A classic horror film widely regarded as 'the greatest horror film of all time' is now available to stream on BBC iPlayer. Psycho, directed by the master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock, has left an indelible mark on the genre and continues to captivate audiences with its timeless story of psychological terror.
The film tells the story of Marion Crane, a young woman who checks into a remote motel after stealing a large sum of money from her employer. There, she encounters Norman Bates, the troubled owner, who harbors a dark secret about his relationship with his mother. Released in 1960, Psycho polarized audiences with its shocking content, but it has since been recognized as a foundational work of modern horror.
Appalled critics of the time may have been left traumatized by the film's graphic content, but it has since earned a 97% 'Fresh' score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Critics have praised the film's impeccable craft, with Variety ranking it third on its 2024 list of the best horror films of all time.
The film's influence can be seen in many of the greats that followed, including John Carpenter's Halloween and Brian DePalma's Dressed to Kill. Psycho also spawned three film sequels, with Anthony Perkins reprising his iconic role as Norman Bates. In addition to its film legacy, the film was the basis for the TV prequel Bates Motel, which starred Freddie Highmore as Norman and Vera Farmiga as his mother.
In recent years, Psycho has hit the headlines again with the release of Ryan Murphy's Netflix series Monster: The Ed Gein Story, which explored the film's journey from page to screen. The series drew a comparison between the film's fictional character and the true story of Ed Gein, but author Robert Bloch had already written most of the book before Gein was even written in 1957.
The film's creator, Hitchcock, originally envisioned Psycho as a comedy, but was shocked to find that some people took it seriously. 'A lot of people looked at this thing and said what a dreadful thing to do, how awful, and so forth. The content as such was, I felt, rather amusing and it was a big joke,' he said in an interview.
