Psycho was a first for many different things in Hollywood. It was the first American "slasher flick" most notably, depicting on screen stabbings coupled with the use of blood in a gory manner. Completely shocking the entire audience base during that time.
Only a veteran director could pull off such a brash awakening of newly found creative liberties that a post-Hayes Code Hollywood was willing to move slowly towards. That veteran director was Alfred Hitchcock, one of the most influential directors to dictate the silver screen. His past films had grown increasingly psychological only to meet an abrupt sense of exclamation with Psycho. Vertigo, Rear Window, and Spellbound had all touched on deep psychological themes but none as shocking and unorthodox as Psycho.
The subject matter alone met the studio with controversy, without a single frame being shot. The book Psycho, from which the movie was based, was already well known for its controversial depictions of cannibalism and necrophilia. The studio was completely astounded when Alfred approached them about directing the film option. The only way he secured a release was if he financed it himself, which he did.
Shot on a shoe-string budget (so minimal they couldn't afford color film stock) with a television crew, the studio felt the film would be a box office disaster after viewing dailys. The only person who had faith in the project was Hitchcock himself, always reassuring the film studio that this film will shock and awe the entire film industry.
He was 100% right.
Not only was Psycho the most unconventional film up to its time, it has the greatest twist ending of ANY MOVIE. The films deceptive third act and a clever media campaign about the ending of the movie lead it to shatter box office records and establish a new standard for film violence. To this day the infamous "shower scene" has gone down in history as one of the greatest film scenes of all time. Marrying together Godlike film direction of pacing and timing, flawless sharp editing, impeccable cinematographic use of shadows through lighting, frighteningly real acting, and a film score that would change the horror genre all the way to its core. All from one scene.
Its was that one scene that would later serve as a benchmark for the drastic changes that the industry was going to experience within the next decade. The 60's would soon become a radical time for movies and how a previously conservative art medium would transform into the most openly expressive profession known to society.
If Psycho hadn't been a studio success, the growth of Hollywood would have been stunted. Only a skilled director could have ushered in a new cinema era to the public. This one bold and fresh move made by a director gave new life to a mundane film cycle and created a new film genre that would only be explored years into the future.
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