Can you believe that Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film, the film that many consider as the first “slasher,” turns 50 TODAY?!

That’s right, back on June 16, 1960, Hitch released Norman Bates on an unsuspecting world and horror hasn’t been the same since.  Universal milked the franchise for only 3 sequels (which is nothing compared to the 10 sequels that Friday the 13th had, 7 sequels that Halloween had and 8 sequels that A Nightmare on Elm Street had) but the original is the one that changed everything. 

I was going to to do a whole write-up on the influence Psycho had on the cinema, but discovered Gary Susman’s Moviefone article entitled “Psycho at 50:  What We’ve Learned from Hitchcock’s Horror Classic” HERE and really he covers everything I could have said and better than I would have said it.  Give it a read and be sure to watch the YouTube trailer for Psycho embedded in the article.  It’s one of my favorite trailers of all time mainly for the winky-glee that Hitchcock brings to his tour of the sets.  The way he foreshadows “… the baaaathroom.” is really fantastic showmanship.

Also worth noting is an upcoming in-depth documentary called “The Psycho Legacy” that’s coming out on DVD in October (just in time for Halloween, woo hooooo!).  You can check out the website ThePsychoLegacy.com HERE.  After years of crappy 20 minute fluff pieces thrown on to DVDs by studios, we’re really in a Renaissance of quality fan-driven documentaries that give more info and interviews than you ever thought were possible.  Docs like Beware the Moon on the An American Werewolf in London DVD, Never Sleep Again DVD (on the Elm Street franchise), and His Name Was Jason DVD (on the Friday the 13th franchise) have really changed the way docs are viewed and made and I have a feeling The Psycho Legacy will deliver on par with those.

Until then, you can buy the 50th Anniversary Blu-Ray on Amazon from the links below and there’s a ton of books on Mr. Hitchcock and his monumental achievement in black and white horror.