Psycho (1960)

Whatever you think of the story, Psycho is one of the most visually extraordinary films ever shot. There are frames here that belong in a gallery. Worth seeing on the biggest screen possible.

Psycho ended and I sat with it for weeks. The the nature of evil theme kept circling back. I'd be doing something mundane and Norman's final monologue would pop into my head. That kind of resonance is rare.

Psycho has been praised so heavily that no film could live up to the hype completely. It's an excellent film — Anthony Perkins's quiet menace is genuinely remarkable — but it's not the untouchable masterpiece some claim.

Every choice in Psycho feels deliberate. The framing, the pacing, the shower scene — Alfred Hitchcock is operating at a level most filmmakers never reach. It's the kind of film you study rather than just watch.

I went into Psycho knowing nothing — no trailer, no plot summary. I strongly recommend that approach. The duality and repression hits much harder when you haven't been primed for it. Go in cold.

Psycho is not background viewing. Every scene requires you. Put your phone down, dim the lights. Alfred Hitchcock is doing too much to be half-watched. Give it the attention it deserves.

Every actor brings something to Psycho, but the lead performance is genuinely extraordinary. The subtlety involved, the way the character changes without announcing it — it's a masterclass.

Some elements of Psycho show their age, but the core of it — voyeurism, the audacity of killing the lead early — hasn't diminished at all. Films this good age better than almost anything else.

I liked Psycho when I first saw it, but the second viewing is where it clicked. Once you notice how Alfred Hitchcock plants every detail early on, the whole film transforms. Layers everywhere.

Everyone told me to watch Psycho for years. Finally did and instantly understood why. Anthony Perkins's quiet menace is immediately apparent. Now I'm recommending it just as loudly to everyone else.