Critic Reviews
Psycho (1960) Rank 4 Reviews
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based on (86) reviews
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Classic Horror (--)
Writing a review lauding the merits of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho is like writing an essay on why breathing is important. Or better yet, why sex feels good. Talk about begging the question. Anyone who watches Psycho brings his or her own insights, ...read the complete Psycho movie review at Classic Horror (--)
Montreal Film Journal (Kevin N. Laforest)
Psycho 's just exploitation without what makes exploitation enjoyable, if you ask me! ...read the complete Psycho movie review at Montreal Film Journal (Kevin N. Laforest)
David Keyes' Cinema 2000 (David Keyes)
No, I'm serious: can you ever think of a horror film that pushed so many boundaries at a time when horror was nearly nonexistent in the cinema? ...read the complete Psycho movie review at David Keyes' Cinema 2000 (David Keyes)
Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus (Bryant Frazer)
This is the Hitchcock that sticks it to its audience in the most gleefully malicious ways. ...read the complete Psycho movie review at Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus (Bryant Frazer)
iAfrica.com (Andrew Burden)
Of course Curtis is the daughter of another cult icon, Janet Leigh, who like Strode showed a great deal of purpose and originality of character in PSYCHO (1960). ...read the complete Psycho movie review at iAfrica.com (Andrew Burden)
Combustible Celluloid (Jeffrey M. Anderson)
If Hitchcock had used a pseudonym on Psycho, it would have announced the arrival of a great new filmmaker in his twenties. ...read the complete Psycho movie review at Combustible Celluloid (Jeffrey M. Anderson)
The World's Greatest Critic! (J.C. Maçek III)
What is there to say about Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho that hasn't already been said so many times you could barf and plotz simultaneously? This is unquestionably one of the best experiments in suspense and outright horror ever made, and it was made ...read the complete Psycho movie review at The World's Greatest Critic! (J.C. Maçek III)
Three Imaginary Girls review (embracey)
Alfred Hitchcock is my favorite filmmaker of all time, and Psycho is his greatest film. In the four decades since its original release itâs become part of our collective lexicon - and not just because one of the characters goes cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs, ...read the complete Psycho movie review at Three Imaginary Girls review (embracey)
The Terror Trap
PSYCHO. What else need be said? Without this one, many of the other horror movies featured on this site would not have ...read the complete Psycho movie review at The Terror Trap
Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)
Alfred Hitchcock's most popular, influentual and best film. Hitchcock's first horror film was a sadistic black comedy shot in black-and-white. It was daring in its break with mainstream conventions regarding sex (Janet Leigh in her undies) and madness ...read the complete Psycho movie review at Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)
Scifilm Review
On November 17, 1957, police executed a search warrant for a farmhouse in rural Wisconsin. They found more than they could have bargained for in their wildest imaginations. Hanging upside down from the ceiling beam in the kitchen was a gutted, beheaded ...read the complete Psycho movie review at Scifilm Review
At-A-Glance Film Reviews
Hitchcock's legendary horror film is unfortunately a lot less potent if you know the secret of Norman Bates. Nevertheless, it is a masterpiece for both the director and the genre and has spawned almost as much discussion among critics and viewers alike ...read the complete Psycho movie review at At-A-Glance Film Reviews
Moviegnome.com
Easily the film most recognizable as being Hitchcock, Psycho was a hit when it was released. It featured several dubious things at that time, including the first toilet seen in a movie. Quite memorable, the shower scene is one of the most well ...read the complete Psycho movie review at Moviegnome.com
Movie Gazette DVD Review (Gary Panton)
'Psycho' is the original great horror movie. It's the ultimate spine-tingler, the definitive creep-show, the perfect chiller. But it's also much more than that: 'Psycho' is the reason why people these days always lock the bathroom door when taking ...read the complete Psycho movie review at Movie Gazette DVD Review (Gary Panton)
The SF, Horror and Fantasy Film Review
One hates to draw up All-Time Bests lists, but without any doubt Psycho is one of the greatest and certainly the most famous of all horror films. It features in both the American and British Film Institutes' Top 100 lists. At the time Psycho was made, ...read the complete Psycho movie review at The SF, Horror and Fantasy Film Review
eCinemaCenter.com (Gabe Leibowitz)
With his toothpick build and childish voice, Bates appears to be little more than a shy coward, making the revelation of his psychotic nature shocking. ...read the complete Psycho movie review at eCinemaCenter.com (Gabe Leibowitz)
