"A boy's best friend is his mother" - Norman Bates
Marion Crane ends up in a motel with the wish of lying low because she has embezzled her employer out of $40,000. Norman, the proprietor, invites her for dinner but Marion hears him arguing with his 'mother' about letting women into the house. A sheepish Norman serves dinner in the motel and confides in Marion that his mother is mentally ill, but he does not react well to Marion saying she should go into an asylum. Back in her motel room, Norman pervs over Marion via a hole in the wall. Then an 'elderly woman' comes into Marion's room and stabs her to death in the shower. Escalating quickly or what? Norman discovers Marion dead on the floor. He reckons his mother did it and he disposes of Marion's belongings along with her body. After a while Marion's sister Lila comes investigating and a private detective called Arbogast tells her and Sam (Marion's boyfriend) about Marion's embezzlement. When the P.I. goes missing, they go snooping at the motel and become determined to talk to Mrs Bates; she holds the key to this riddle. And then comes a twist so iconic it hardly needs to be stated. Made back in 1960, Psycho has aged remarkably well and so has Perkins' performance as the most iconic horror villain. To this day psychoanalysts have had a great time deconstructing the mind of Norman/Norma Bates. Perkins is very good in the role, mainly because, for most of the film, he seems so timid - he just couldn't savagely slice and dice a woman in the shower, could he? What's your favourite horror icon? Have your say down in the comments.
My first film watched was Carrie aged 2 on my dad's knee. Educated at The University of St Andrews and Trinity College Dublin. Fan of Arthouse, Exploitation, Horror, Euro Trash, Giallo, New French Extremism. Weaned at the bosom of a Russ Meyer starlet. The bleaker, artier or sleazier the better!
