I Finally Watched ‘Psycho’ for the First Time Ever & I Have *Thoughts*

I've never been someone who can't enjoy a black-and-white movie. Whether I was watching the AMC channel at my grandparents' house or streaming classics like Rebecca during the beginning of the pandemic, I've always had a fondness for the old-fashioned format. In the case of Psycho, I would argue that it would have been worse as a color film. Just like how chiaroscuro was used to show dramatic effects in studio art, the stark contrast in the lighting of the film makes the setting even more eerie. It works perfectly in moments like the shower scene, where the killer is shrouded in darkness, or when Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) lies on the floor soon after being killed, and her eye is the only spot of darkness in a close-up shot of her pallid body.

Because Psycho came out in 1960, I figured the effects would not be as realistic as a movie made in 2022, and this assumption turned out to be somewhat true. I couldn't help but giggle during certain moments, like the shower scene, where the knife sort of flails about and we don't see any actual contact (and I couldn't help but think that based on that number of stabbings, there would've been way more blood, too). However, while these moments may not have translated as well in our ever-improving world of special effects, there were still moments that actually terrified me, especially the final scene where Lila (Vera Miles) and Sam (John Gavin) come to the home in search of answers and get chased by Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins).

Speaking of Norman, when that big twist comes at the end—that Norman has been dressing up like his mother and murdering people—I was genuinely shocked. However, once the surprise wore off, I suddenly got nervous, because I feared the ending would veer into transphobic territory. But, for the most part, it thankfully didn't. In the final moments, as a psychiatrist explains how Norman developed an alternate personality after killing his mother and her lover, it's a psychological and realistic explanation that ages well. And although the psychiatrist uses some language regarding gender that has gone out of vogue, it's an otherwise satisfying ending that avoids being cringey.

While watching Psycho, it was evident how much the film has influenced decades of horror flicks. When Janet Leigh gets killed halfway through the movie, I could see how Kevin Williamson might've been inspired to kill off Drew Barrymore within the first ten minutes of Scream. The isolation of The Bates Motel could've easily inspired the remote setting of movies like The Shining. Even Perkins's nuanced and almost endearing performance as Bates has likely been a model for modern TV killers like Joe Goldberg on You. But despite the ways in which Psycho has obviously been echoed, it still felt fresh, which made the movie all the more impressive.