Short plot
summary |
|
Marion Crane
(Janet Leigh) is given $40,000 by a 'letchy' client at work and is told to take
it to the bank, but she leaves town with the money... Starting to act obviously
strange, she attracts the attention of a policeman. Then, to cap it all, she trades
in her car for a used one in ultra quick time... What is going through this broad's
mind? She stops at the Bates Motel for a night of rest - don't get in the shower,
love. She
is greeted by Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) a nice but lonely sort with an apparently
bossy mother. He offers Marion sandwiches and milk. He leaves her room. When Marion
gets in the shower, mother comes down to slash her to bits... Is
this a simple case of an over protective mother protecting her son's willy? Seems
so... Marion's sister, Lila (Vera Miles), along with Marion's married lover, Sam
Loomis (John Gavin), investigate. A private investigator is murdered by mother,
too... stroppy mare... |
Rating |
| Horror:
Deeply stressful moments of walking, especially up stairs and falling backwards
post-stabbing. Wig warning throughout, moments of Taxidermy references and stuffed
oversized birds on walls. Classic moment of ink down the drain... moments of police
staring at length through sunglasses. |
What our
panel of critics thought |
|
"I have
never been able to take a shower without locking the bathroom door, especially
in dimly lit privately owned motels with wobbly doors! Although why Marion didn't
grab mother's stabbing hand I will never know. Too busy screaming I suppose...
" "The
good thing with this movie is that there is never a time when you say "why
are you showing me this 'cock?" like in Hitch's The
Birds when the woman goes up to the roof - (why oh why oh why did she do that?)
Completely believable from start to wig-knocking-off finish! And so horrible you
won't be able to kiss your mother in the same way again (especially if you have
been keeping her in the attic). The hairs on the back of my neck are standing
up on the hairs on the back of their necks... Bravisimo!" "I
work for a water company and if there is one thing that annoys me about customers
it is when they flush writing paper down the toilet like that. I personally think
she got what was coming to her." |
Please
spoil this movie for me by telling me all the good bits and then the ending.
|
| Marion
seems to have decided that she is to go back home and to own up for her embezzling.
She tears up a letter and flushes it down the toilet. She is then murdered in
the shower and buried in a bog in her car. A seemingly perfect murder... But
Marion has a sister, Lila, and, along with Marion's lover, Sam, they go back to
the Bates Motel after a private detective reports Marion was last there. Sam keeps
Norman occupied while Lila takes a look around. Lila
finds that Norman's mother is actually a skeleton with a wig on. Norman eventually
realizes Sam is up to something and attacks him. Norman runs to find Lila, dresses
up in wig and dress and comes to attack her. (The hairs are standing up on the
back of my neck as I write this... Just checked nobody's come up behind me...
OK... continue...) This is really scary stuff. Sam comes too and manages to overpower
Norman before Lila's screams fail to stop Norman slashing her to bits... We
find at the end that Norman killed his mother and her lover 10 years ago. Thus
ending the mystery... Norman is his mother... eeek eeeek eeeek.... etc... |
Quotable
quotes |
| "Well,
if the woman up there is Mrs Bates, who's that woman buried out there in Greenlong
Cemetery?" "Wow!
as hot as fresh milk!" "How
did you know she didn't make any phone calls?" |
What
snack should I eat while watching this movie? |
| Sandwiches
and milk with a big knife. |
Justify this movie's existence in the classic strand. From
theVoiceof Reason.com's Veritable Cornucopia
|
| A
genuine bonafide horror/thriller classic. This movie still scares the willies
and it is utterly watchable. The tension is truly remarkably built. If you get
the opportunity to watch this movie with the risk of someone actually coming up
from behind to attack you in a mock-friendly way then I thoroughly recommend it! Sinister,
strange, and the conclusion utterly utterly terrifying. Hitchcock
never lets us off the hook once the orchestra starts up its violin section, and
you won't stop at anything other than a national chain of motels ever again, and
if you don't you will always remember this movie (Tip: We always put a chair or
the suitcase up against the door...) |
How
politically correct is this film?
|
| The
car salesman is a bit patronizing. |
Would
your pets enjoy this movie? |
| Cats
sitting comfortably on your lap may choose to dig their claws in during the violin
shrieking moments, just for effect. Dogs like wigs and will dream of wearing one.
Squawky birds will remember the screechy violin music and repeat it next time
you cut bread or vegetables with a knife. |
What
can I take from this movie to make me a better person? |
| DON'T
SCREAM!!! If Lila hadn't screamed after she saw the dead Mrs Bates then Norman
might not have found her when he did... |
How much would you pay for a copy of this movie in goods? |
| A
shower curtain with a hole in it. |
Other comments |
|
A perfect movie
for its genre. Don't miss it... |
Date of review |
| November
8 , 2004 |