NormanBates

Friday Fright Night: Happy Birthday Master Bates

Today is the 57th birthday of  Alfred Hitchcock’s timeless horror classic Psycho, and what better way to spend your Friday Night than by dressing in your mother’s finest and enjoying a good old slasher flick. Psycho is one of my all-time favorite horror movies clearly inspiring a genre of classic slasher films, challenging censorship and Hitchcock’s personal relationships. Tonight’s the perfect night to take a look back at what makes this so special.

A Boy’s Best Friend Is His Mother

No one loves you like your mother, no one will ever believe in you like your mother. One scene gets to the core of Norman Bates and his twisted relationship with Mommy Dearest:

Anthony Perkins AKA Master Bates

There’s no denying the brilliance that is Alfred Hitchcock, master of suspense and craftsman of light and shadow, but Anthony Perkins is perfection as Norman Bates that mix charming and frighting the perfect psychopath.

Spray Of Genius

“Insert obligatory shower scene” is the cliche cry of the modern horror, but Psycho‘s shower scene is iconic. With its use of erratic shot changes timed to Bernard Herrmann’s piercing score, this scene is cinematic perfection.

Doing The Undo-able

The shot-for-shot remake of Psycho proved disastrous even with Gus van Saint behind the wheel, so expectations were set low for a TV series based on the early life of Norman Bates. But Bates Motel proved to be what we were looking for to re-introduce us to the world of Psycho, and what makes a great TV series if not a perfect cast. Freddie Highmore is almost a ringer for a young Norman and his chemistry with Vera Farmiga is disturbingly beautiful.


Feel like getting a little Psycho tonight? What’s your take on Hitchcock’s classic? Sound off in the comments below or on Facebook!

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