8 Movies That Fooled Us Twice

Psycho's shower stabbing scene sure is iconic. It’s been praised and parodied numerous times and will be until the cows come home. However, it’s the full context that made it so memorable when the film was released in 1960.

Psycho begins in Phoenix, Arizona with the engaged couple Marion and Sam talking about their debts. Marion, a real estate secretary, steals a large sum of money from work to fund their wedding. Paranoid that she’s been followed, she finds herself taking refuge at the Bates Motel. That night, after meeting Norman Bates, she is stabbed to death in her shower.

Audiences were stunned at not just the sudden level of violence, which still feels visceral today, but the sudden death of the character that seemed like the protagonist. Suddenly, the film was now about the investigation into Marion’s disappearance.

Psycho is such a staple of cinema at this point that most people who watch it already know the later twists but at the time of release it blew people’s minds. The legendary nervous portrayal of Norman Bates by Anthony Perkins who speaks of his Mother’s rage and strictness made audiences truly fear her. However, when it comes to the final act, we discover that Ms Bates has been dead for years and that Norman has assumed her personality as part of his murderous schizophrenia.

When it comes to directing, tension and twists, Psycho is an archetype of filmmaking.