#66, 7/16 – Psycho (1960) (dvd)

No, your eyes do not deceive. I’d really never seen Psycho before.

Yeah, that is a little weird, especially considering the Hitchcock phase I went through just after college where I watched probably a dozen of his movies in a little over a month. How come Psycho was one I gave a pass to? I’d always believed I wouldn’t be impressed by it, honestly, so I figured I’d get to it eventually, but it wasn’t very high on my list.

Can’t say I disagree with that decision now. I really don’t understand the big deal. Of course, to be fair, I walked into the film knowing everything that was going to happen, anyway. I mean, who hasn’t been exposed to the major twist in Psycho? And who doesn’t know about the shower scene? And knowing those things meant I was simply along for the ride to see the stuff which led to the most famous parts of the movie. To catch it all in context. (I’ve had that happen before, with Kiss Me Deadly, for instance, but somehow I came through that movie thoroughly in love with it.) And while it’s decent enough context, I didn’t find it very compelling. I’m a little sad about that, really.

I definitely needed to give it a shot. But it’s nowhere in my top five of Hitchcock films.

Hell, it’s nowhere in my top ten.