Psycho Live comes to Manchester's Albert Hall

Alfred Hitchcock's classic horror Psycho is back on the big screen this Halloween, with Manchester Camerata providing a live score at the Albert Hall

We can’t get enough of Psycho. Fifty-six years since terrifying the world on its original release, Hitchcock’s low-budget horror is still haunting our dreams and making us think twice every time we step in the shower.

Manchester can get ready to be terrified all over again this Hallows weekend (30 Oct), as Albert Hall lets this masterpiece loose on the city’s film fans for a very special presentation.

Psycho Live will present the 1960s classic on the venue's big screen, accompanied by a live version of Bernard Herrmann’s nerve-shredding score as played by Manchester Camerata. The Camerata’s live performance will drive the narrative as Janet Leigh’s Marion Crane, a young office administrator in Phoenix, absconds with $40,000 of her employer’s money and spends a dark night at the remote Bates motel, which is run by a sensitive young man named Norman (Anthony Perkins) whose life seems to be dominated by his invalid mother.

Psycho has been parodied countless times over the years, by everyone from Mel Brooks to The Simpsons, but this hasn’t diminished its power to shock. Its influence, meanwhile, has spread throughout all eras of cinema. Without it, there would be no Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, Dressed to Kill, Fatal Attraction, Basic Instinct or Panic Room – practically all modern horrors/thrillers owe it a debt.

It’s been so influential, in fact, that even the essence of the movie has been directly repurposed by artists and filmmakers. With 1993 installation 24 Hour Psycho, Douglas Gordon slowed Hitchcock’s thriller down so that it took a whole day to screen in full. The result was to render its moments of terror with an abstract, even peaceful quality. A few years later, Gus Van Sant made a shot-for-shot remake of the film, which created a slightly lifeless facsimile that proved as unnerving, in its own strange way, as the original.

Even if you’ve seen Psycho countless times, this Halloween weekend screening scored by one of Britain’s most adventurous orchestras is not to be missed. 

Watch this space for more updates about the event, including news of food and drink Psycho specials at Albert’s Schloss, as well as themed Psycho happenings all over the Albert Hall.

Tickets go on sale Friday 5 August at 10am via alberthallmanchester.com, See Tickets, and all good online ticket shops. There will be a matinee and evening event.