10 Weaknesses Of Great Horror Films

There is a recurring theme in this list of films that insult their audience's intelligence, particularly in regards to their endings. No conclusion is more insulting than that of Psycho, especially considering that, this scene aside, it is an otherwise flawless masterpiece of the genre.

Following the gut-wrenching revelation of Norman Bates' split personality disorder, which is no less powerful after countless viewings, the film promptly nose-dives from perfection to frustration. Given the decade of release, when the average cinema goer wouldn't have the same understanding of mental illness as today's audience, it was deemed necessary to tack on a blunt and clunky explanation of Norman's psychological condition.

Even in the 60s, surely audiences were not so ignorant or incompetent that they couldn't understand the twist without the psychologist's heavy-handed, patronising lecture. The tone of the ending is completely ruined with his unnecessary and poorly judged ramblings.

Thankfully, Hitchcock is able to bring it back to form for the final minute, with Norman - now consumed by 'Mother' - glaring menacingly at the audience. "Why, she wouldn't even harm a fly..."