[Lucky]

This would be kinda cool if it was Hitchcock vs Tarrentino. Instead its Hitchcock vs Rodriguez. And no matter how much I love Sin City there's just no way I can call that as any kind of a close fight. Meh. The movie that helped revitalize horror films? Or the classic slasher from the classic king of suspense?

(6) Psycho





vs




(22) From Dusk til Dawn[/size]




Poll closes Fri at 8 PM EST.

[salmonjunkie]

I have never been more scared watching a movie than I have watching Psycho.

[Stu]

I've never watched Psycho any further than the shower murder scene.

[Jack Quinn]

I understand Psycho's importance, but I thought it was boring as hell

[Lori]

I just like George Clooney. Hot guy rule!

[Lucky]

mooseheadjack said:

I understand Psycho's importance, but I thought it was boring as hell

Probably because you went into the film already knowing Norman Bates' secret. I hate that about American Cinema. These days its impossible to go into a classic film with legitimately great scenes and twists and not already know what it is. By the time you're old enough for your parents to let you see Psycho you've already seen the Simpsons and a dozen others parody it. Its really done a number on classic horror.

[Jack Quinn]

that's possible, I just didn't really find it all that creepy. Maybe one day I will give it another shot, but I know right now it would have a hard time making my top 50 movies.

[Lucky]

No, I seriously think culture has ruined it for you. I believe that happens to a lot of people with a lot of movies, especially horror movies. A lot of what makes Psycho great is the suspense and twists. Where's the suspense if the second she gets in the shower you KNOW exactly how its going to go? And I don't mean you know she's gonna die. You know EXACTLY how Hitchcock framed the scene! You've never seen the film and you could recreate this scene damn near perfectly because you've seen it parodied a dozen times. That ENTIRE scene is made on suspense. There's no suspense left. And you know the big twist on the movie which is supposed to scare the living fuck out of you when it comes out of nowhere.

How are Psycho, the Exorcist, and The Shining supposed to work if you already know the iconic lines, scenes, scares, and twists? Part of being scared is being surprised. And the suspense of thinking something is going to happen but not knowing exactly what or when. If you know exactly what and when, what's the big deal? It just becomes cliched.

[Jack Quinn]

See, the Shining still works for me because of the whole creepy vibe that goes along with it, Jack slowly losing his sanity and all that. I know he is going to hit the guy with the ax each time, but damn if I don't jump when he does. Just like I get a little chill whenever I see the twins, or the guy in the bear costume. Or Jack in the picture from 1927 at the end of the movie, I love that part.

With Psycho, it just didn't have that for me, I knew what was going to happen, but it still didn't hold my attention like The Shining did.

[Lucky]

Shining had the advantage of (a) being a more indepth character piece as you watched Jack lose it while Norman was already crazy when you got there and all you saw was his interactions with his "mom" and the curious parties. And (b) Shining had those creepy images and settings. You'd already seen the twins most likely parodied or outright shown elsewhere, but they're still fucking creepy.

Like I said, the shower scene is about suspense. The music building, the complete vulnerability, the silhoutte behind the curtain, and then it being drawn back, the music hitting hard, and the slashes coming. And then that final iconic shot of the drain. Having already seen it you lose a lot of the pull.

And there's no real twist in the Shining. I brought it up just because I think a lot of those images becomes so common they lose some of their appeal. Or when she walks up to the typewriter and sees what's written. Or "REDRUM." But there's still a LOT of performance, action, and just basic creepy moods left for you. Once you remove the suspense and shock from Psycho you're left with something fairly simple.

Or maybe you're just one of those bastards who doesn't like B&W! Or are you a Hitchcock fan? I remember watching Alfred Hitchcock Presents on Nick-at-Nite as a teen. Another one of those things that helped transition me into a horror fan.

[Jack Quinn]

Black and White is fine, I think that helps make Night of the Living Dead creepy as hell (didn't they either colorize that or do another old version in color? I don't remember) and quite honestly, I haven't seen enough of Hitchcock to say either way.

The Shining also has the benefit of being one of my favorite movies already (despite what lori says) so I am going to keep coming back to that.

I suppose a modern version of what you are talking about would be Blair Witch. Part of the appeal (to those who liked it) was the suspense and everything sort of building to the end. Now that we know the end, I wonder if it would be nearly as suspenseful watching it a second time?

In a non-horror movie vein, Natural Born Killers was the same way. We saw that in a theater and we were blown away. At the time, I had never seen anything like it. When it came out of video, we couldn't wait to rent it, but it didn't have nearly the same effect, and really, it was kind of boring.

[Lucky]

I was just joking about the B&W thing. I mean it might have explained something but I really do think Psycho's just ruined for you. Kubrick and Hitchcock are different directors and the two films play on different styles. Suspense is pretty much Hitchcock's foundation. Take that away and you lose a lot. This has been something that's pissed me off about Simpsons, Family Guy, and all the parody entertainment for a long time. Its also something that I really noticed a few years back when I was watching Bravo's "100 Scariest Movie Moments." Bravo sometimes really seemed to go out of its way to build up the moment but not show it to you. Other times it basically said "the film builds to THIS" and then tells/shows it. They just ruined it for me. And it sunk in that anyone who hadn't seen all those other ones I had would be getting that a lot.

Yeah, Night of the Living Dead was colorized. 3 times. The most recent one doesn't look bad but the B&W is still the best. The first colorization had green zombies. Then for the 30th Anniversary Romero's former partner Russo added new scenes and recut it. Russo had split from Romero a long time ago and made the Return of the Living Dead movies but retained half ownership of Night. And its been remade twice. The 1990 version was by Tom Savini, Romero's makeup and effects guy, and Romero produced it. It was basically a gorey version with a stronger female lead. Then it got remade a year or two ago by... someone. Night of the Living Dead is now officially public domain so if you want, you can remake it.

The most recent one does appear to however star Sid Haig so I guess I have to see it.