10 Slasher Movies You Need To See Before You Die

9. Psycho

A controversial inclusion on any horror list, Alfred Hitchcock€™s Psycho is a film that has been widely debated when it comes to labelling. Although the body count that psychopath Norman Bates rakes up in the flick is a mere two, the film does indeed have many of the characteristics that we have come to expect from slashers and its influence on the genre to this day is undoubtable. What makes Psycho a must-watch is the character study of Norman Bates, played fearlessly by Anthony Perkins. He is an absolutely fascinating creation who seems perfectly friendly and normal when we first meet him, but we soon realize that he is hiding another side of himself that is much more sinister, and ultimately more interesting. It€™s a truly frightening film, full of that classic Hitchock suspense, and it was something that audiences in 1960 couldn€™t even begin to expect. Bates was cinema's first brilliant serial killer, and for that Psycho is essential viewing up there with the rest of the films in this list. Deniers be damned, this is unquestionably pure horror.