There exist a precious few horror movies that create the illusion of more carnage than is actually shown onscreen. Of this, the Ed Gein-inspired “Psycho” is the gold standard, and half a century hasn’t dulled its blade or effectiveness. Stephen Rebello’s book “Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho” chronicles the creation and legacy of the “North By Northwest” director’s most famous film, wherein Hitchcock is quoted as saying:

“It’s a pretty good film. But, more important, it’s the first shocker I’ve ever made. The pictures I’ve done before were thrillers. This one literally shocks you.”

And shock it does. With the novel — some might say risky — tactic of introducing a heroine to be gruesomely killed off at the end of the first act, Robert Bloch’s novel, on which the 1960 film is based, keeps its finger on the pulse of a uniquely American unbalance/derangement. It’s through which the soiled lifeblood of “Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer” and Jim Thompson’s “The Killer Inside Me” also flows.

While relatively restrained by today’s standards, Hitchcock crafts a chillingly effective and still-controversial tale of an unstable mama’s boy who runs his motel with an occasional Hotel California policy (“You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave”). Its place in RT’s Top 10 is fitting; Hitchcock’s arguable magnum opus pioneered on technical and cultural levels, and its shower scene is not only as “shocking” as Hitchcock calls it, but the death sequence has earned a place in the pop culture consciousness forevermore. Over 60 years after the film’s release, not to mention three sequels, a remake, a made-for-TV feature, and a prequel series later, “Psycho” endures as the benchmark by which all subsequent thrillers and chillers are evaluated.