ToxicUniverse.com (John A. Nesbit)
Hitchcock has introduced more people to abnormal psychology than anyone since Sigmund Freud. ...read the complete Psycho movie review at ToxicUniverse.com (John A. Nesbit)
filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)
Alfred Hitchcock's first real horror movie not only set off a raging controversy and alarming threats of censorship, but it also ruined the morning shower for a generation of Americans. The shower scene, now one of the most famous and replayed moments in ...read the complete Psycho movie review at filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)
Classic Film Guide (--)
What kind of director kills off his star (played by Janet Leigh) less than half way into his film? Only Alfred Hitchcock could (get away with it), of course. And what a killing too! You won't turn your back on the door to the bathroom when showering for ...read the complete Psycho movie review at Classic Film Guide (--)
Cinescape (--)
As producer Howard Hawks had done with THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD, producer-director Alfred Hitchcock took the familiar horror movie clich�s and reused them in a new, contemporary setting for this 1960 classic. Although a realistic tale (looselyvery ...read the complete Psycho movie review at Cinescape (--)
rec.arts.movies.reviews (Zachary McGhee)
"A boy's best friend is his mother." That line, uttered desperately by Anthony Perkins' Norman Bates during the infamous conversation between he and Janet Leigh, frightened me more than anything which came before it, or followed. The wispy vocal ...read the complete Psycho movie review at rec.arts.movies.reviews (Zachary McGhee)
Teen Movie Critic (Roger Davidson)
In celebration of the 35th anniversary of the release of Psycho, I have two reviews of the first two "Psycho" films. I saw this up on the big screen where it should be seen and it was a lot more scarier up there. For those of you unfamiliar with the ...read the complete Psycho movie review at Teen Movie Critic (Roger Davidson)
El Criticon (Antonio Mendez Casanova)
El robo de Marion no es más que un McGuffin soberanamente perfilado para que el genial director inglés dirija nuestras insospechadas miradas hacia el motel y su contigua casa gótica, hogar de la familia Bates, conformada por Norman y su vetusta madre. ...read the complete Psycho movie review at El Criticon (Antonio Mendez Casanova)
eFilmCritic.com (Dr. Isaksson)
In the late fifties an awkward little man with a crooked smile shocked the small town of Plainfield, Wisconsin. A real life house of horrors was found in his dilapidated farmhouse following the disappearance of several local citizens. Part of the house ...read the complete Psycho movie review at eFilmCritic.com (Dr. Isaksson)
Andrew Hicks (Andrew Hicks)
Arrow in the Head (Arrow in the Head)
What can I say about Alfred Hitchcockâs genre landmark PSYCHO that hasnât already been vomited to death since its initial release? Nice rack on that âmotherâ? Those birds werenât embalmed right, let me show you? That shower needed some dire ...read the complete Psycho movie review at Arrow in the Head (Arrow in the Head)
TV Guide's Movie Guide (--)
A textbook example of audience manipulation, as Hitchcock shifts our identification from character to character with the alacrity of a magician. ...read the complete Psycho movie review at TV Guide's Movie Guide (--)
Salon.com (Mary Elizabeth Williams)
All those who still get a chill every time they step into a hotel shower, say aye. That, you see, is the power of Psycho . ...read the complete Psycho movie review at Salon.com (Mary Elizabeth Williams)
Arizona Daily Star (Phil Villarreal)
The prolific, adventurous Hitchcock, who never tired of experimenting with his camera and tone, is at his best in Psycho. ...read the complete Psycho movie review at Arizona Daily Star (Phil Villarreal)
sbs.is (Stefan Birgir Stefansson)
one of the greatest ...read the complete Psycho movie review at sbs.is (Stefan Birgir Stefansson)
TheMovieBoy.com (Dustin Putman)
As a horror film, it is a horrifying study in terror, and as film in general, it is a brilliant study in style and mood, as well as the darkest regions of a person's psyche. ...read the complete Psycho movie review at TheMovieBoy.com (Dustin Putman)
rec.arts.movies.reviews (Ted Prigge)
It's an amazing thing watching Perkins do his schitck with the role. ...read the complete Psycho movie review at rec.arts.movies.reviews (Ted Prigge)
Megaklik - no nonsense movie reviews in Slovene
NajznamenitejÅ¡i film Alfreda Hitchcocka, legendarnega mojstra psiholoÅ¡kih srhljivk, ki bi letos praznoval stoletnico rojstva. Napeta zgodba o shizofrenem Normanu Batesu (Anthony Perkins), ki upravlja motel in molÄe prenaÅ¡a duÅ¡evno krutost dominantne ...read the complete Psycho movie review at Megaklik - no nonsense movie reviews in Slovene
BBCi - Films
Widely regarded as Hitchcock's best film, "Psycho" is certainly his most imitated and perhaps his most influential. ...read the complete Psycho movie review at BBCi - Films
DVDownUnder (Matt Goldsmith)
There are many memorable and frequently references moments from film. None more so than the shower scene from horror master Alfred Hitchcock's PSYCHO.
