I'm wondering, does psycho (the original) have any effect on any on you? I found that the first time I watched it I was like 'this is soo boring'. Am I the only one who thinks that this movie really isn't that scary? Sure, it might have been great for its time, but I think we have been really desensitized to scariness.

SM

I'm afraid I have to agree with you on Psycho, but I must admit I jumped out of my seat when I saw "Scream 1", it was expected in "Scream 2". "I Know what you did last summer" was another shocker. Sequels just don't do it for me like the first onw.

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Deciphering the World as I see it !!

[This message has been edited by Sypher (edited 10-21-1999).]

When the movie first came out the"shower" scene had a very powerful effect on me--and a lot of other people too. I was afraid to get in a shower for weeks!!!Even now, if I am alone in a hotel or motel room I feel a little uneasy when I step into the shower. The sight of the hand with the knife was so unexpected that it had real shock power. The problem now is, everybody knows that it's coming.

I've been giving this some more thought.Part of the effectiveness of the original Psycho is lost if the movie is not seen on a wide movie screen.Even if you can manage to see Psycho in a theater now, we don't have any more BIG screens.The larger screen pulls you into the movie and enhances the effect of a hand with a knife suddenly appearing in the corner of the screen and then coming across it.Hitchcock was the first director to use this technique to good effect.Since then it has been so widely copied it has lost it's
novelty.The basic idea of the movie---a lunatic killing people--should still be able to scare people. But movies of this type depend on the element of surprise and Psycho has been around so long there is hardly anyone who is likely to be surprised --it has become just too familiar. I agree with Sypher about sequels--I have yet to see one that was as good as the first movie.I feel somewhat the same about remakes. I have not seen the new version of Psycho.Does it have more shock value than the original? Did you find it boring also? Was there any point in remaking it?

I found with Psycho that it didn't make me jump, but the sound effects in the shower scene (the squelches) and the general creepiness of Norman Bates and "mom" were what gave me the shivers. Films like Scream are more in your face, but Psycho scared me more because of what I *didn't* see. If that makes sense!

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Man's love is of a man's
life a thing apart, 'tis
woman's whole existence
~Lord Byron~

would you believe that I have never seen all of this movie. Only bits and pieces of it. I do enjoy Hitchcock though. I liked the "Birds."

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Sandalwood's Cosmic Creations: Working with the magic of love....

sandalwood, I also liked The Birds.To this day, if I see a large gathering of birds, like crows, it gives me the creeps.Haven't quite trusted a bird since that movie !