The thing about "Psycho" that is so totally lost on today's viewers is the fact that it's main character (Janet Leigh) is actually murdered at the end of the film's first act. She not only dies, but so brutally as well. This was Hitchcock pulling the rug out from underneath the viewer - no one expected that back during it's first release and Hitchcock did a lot to safeguard that shocking secret when the film was released (anybody ever see the trailer for "Psycho" where Hitch asks the viewer not to tell anyone what they saw?). It's one of the reasons why that scene is considered to be the all time greatest moment in cinema history (in addition, of course, to how well laid out it was). "Psycho" is as good as it gets.