For nearly forty years this infamous sequence has frightened movie goers with it's lightning ...read the complete Psycho movie review at DVDownUnder (Matt Goldsmith)
DVD Breakdown
Psycho is well-known and appreciated for completely dashing audience expectations and for being the movie to break taboos about killer motivation. But the thing that surprised me most during the latest viewing is the incredible performance by Anthony ...read the complete Psycho movie review at DVD Breakdown
Dimspace Haiku Movie Reviews
after i saw this
it was strictly baths for me
from that day ...read the complete Psycho movie review at Dimspace Haiku Movie Reviews
CultureDose.net (John Nesbit)
I wasnât allowed to see Psycho when it first came out in 1960. My parents only allowed us to see Walt Disney and John Wayne movies automatically and only a handful of other approved films. Psycho didnât make the list. Perhaps a good thing. ...read the complete Psycho movie review at CultureDose.net (John Nesbit)
Crazy for Cinema Review
I will never forget the first time I saw PSYCHO. I was about 14-years-old and vacuuming the family living room. The television was on, turned to the 4 o'clock monster movie. I thought I was old enough to handle it. My father thought otherwise, warning ...read the complete Psycho movie review at Crazy for Cinema Review
The BigScreen Cinema Guide - Reader Reviews
The Hitchcock classic tale of a boy and his mom, and the most famous shower scene in film history. ...read the complete Psycho movie review at The BigScreen Cinema Guide - Reader Reviews
Best-Horror-Movies.com
In creating Psycho Alfred Hitchcock focused on the anticipation rather than the act, and in the process created the most influential film imaginable. ...read the complete Psycho movie review at Best-Horror-Movies.com
The Fresh Films Review (Fredrik Fevang)
Hitchcock's number one trademark is still ingeniously terrifying after all these years. Even though mainly having been a prank from the master of suspense's point of view, Psycho is the quintessential horror movie. It's easy to forget the impact this ...read the complete Psycho movie review at The Fresh Films Review (Fredrik Fevang)
Wooden Spoon's
Phoenix officeworker Marion Crane is fed up with the way life has treated her. She has to meet her lover Sam in lunch breaks and they cannot get married because Sam has to give most of his money away in alimony. One Friday, Marion is trusted to deposit ...read the complete Psycho movie review at Wooden Spoon's
Alex Christensen, The Magic of the Movies
Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho is a classic thriller, one of the best movies of all time, and was a groundbreaking film when it was made. It was the first film to have one developed main character for its first half, Janet Leigh as Marion Crane, and another ...read the complete Psycho movie review at Alex Christensen, The Magic of the Movies
eFilmCritic
There are actually two major horror films based on Ed Gein. Years after "Psycho" Director Tobe Hooper would make another film that redefined cinema in its own way. "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre". Hooper's film focused more on the cannibalistic ...read the complete Psycho movie review at eFilmCritic
San Francisco Chronicle (Paine Knickerbocker)
After his suspense pictures and romantic adventure stories could he come up with a shocker, acceptable to regular American audiences, which still carried the spine-tingling voltage of foreign presentations such as ...read the complete Psycho movie review at San Francisco Chronicle (Paine Knickerbocker)
