Psycho. That’s all you have to say and millions of horror fans wax nostalgic about black and white film, scream-queens, and the Bates Motel. Then, thousands of those same fans will check the walls in their motel rooms for little “eye holes.”

Director Alfred Hitchcock became famous for his thrillers including Rear Window, Vertigo, and North by Northwest. His hands in a film rarely ever failed. Such is the same with his 1960 accomplishment, Psycho. As much as his direction made this film a success, the actors he employed also added the final touches to a thriller masterpiece.

Anthony Perkins, though not in his first role, but definitely his most memorable, plays Norman Bates the owner of a small, out of the way motel. (Since this movie the “Bates Motel” has become synonymous with really crappy, down-and-out motels some see by the roadside.) He lives with his constantly harassing mother on top of the hill in the scary mansion. Soon, Marion shows up, played by scream-queen Janet Leigh (and mother of Jamie Lee Curtis of Halloween fame). She’s running away from her life with $40,000 stolen from her boss. She stops to spend the night at the Bates Motel, where she meets Norman. Thus sets up one of the most memorable scenes ever filmed in a movie… the shower scene. It was so simple, yet so fantastic that even people who have never seen the movie, know that scene.

Knowing Marion is in the shower, because you see the eyeball peeping at her through a hole in the wall, a motherly figure sneaks into the bathroom and stabs her. Hitchcock plays it brilliantly so as you never see the actual stabs on the body, but you do see the downward strokes of the large knife, Marion’s hand grasping the shower curtain and pulling it off its hooks, and the blood running down the drain. Not only do these visuals add to the suspense of the scene, but the music Hitchcock overlays with the scene makes it so much more dramatic. It’s just a simple screeching of violin strings with each downward stroke of the knife making us cringe each time the blade hits home.

A police investigation, sparked by Marion’s sister, soon begins leading the police to the Bates Motel. I don’t want to give away the key points of the movie like who killed Marion and what is Norman’s nagging mother is really like, but the ending is a complete surprise and a must see for any movie fan.

(This film spawned several sequels and even a remake of the original in 1998: Psycho II, Psycho III, Psycho IV:The Beginning (a prequel), Psycho (1998) )