Psycho (1960)
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

WILLIAM FRIEDKIN SAYS: ''Psycho was the first film that really scared me, that made me think, Oh my God, this is possible. Hitchcock based it on a novel by Robert Bloch, which was based on actual murders committed by a guy living in a shack in Wisconsin named Ed Gein. I grew up and lived in Chicago, a stone's throw away....When I made The Exorcist, I understood what Hitchcock had done with Psycho. The build-up to those horrific scenes was more terrifying than the scenes themselves, as unforgettably disturbing as they were. Any work of art that can produce an emotional response is powerful. Hitchcock is able to scare you, almost any time he cares to.''