Book versus film: How Alfred Hitchcock transported the spine-chilling ‘Psycho’ to the screen

“Norman Bates heard the noise and a shock went through him.” Thus begins Robert Bloch’s best-known novel Psycho, which inspired the Alfred Hitchcock classic Psycho.

Published in 1959, the book about a serial killer with a mother fixation was quickly snapped up for a screen adaptation that came out in 1960. Hitchcock’s money-spinning version inspired three sequels, a remake and a contemporary series.

Bloch was a prolific writer in the genres of crime, science fiction and fantasy (“Things were very quiet in ladies’ underwear that morning” is the opening line of his novella The Miracle of Ronald Weems). Bloch churned out more Psycho books too, which had nothing to do with the film sequels.

While the movie diverges from the book, the two Psychos are united in their concentrated impact. Hitchcock’s genius lies in locating the correct tone and visuals to match Bloch’s chilling prose.

Hitchcock’s Psycho will be screened on July 24 at Mumbai’s Regal cinema by the Film Heritage Foundation, as part of its annual restoration workshop. The foundation previously showed the suspense maestro’s North By Northwest, and will screen Rear Window (on July 31) and Vertigo (on August 7).