The Many Queer Readings of Norman Bates in ‘Psycho’ [Horror Queers Podcast]

Baters

It’s nearly time to close out the month of July, which has been another scorching hot one for Trace and me. We kicked things off with Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013) to coincide with our coverage of The Red Door, then we talked about another sequel to celebrate the two-year anniversary of Adam Robitel’s Escape Room: Tournament of Champions (2021).

Now we’re up to a huge milestone: Alfred Hitchcock‘s Psycho (1960) aka one of the original slasher prototypes. In the iconic film, Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) steals $40K from her crappy job before stopping at the abandoned Bates Motel. There she meets young proprietor Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) who seems a little…off.

Unfortunately for Marion, soon afterward she’s brutally murdered in the shower by Mother, setting off a chain reaction as first private investigator Arbogast (Martin Balsam), then Marion’s lover Sam Loomis (John Gavin) and her sister (Vera Miles) come looking for her. But who is Mother and what really is going on at the Bates Motel?

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Episode 239 – Psycho (1960)

After tackling its two sequels, we’re finally crossing off a classic with Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960).

Turns out we have a ton to say in this supersized episode, which makes sense considering the film is technically masterful, features iconic sequences and boasts two stellar lead performances.

Plus: a ‘pregnant’ production history, Baters and momism, Gus Van Sant’s 1998 shot-for-shot remake, and a variety of (queer) readings of Norman Bates.


Cross out Psycho!

Coming up on Wednesday: We’re tackling a camp classic with former guest Peaches Christ’s All About Evil (2010).

P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for more than 253.5 hours of additional content! This month we’re going all in on the Insidious franchise with a episode discussing our thoughts on each entry, as well as delivering a full-length episode on the new film Insidious: The Red Door. We’ll also have episodes on the Netflix sequel Bird Box: Barcelona and Marienne director Samuel Bodin’s original horror film Cobweb.  Plus: our audio commentary for the month is on the original Bird Box!

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