SummaryA Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run, and checks into a remote motel run by a young man, Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) under the domination of his mother.
Directed By:Alfred Hitchcock
Written By:Joseph Stefano, Robert Bloch
Psycho
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
97
User score
Universal Acclaim
8.8
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Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
94% Positive
17 Reviews
17 Reviews
6% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
100
Every minute detail and artistic decision Hitchcock makes contributes to the film’s eeriness, though it’s Leigh and Perkins’ captivating performances that turn this into the terrifying tale so entrenched in Hollywood history.
100
Psycho should be seen at least three times by any discerning film-goer, the first time for the sheer terror of the experience, and on this occasion I fully agree with Hitchcock that only a congenital spoilsport would reveal the plot; the second time for the macabre comedy inherent in the conception of the film; and the third for all the hidden meanings and symbols lurking beneath the surface of the first American movie since “Touch of Evil” to stand in the same creative rank as the great European films. [This was Mr. Sarris's first appearance in the Voice.]
User score
Universal Acclaim
94% Positive
778 Ratings
778 Ratings
4% Mixed
31 Ratings
31 Ratings
2% Negative
15 Ratings
15 Ratings
Nov 25, 2025
10
A revolutionary piece of art, from Alfred Hitchcock's deliberate casting of Anthony Perkins Norman bates to the exquisite cinematography. This film is beyond its Time and a staple of the genre.
100
He has very shrewdly interwoven crime, sex and suspense, blended the real and the unreal in fascinating proportions and punctuated his film with several quick, grisly and unnerving surprises.
100
Psycho, in its dark and sordid extravagance, remains utterly contemporary, in its subject as well as in its production.
100
Felt in the full impact of a theatrical screening (with the pleasure of seeing patrons reflexively kick or stiffen at the sight of Miles startled by her mirrored reflection), its power is not just that of a showman’s calibrated scare machine, but of a somber fugue on the trapped 20th-century creatures who inhabit its world, clawing but never budging an inch.
90
Perkins gives a remarkably effective in-a-dream kind of performance as the possessed young man. Others play it straight, with equal competence.
50
What is offered instead is merely gruesome. The trail leads to a sagging, swamp-view motel and to one of the messiest, most nau seating murders ever filmed. At close range, the camera watches every twitch, gurgle, convulsion and hemorrhage in the process by which a living human becomes a corpse...The nightmare that follows is expertly gothic, but the nausea never disappears.
Apr 13, 2025
10
All these years later, and Anthony Perkins's character is still superb. No wonder he ended up type-cast. Janet Leigh is truly a great actress and really brings the whole film to life. The storyline is great, and keeps you watching right to the end! Excellent!
Jan 15, 2026
6
This is a great but flawed movie. The driving looks really fake. The voice over inner monologue is not necessary and ruins the mood, we get what they’re thinking without spelling it out to us. There are plot holes like changing cars in front of the cop who would see the new car to follow her. Also she acts so guilty, surely she’d be able to hide her guilt better. The music is good but it’s so overused it becomes repetitive in the first act. Some of the pacing is slow like the endless cleaning up. The finale in the basement is pretty goofy and all the exposition at the end is superfluous. But there is a lot to like, phenomenal direction, excellent writing, very good acting, engaging characters etc. The conversations are so engaging and that is where this film is really excellent. For every moment of brilliance there are elements I don't like. I’m really torn on this film, I have really extreme opinions about different aspects. It’s an excellent story but when you know the ending it loses the impact and repeat watching is less engaging.
Dec 11, 2022
2
i personally dont know how the hell this movie got a must watch award. nothing happens for 70 percent of the movie and then at the very end of the movie it gets to the good point so if you want to watch this movie just skip most of it and get to the good point theres a reason the creator of the movie didnt let you leave the cinema as thats cause it was actually just the shower scene padded out into a feature length film so he could put it in the cinema
Oct 26, 2019
0
I watched this movie for the first time recently and this is the most borring movie ive ever seen
Production Company:
- Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions
- Shamley Productions
Release Date:Sep 8, 1960
Duration:1 h 49 m
Rating:R
Tagline:The picture you MUST see from the beginning... Or not at all!... For no one will be seated after the start of... Alfred Hitchcock's greatest shocker Psycho.
Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 4 Nominations
Golden Globes, USA
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Online Film & Television Association
• 3 Wins & 3 Nominations
