this is an all time classic, even gore addicted horror teens like this film...

The problem with Psycho is that it became too iconic. It is now literally impossible to see the film as it the master intended, the way it really must be seen to fully experience, with that neat little narrative sleight of hand Hitch pulls.

Yeah I had a Hitchcock Marathon yesterday with Vertigo then Psycho.

Man the film is great and the film is so masterfully done, that even though the murders are not bloody they still shock you and the feel so violent even still. This time my sister came and watched and she was blown away as she surprisingly did not know the ending so she really liked it. She thought it was many times better then horror and thrillers today.

Also this film is only great in Black and white and it would suck in colour. Like you would never imagine watching Casablanca in colour.

I saw this and Planet of the Apes without knowing about the twists, and those viewings were great. But it's an ephemeral thrill. The excitement wanes quickly, and that's that.

Psycho works differently, though not worse, if you know the twist. The effect is similar to that in Rope: you already know the secret beforehand, so that your concern as a viewer shifts from trying to figure out who the mother/murderer is to how Perkins' character is concealing it, or showcasing it.

In some ways, the film works better if you already know about Norman Bates' drag. Because then, you begin to ask more difficult questions which have no answers, and which render the film more terrifying. This is partly why the explication scene at the end is such a misstep; it deflects from (though it does not, by any means, wholly undo) the investigative process the viewer is forced to pursue.

Psycho is a truly great film, but I don't think it's Hitchcock's best. I agree with you, dolcevita, that in some ways Hitchcock is relying on a gimmick with Bates, although it's something he can't really do anything about; it's the material itself, and he does as good a job with it as anyone could have. With Vertigo and Rear Window (in my opinion, Hitchcock's best films), issues of voyeurism and identity are dealt with even more deftly than they are in Psycho. And Notorious and Rope are more disturbing in some ways because of their exploration of the nature of fascism.

You know when you Watch Hitchcock films they have rather strange storyline and surprise twists and ending. On top of that, the director added so many more hidden themes and ideas in his films.

Even his most commercial film like North by Northwest has a lot of hidden themes and ideas.

Why have more people on KJ seen American Psycho than this?

...perhaps because they are American psychos?

How have I not rated this? A+.