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{{work|wppage=Psycho (franchise)}}
{{quote| ''A boy's best friend is his mother.''}}▼
[[File:Psycho_4320.jpg|frame|"It is '''absolutely''' required that you see ''Psycho'' from the very beginning!"]]
''Psycho'', directed by [[Alfred Hitchcock]], was released in 1960, and is now one of the most famous thriller films of all time.▼
▲'''''Psycho''''', directed by [[Alfred Hitchcock]], was released in 1960, and is now one of the most famous thriller films of all time.
It has two big famous plot twists; at the time, Hitchcock went to great lengths to keep them secret (including an ad pleading "Don't give away the ending -- it's the only one we have"), but these days, [[It Was His Sled|most people know about both]] through [[Popcultural Osmosis]] [[All There Is to Know About "The Crying Game"|even if they know nothing else about the film]].
''Psycho'' begins as a crime thriller: Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) steals a large amount of cash from her employer and sets out for California, where she plans to hook up with her lover and start a new life. She stops for the night at the out-of-the-way Bates Motel, run by [[Momma's Boy]] Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), who lives with his domineering mother in a house behind the hotel.
Twist #1: As Marion has a shower in her hotel room, a dimly-glimpsed knife-wielding maniac suddenly appears and stabs her to death in the film's most famous and [["Psycho" Shower Murder Parody|oft-parodied]] scene.
The rest of the film follows the investigation into Marion's disappearance, first by a detective hired to recover the money she stole, and then, after he also falls victim to the knife-wielding psycho, by Marion's lover and her sister. It appears that Norman's mother may be killing off any woman he shows an interest in (the local sheriff mentions two other unsolved disappearances of young women in the area). This leads into...
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* ''Psycho IV: The Beginning'' (1990): Norman has been rehabilitated and lives with his girlfriend Connie. He panics when he learns that Connie is pregnant, fearing that the child will inherit his mental illness. The film explores his younger years and his problematic relationship with his mother.
There was also an unrelated 1987 TV movie, ''Bates Motel'', involving a man who'd befriended Norman while being institutionalized with him, and on his release learns that the now-deceased Norman has willed the motel to him. A TV prequel series, also named ''[[Bates Motel (TV series)|Bates Motel]]'', premiered in 2013.
In 1998, Gus Van Sant released [[Psycho (1998 film)|an almost shot-by-shot remake]] starring Anne Heche and Vince Vaughn. To the extent that it was the same as the original, it was widely regarded as pointless, and to the extent that it was different, it was widely regarded as inferior (probably the most notable difference being a shot of Norman [[A Date with Rosie Palms|masturbating]]). But the fact that somebody thought it might be a good idea suggests what a big place the original film has in the public memory. Indeed, Van Sant may have been doing us a favor: in his own words, he did it "so no-one else would have to". Look at the
The shower scene is now part of movie culture, and [[Psycho Strings|the music used]], along with the film itself, is used in many scholarly courses as prime examples of their chosen subject
{{tropelist}}▼
{{tropenamer}}
* [["Psycho" Shower Murder Parody]]
* [[Psycho Strings]]
▲{{tropelist}}
* [[Adaptational Attractiveness]]: In the novel, Norman is middle-aged, overweight, and a drinker. In the film, he is much younger and better looking and your basic "boy next door" type. Hitchcock felt the book's Norman Bates was too unlikable; making him better-looking made him slightly more sympathetic to the audience.
** It also makes what's coming more jarring. Norman of the movie initially comes off as more sweet and lonely than creepy or threatening, even with regards to his hobby of taxidermy (he himself says it's too much, but all he has).
* [[Adorkable]]: Initially, at least. Norman is handsome and sweet-natured, but stammering and shy - a little socially awkward. Hitchcock deliberately cast Perkins in the role to create this type of character, saying:
{{quote|
* [[Affably Evil]]: Norman. Movie-Norman/Anthony Perkins-Norman, that is.
* [[Affectionate Parody]] / [[Adam Westing]]: Anthony Perkins hosted an episode in the first season of ''[[Saturday Night Live]],'' which included an [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhhTb4SoaaU almost-obligatory, and hysterical, skit] of ''Psycho''.