Box Office Magazine
The widely heralded skill of Alfred Hitchcock in developing suspense leading up gradually and tellingly to a shattering climax in a murder mystery again is apparent in this shocker. There can be no gainsaying the fact that the film will grip audiences ...read the complete Psycho movie review at Box Office Magazine
DVD Times
Psycho is one of the most famous films ever made and one of the most written-about. This leaves the would-be reviewer with an intimidating sense of obsolescence. What, after all, can be written about this movie that is going to cast any new light on it? ...read the complete Psycho movie review at DVD Times
DVDTown (John J. Puccio)
I remember the day after "Psycho" opened in 1960 that a popular San Francisco radio and television personality, Don Sherwood, said it was the worst film he had ever seen. It was not worthy of the master director, Alfred Hitchcock, he said. It was trash. ...read the complete Psycho movie review at DVDTown (John J. Puccio)
Swimming to Casablanca - sprint reviews
When people ask me what is my favorite film, I usually say PSYCHO. I think one of the reasons is because of the exciting risk I took to see it the first time. I wasn't even a teenager. It was one of the first films, perhaps the first, ever to be given ...read the complete Psycho movie review at Swimming to Casablanca - sprint reviews
Hollywood Gothique
This low-budget black-and-white shocker is one of the great achievements in the horror genre, although it eschews the monsters and supernatural trappings usually associated with the genre at that time, in favor of a psychologically based approach to ...read the complete Psycho movie review at Hollywood Gothique
Foster on Film - Slashers
Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), a young, unhappy woman, steals $40,000 and leaves her old life behind, hoping the money can solve her boyfriend's (John Gavin) financial problems, and maybe give her a future. During a storm, she stops at The Bates Motel, ...read the complete Psycho movie review at Foster on Film - Slashers
Horror DVDs Review
Alfred Hitchcock's landmark horror film Psycho is one of the films that formed the foundation for the horror genre. Psycho has an important place in film history and not just the horror genre and it earned its place in the AFI top 100 films. At any ...read the complete Psycho movie review at Horror DVDs Review
The Greatest Films - comprehensive analysis of classic US film
Alfred Hitchcock's powerful, complex psychological thriller, Psycho (1960) is the "mother" of all modern horror suspense films - it single-handedly ushered in an era of inferior screen 'slashers' with blood-letting and graphic, shocking killings ...read the complete Psycho movie review at The Greatest Films - comprehensive analysis of classic US film
Musings of a Cinemaphile - Revisiting the Greatest Films Ever Made
Hard to imagine but in 1960, Psycho was actually reviled by most film critics. I think the reason might have been that they felt that, as a filmmaker, Hitchcock was taking a step backward. Hitch said that âI played the audience like an organâ and ...read the complete Psycho movie review at Musings of a Cinemaphile - Revisiting the Greatest Films Ever Made
FeoAmante.com (James Futch)
"It's 22 years later, and Norman Bates is coming home."
