Psycho (1960) vs. Halloween (1978): Which Do You Prefer?

[Timothy Hunter]

Psycho is seen by many as the first slasher, and the original Halloween was directly responsible for jumpstarting the slasher craze of the 80s.

[Riv86672]

I can def. rewatch Psycho, it still holds up for me.

That said I prefer Halloween if only because it’s the faster paced more action-y of the two. I’ve got to be in a certain mood to watch a Hitchcock movie, but Halloween I can come across while channel surfing and enjoy from whatever point it’s at.

[C_Miller]

I love Psycho. It was one of the first "horror" movies I ever got to see as a kid and it had a certain mystique to it. But Halloween is one of my favorite all time movies. Psycho to me, while good, has not held up as well as Halloween. Though some of that might be due to doing a deep dive into Hitchcock over the last five years or so. I don't think Psycho stacks up to some of his other films.

[ed2962]

I picked Halloween just on a pure visceral level. In the right mood I can still get caught up in the story. With Psycho I find myself thinking about history and film techniques etc.

[Kirby101]

Psycho. Never cared for Halloween. All shock with no substance.

[Riv86672]

…Halloween. All shock with no substance.

^^^That’s what the franchise turned into, that’s for sure.

Haven’t seen the latest installment but hopefully they just have a definitive ending and let it go.