20 Best Performances In Horror Movies

Alfred Hitchcock, also known as the Master of Suspense, created a wide range of undisputed classics over his career, from Vertigo to North by Northwest, Rope to Rear Window, but none are as instantly recognisable as his genre-defining work in the 1960 masterpiece Psycho.

A timeless assault on your senses that constantly takes audience expectation and turns it on its head, Psycho sports a slew of brilliant performances (Janet Leigh and Vera Miles shine) and memorable quotes ("We all go a little mad sometimes"), but no part of the film remains as fresh, disturbing and unexpected as Anthony Perkins' turn as unassuming serial killer Norman Bates.

Sure, people remember the shower scene and Mother's final fate, but the truth is Perkins is the true standout of the movie, crafting out of his deliberate, Freudian and even charming performance a villain for the ages, capable of great violence and rage but hiding it under a measured and approachable demeanor.