These were the ominous words spoken at the end of the PSYCHO II's trailer in late 1982. I was twelve at the time, and by some mysterious accident (early bedtime, probably), had never seen the ...read the complete Psycho movie review at FeoAmante.com (James Futch)
Edinburgh U Film Society (Stephen Cox)
Hitchcock's first horror film was slashed by the critics on its release - the only film to get a worse reception at the time was Michael Powell's Peeping Tom (in my opinion the better film). But while the latter sank almost without trace Psycho went on ...read the complete Psycho movie review at Edinburgh U Film Society (Stephen Cox)
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
So Alfred Hitchcock told Francois Truffaut about "Psycho," adding that it "belongs to filmmakers, to you and me." Hitchcock deliberately wanted "Psycho" to look like a cheap exploitation film. He shot it not with his usual expensive feature crew ...read the complete Psycho movie review at Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
rec.arts.movies.reviews (Jerry Saravia)
Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" is the grandaddy of all horror thrillers - the penultimate textbook statement on thrills and suspense. There has never been a greater Master of Suspense, and this is surely Hitch's greatest suspense thriller. Even after 40 ...read the complete Psycho movie review at rec.arts.movies.reviews (Jerry Saravia)
not coming to a theater near you (Rumsey Taylor)
Psycho opens with the caption âPhoenix, Arizona ⦠Friday, December the Eleventh ⦠Two Forty-Three PM.â In this â the first slasher film â the specificity of location lends the film a truth. This convention functions to make otherwise clichéd ...read the complete Psycho movie review at not coming to a theater near you (Rumsey Taylor)
Appreciating Great Trash
There's one prototypical slasher from the 1960s that still retains every ounce of its icky, claustrophobic terror, and, well, that movie is Peeping Tom, but for what it's worth, Psycho is still a surprisingly jolting creeper that produces its shocks ...read the complete Psycho movie review at Appreciating Great Trash
Classic-Horror
Writing a review lauding the merits of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho is like writing an essay on why breathing is important. Or better yet, why sex feels good. Talk about begging the question. Anyone who watches Psycho brings his or her own insights, ...read the complete Psycho movie review at Classic-Horror
Fan site - Essay
Alfred Hitchcockâs Psycho, revived in a spectacular new print at the 1996 Cleveland International Film Festival with co-star Janet Leigh in attendance, is probably the esteemed directorâs most famous film, but while it is now hailed as one of his ...read the complete Psycho movie review at Fan site - Essay
Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings
No plot description here: if you've seen it, you know the plot; if you haven't, the less you know going in, the better.
With that in mind, I've come to the conclusion that any serious discussion of this movie will involve SPOILERS to some degree. ...read the complete Psycho movie review at Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings
bint magazine (Lebby Eyres)
Horror fans, take note. It's time to lock your doors and close the curtains â Psycho's on the telly
In recent years, filmmakers have decided that less is more when it comes to horror. Psychological spookiness has been the order of the day in ...read the complete Psycho movie review at bint magazine (Lebby Eyres)
filmsgraded.com (Brian Koller)
One of Alfred Hitchcock's most famous films, Psycho is a departure from his usual style. Most Hitchcock movies from the 1950s have a happy ending and feature a top leading man, often Cary Grant or James Stewart. The glamorous leading lady is a love ...read the complete Psycho movie review at filmsgraded.com (Brian Koller)
Ziggy's Video Realm review
Rotten Tomatoes - Reviews from the Nation's Top Critics
MCA DiscoVision Library
Of the four Alfred Hitchcock films released on the DiscoVision label, Psycho was generally the most available. This version faded from sight during late 1980 and was listed for the last time in the October 1980 catalog.
The video transfer is first ...read the complete Psycho movie review at MCA DiscoVision Library
DVD Net (Paul Dossett)
What need be said about Psycho? It's only one of THE classic horror films! One of the Holy Trinity you need to absorb in order to fully appreciate The Simpsons (the other two being The Planet of the Apes and 2001: A Space Odyssey). It inspired John ...read the complete Psycho movie review at DVD Net (Paul Dossett)
Michael D's Region 4 DVD Info Page (Michael Demtschyna)
You've seen the remake, now here's the original. In a very smart marketing move, the original Psycho was released after the release of the remake, thereby maximizing sales of the remake. I had mixed feelings about the remake, so it was with a great ...read the complete Psycho movie review at Michael D's Region 4 DVD Info Page (Michael Demtschyna)
Christian Spotlight on the Movies
How shall Psycho (1960) be best described for Christian audiences? By providing information about questionable and anti-Christian content and themes, that's how. For, while it's true Alfred Hitchock's suspense/thriller has stood the test of time, ...read the complete Psycho movie review at Christian Spotlight on the Movies
FilmHead.com - Video Pick
What drives a man to murder? Two different scenarios are explored in the featured selections. In the case of American Psycho's Patrick Bateman, yuppie par excellence, murder is one of the only thrills that Patrick can derive from his shallow modern ...read the complete Psycho movie review at FilmHead.com - Video Pick
The Fourth Region (Roger)
It's hard to believe that I have never seen this movie. This is the seminal classic that is known as one of Hitchcock's best and made one of the most famous scenes in movie history. Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) works at a real estate agent and is ...read the complete Psycho movie review at The Fourth Region (Roger)
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