** In 1990 (the same year that ''the Beginning'' was released), Perkins did an [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=705jPpxq1JQ oatmeal commercial as Norman Bates.]
* [[Alone with the Psycho]]: The scene where Norman and Marion have dinner. It works so much better if you pretend you're watching it without spoilers. You begin the scene wondering what the clearly-going-psycho Marion is going to do to the helpless mamma's boy. As the scene progresses you begin to fear Norman just a little bit more than her.
* [[And Starring]]: "And Janet Leigh as Marion Crane".
* [[Animal Motifs]]: Specifically, bird motifs: the stuffed birds in the parlor and bird pictures on the walls, Norman comparing himself and Marion to caged birds and noting that she "eat(s) like a bird", Marion's surname is Crane, Norman eats candy corn in a birdlike manner, Marion's robbery happened in Phoenix. Even the trademark [[Psycho Strings]] (see below) are reminiscent of a bird's shrieks.
* [[Anticlimax]]: The scene in which the audience finds out the truth about Norman's mother forms an effective climax to the film, but as noted under [[Viewers are Morons]], the scene immediately following it (in which the psychologist details every aspect of Norman's psychosis in exhaustive detail) has been described as "an anticlimax taken almost to the point of parody".▼
* [[Anti-Hero]]: [[Sliding Scale of Anti-Heroes|Type II or III.]] Marion steals $40,000, [[Kick the Son of a Bitch|but the man she steals from isn't the nicest fellow.]] Also Norman in ''II'' (Type V) as he has to deal with a couple of rabble rousers trying to [[Gaslighting]] him back into a mental hospital (to say nothing of the copycat killer that waited until the right moment--his release--to strike), and in ''IV'' (Type IV) as he has worse problems than a mommy complex to deal with--namely, fears that his coming [[Adult Fear|firstborn could inherit his chronic insanity]]--{{spoiler|and eventually incinerates the Bates Motel that had given him such bad memories as to erode at his sanity BIG TIME}}.
▲* [[Anticlimax]]: The scene in which the audience finds out the truth about Norman's mother forms an effective climax to the film, but as noted under [[Viewers are Morons]], the scene immediately following it (in which the psychologist details every aspect of Norman's psychosis in exhaustive detail) has been described as "an anticlimax taken almost to the point of parody".
* [[Anyone Can Die]]: Both played straight and averted. Considering how genuinely terrifying Marion's death is, and how unexpected it is when it comes, there's only one other casualty for the rest of the movie. Hitchcock reels you in twice with this trope.
* [[Asshole Victim]]: Lila becomes this in ''Psycho II''.
* [[Benevolent Boss]]: In ''Psycho III'' when Norman first meets and hires Duke, he's nice to him right off the bat. Offering him Candy and later offering to bring back burgers for him. {{spoiler|It's only when Duke tries to blackmail Bates with knowledge of his crimes and keeping Spool's body as leverage that Norman kills him.}}
* [[Beware the Nice Ones]]: Part of what makes the movie so effective.
* [[Big Bad]]: Norman Bates. He ranges anywhere from [[Villain Protagonist]] to Type IV or V [[Anti-Hero]] throughout the series.
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* [[Gaslighting]]: Poor Norman in ''Psycho II''.
* [[Genre Shift]]
* [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]]: We see Norman go in to stare at the dead Marion, then later see him leave the room and wipe his hand on his shirt. [[A Date with Rosie Palms|Yeah]].
** Towards the end of the shower scene, when Marion reaches out and grabs the shower curtain, the naked breasts of body double Marli Renfro are visible in the background out of focus
* [[Gollum Made Me Do It]]
* [[Good Colors, Evil Colors]]: Marion changes from white lingerie and a light-colored dress to black lingerie and a darker dress after deciding to embezzle the money.
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* [[Hell Hotel]]: [[Trope Codifier|Codified]] the "roadside motel with creepy owner" variation.
* [[Hey, Wait!]]: Marion starts to drive away from California Charlie's without her suitcase from her old car.
