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A review by a_chickletz
Psycho by Robert Bloch
5.0
Psycho was one of those films I grew up watching due to my sister (older than me) having a crush on Anthony Perkins, and watching clips of movies on Cinemania 95. I knew of the 'shower scene' before anything, and the music.
Most of that comes from Hitchcock, who then indicates that the basis of the movie came from this book.
After reading the book, I'm curious if someone who never saw the film would receive the same pay-off. Does the ending still hold up in both formats?
In my opinion, the answer is - yes. Psycho is one of those books, so simple, so elegantly crafted that it just pulls you in. The style in which it is told plays on your emotions, it makes you believe, it makes you take things for granted. So when you get to that ending, that reveal, it radiates on the page and reflects on the screen.
I think Psycho is the beginning of 'unreliable narrators' in fiction, and if you're looking for a horror book to read for the Halloween season... this is the book. I chose this as my first book to kick off my October 2021 reads and it was a great book to choose!
Most of that comes from Hitchcock, who then indicates that the basis of the movie came from this book.
After reading the book, I'm curious if someone who never saw the film would receive the same pay-off. Does the ending still hold up in both formats?
In my opinion, the answer is - yes. Psycho is one of those books, so simple, so elegantly crafted that it just pulls you in. The style in which it is told plays on your emotions, it makes you believe, it makes you take things for granted. So when you get to that ending, that reveal, it radiates on the page and reflects on the screen.
I think Psycho is the beginning of 'unreliable narrators' in fiction, and if you're looking for a horror book to read for the Halloween season... this is the book. I chose this as my first book to kick off my October 2021 reads and it was a great book to choose!