie it is genuinely terrifying. In case you are one of the few people who haven’t seen this though, I’ll give you a little more plot. Norman (Perkins) owns a motel – Bates Motel – and also lives on the property as well. He’s a strange man with an even stranger secret. Marion Crane (Leigh) is on the run and when she stops at Bates Motel, she’s killed by someone while taking a shower. Eventually, Marion’s sister (Miles) and boyfriend (Gavin) come looking for her. What they find is truly shocking.
It’s all shot so simplistically, it really is art. Hitchcock was a different sort of person, but he did have a certain genius to him. It’s a brilliant story with a brilliant script. Even the music is beautifully done. And I love Anthony Perkins. He was truly adorable. The only thing we don’t really like about the movie is the end. Not the end, but the end end. After we find out what’s really going on, the characters lay it all out in even more detail. They really go into the psychology of it all, explaining why it all happened like we’re idiots and can’t figure it out for ourselves. Maybe in 1960 this was helpful, but now we just find it annoying. It’s still a swell movie though and we must recommend.
Our score: 77.
“A boy’s best friend is his mother.”
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