* [[Luke, I Am Your Father|I Am Your Mother]]: Mrs. Emma Spool at the end of ''Psycho II''.
* [[Karma Houdini]]: {{spoiler|Only really in the second movie for murdering Mrs. Pool, not that she was so innocent herself.}} Otherwise averted, as Norman is arrested for the murders in the first and third movies.
* [[Kensington Gore]]: Chocolate syrup variety.
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* [[Peek-a-Boo Corpse]]: Even if you already know Norma Bates is dead, her corpse ''will'' freak you out. No eyes!
** It's worse than that. Every bird in the movie was literally a [[Chekhov's Gun]] staring right at you.
* [[Pet The Dog]] In ''Psycho III'' we get an in depth process on how Norman does his taxidermy hobby. Which in turn shows how he managed to get the tools and resources to {{spoiler| preserve Norma and later Emma Spool.}} He has an old bird feeder full of seeds, which are laced with strychnine. The birds naturally take the [[Incredibly Lame Pun|Bate]] and drop dead. Norman then hollows them out, stuffs them with preserving stuffing, picks out eyes and sews it together. After a brief hallucination, Norman spots the bag he collected the birds in beginning to move. Naturally it scares him to the point where he backs up against the counter. Only to find to his relief that one of the "Dead" birds was merely stunned and coming out of the bag. Rather than catch it and kill it to add to his collection, he picks it up gently and sends it flying away. His smile throughout the whole thing being much more [[When She Smiles|heartwarming]] than his usual creepy [[Slasher Smile|smirk]].
* [[Psychopathic Manchild]]: Norman. It becomes more apparent when Lila Crane snoops through Norman's room and finds his toys.
* [[Psycho Strings]]: [[Trope Namer]], along with [["Psycho" Shower Murder Parody]].
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* [[Sex Is Evil and I Am Horny]]: Norman's reaction in the novel when he is peeking Marion in her room.
* [[Shallow Love Interest]]: Sam Loomis could be seen as one of these for Marion.
* [[Shovel Strike]]:
* [[Shower Scene]]
* [[The Shrink]]
* [[Sinister Shades]]: Worn by the cop who wakes Marion up in her car.
* [[Slasher
** While the movie does codify the short, vicious bursts of violence punctuating long set-ups, it's otherwise thoroughly averted. Only two people die on-camera, and a third is only threatened. While there's plenty implying that this isn't the first time Norman's killed, even since his mother, the gore is subdued and the violence mostly off-camera.
* [[Slashers Prefer Blondes]]. More accurately, [[Alfred Hitchcock]] prefers blondes.
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* [[Ur Example]]: Of the [[Slasher Movie]]
* [[Very Loosely Based on a True Story]]. One of 1,000 films based on good ole Ed Gein.
** To put this in perspective, the other movie famously based on this is ''[[The Texas Chainsaw Massacre]]''.
* [[Viewers are Morons]]: Surely the only explanation for the psychiatrist scene.
** [[Roger Ebert]] criticized that scene in his 1998 review of the film, saying it "marred the ending of a masterpiece" and was "an anticlimax taken almost to the point of parody." Hitchcock, having made ''Psycho'' before villains as psychologically screwed up as Norman Bates were commonplace, may have believed that the audience would be unable to accept his behavior unless the motives were spelled out in explicit detail. Knowing that doesn't make the nearly-five-minute speech any easier to sit through, though.
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{{reflist}}
{{AFI's 100 Years 100 Heroes and Villains}}
[[Category:Roger Ebert Great Movies List]]▼
{{Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time}}
[[Category:Films of the 1960s]]▼
[[Category:
[[Category:
[[Category:Danny Peary Cult Movies List]]
[[Category:Film Series]]
[[Category:Film]]
[[Category:Films Based on Novels]]
▲[[Category:Films of the 1960s]]
[[Category:Films of the 1980s]]
[[Category:Films of the 1990s]]
[[Category:
[[Category:National Film Registry]]
[[Category:One-Word Title]]
▲[[Category:Roger Ebert Great Movies List]]
[[Category:Multiple Works Need Separate Pages]]
[[Category:Black-and-white films]]
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