Nancy’s mom: It’s all about taking a shower, dear.
Nancy: A shower! No not at all. I will never take a shower.
Nancy’s mom couldn’t figure out why her daughter wasn’t ready to take a shower. But she did know something was terribly wrong. She thought her daughter had got an allergy for water. But things were not so. Lill’ did she know that Nancy had bunked her college to watch a movie called ‘Psycho’.
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That was the impact this movie had on minds way back in 1960. And this movie continues to haunt even today when it appears on ‘Star Movies’ or ‘HBO’.
Lights Off:
Marion Crane played by Janet Leigh is on her way to Fairvale to meet her lover who owns a hardware shop. Marion is in love with Sam Loomis played by John Gavin. We meet this couple on a warm afternoon making love in a hotel room. But Sam cannot marry Marion as he has many payments due on his name.
However Marion finds a way out. She steals $40,000 from her Boss and makes her way out to meet her boyfriend. She has driven her car closer to Fairvale, but has to stop as she encounters a rainstorm.
Now she checks in a motel. Here she meets a lonely young man named Norman Bates.
Norman Bates played by Anthony Perkins is a lean handsome young man owning a motel named ‘Bates Motel’. He lives in this motel and takes care of his old mother who stays in an old house on a hill opposite his motel and sits near the window all day long. Norman has his own small world, which includes himself, his mom, his motel and his house.
When Marion meets Norman, she starts caring for him. She sees him as a lonely young man trying to make a living in a broke of a motel. She overhears his mom making sharp comments at Norman. She tells Norman that there is a big world outside this small world of his. She suggests him to leave his motel, which she clearly sees is not enough to earn him his livelihood.
Now Norman is touched by the concern shown by Marion. He starts getting attracted towards her. He spies on her as she changes her clothes in her room. His attraction knows no bounds. Then something weird happens.
Marion is taking a shower when an old woman in a long white cloak comes in the room. Before Marion can even know, a sharp knife stabs her. Blood diluted by flowing water flows down the bathroom drain along with the water.
Soon Norman finds out Marion’s dead body. To hide his mother’s crime, he disposes her body by pushing down her car containing Marion’s body in a swamp.
But what next? Will Norman ever be able to get out of his mother’s psychic behavior? Will the police catch his mother? You have to watch the movie to get these answers.
Those who haven’t watched the movie, just stop her. Don’t read any further. Coz, me is going to reveal the answers to these crucial questions. Am so sorry if you still want to read further.
Revelations:
Days pass by and Marion’s sister along with Sam Loomis comes searching for Marion. Their efforts in search of Marion, lead them towards a weird fact.
We come to know that Norman’s mother died ages ago. So who is the mysterious woman sitting near the window of the bungalow? It’s her dead body, which Norman has kept on the chair. He doesn’t want to believe that his mother ever died. Ironically, he was the one who had poisoned his mother’s tea thus leading to her death. He did so because his mother used to punish him for his little childhood mistakes. Now Norman lives his mother’s life along with his own. He confronts his mother’s body as he speaks to himself in his mother’s voice.
The Spirit Of Psycho:
Norman Bates as a character is stronger than enough to play the spirit of Psycho. Norman Bates is not a hero, nor is he a villain. He is very nice as a person. The only negative thing about him is that he kills people. When we meet him, we feel sympathy for him in the same way as Marion does. But then much to our horror, we see him killing someone who liked him. Norman has a peculiar body language, which makes him all the more attractive. Both his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. A crystal grin playing on his innocent face. He is a man of any woman’s dreams, except for a fact that no woman would like to have in her life. The fact being this attractive, charming man can kill anyone at any moment. Even he cannot say when he will do so.
What makes Psycho come alive:
Anthony Perkins makes Norman Bates immortal. The character seems unthinkable without Anthony Perkins in picture. When it comes to Norman Bates, the actor playing has to be Anthony Perkins. Anthony Perkins plays the complex character of Norman Bates as if the character were a part of his own personality.
Janet Leigh plays Marion Crane in a charming way. The guilt she faces after she has stolen money from her Boss, her caring ways for Norman…. She brings all these emotions to life until one day she is abruptly killed.
The Technical Aspects:
Alfred Hitchcock directs Psycho giving his unique touch to the movie. In 1960, Janet Leigh was a star in Hollywood. And her death even before the movie reaches midway doesn’t make the viewer lose interest in the proceedings of the movie. This is how Hitchcock makes his directorial presence felt. He simply dares to be different from the lot. Thus Psycho remains a directorial masterpiece till date when slasher movies are concerned.
Bernard Hermann's musical score adds to the silent haunts of the movie. Especially give an ear to those pulsating violin strokes.
Facts Of Psycho
Psycho was made in the age of Technicolor. But still Hitchcock preferred making it in black n’ white over color. This black n’ white makes it even more haunting. The grayscale images look deadlier than they could have looked in color. Look out for the shower scene where Marion is killed and the dead look on her face with unmoving eyeballs as blood flows down the drain. This scene in color could have ruined the grayscale version has on the viewer.
The movie is based on Robert Bloch’s novel. The novel itself was based on a real life psycho named Ed Gein. Ed Gein also rendered inspiration to the famous character of Hannibal Lector which gave a series of slasher movies.
Psycho, no wonder stands as a landmark movie. The Hitchcock touch gives it that special something a movie needs to qualify as a perfect picture.
Later three sequels were made following Psycho. Psycho II, Psycho III, Psycho IV. Each of these focusing on different phases of Norman Bates’ psychological journey through life.
What Psycho preaches:
Have a shower at your own risk.
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As for Nancy, today she is 63 years old.
She never had a shower after watching Psycho.
It is said that one day her husband vanished all of a sudden.
Before his strange disappearance, neighbors had overheard him insisting her to have a shower.
