Psycho

The film Psycho is based on the novel of the same name written by Robert Bloch. It is a story of a boy (norman bates played by Anthony Perkins) and his mother. The macguffin is about a woman (Lila Crane played by Vera Miles) who stole $40,000 from her boss and ran away to live in secret with her lover (Sam Loomis played by John Gavin). While trying to avoid the attention of the police she stops off at an old hotel just off the motor way where she meets the boy and his 'mother' (who has been dead for years), in his mind he takes on the role of his mother and becomes jealous of the young woman staying in the hotel. He/she stabs the woman to death in the shower and leaves the mess for the son part of his mind to clean up.

http://youtu.be/8VP5jEAP3K4

The audience is taken by surprise because they never really see the mother side of Norman Bates and when it is revealed who has murdered Lila Crane, it shocks the audience and fits the pieces together. The film made $50,000,000 in box office which shows it success. its success is linked to the fact that there was nothing made like it in its time so even though today it seems timid and not very frighting back in 1960 it was terrifying!