Roku UK: Celebrating 55 Years of Hitchcock’s Psycho – the best film and TV thrillers on Roku

Approximately 55 years ago Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho was released; a film which, despite causing much controversy in the ‘60s, notched up four Academy Award nominations and is now regarded as one of the greatest motion pictures ever made.

Lauded as the original ‘slasher flick’ thanks to its infamous shower scene,  Psycho tells the tale of a secretary’s ill-fated encounter with motel owner Norman Bates; – a strange man with an even stranger relationship with his mother.

Shifting view-points, suspense and outright fear make Psycho ‘the film that changed cinema forever’. In tribute to this iconic production, we present our pick of the best psychological thrillers, from the world of film and television, currently accessible via Roku:

Netflix:

The Vanishing  (1993. Starring Jeff Bridges, Kiefer Sutherland)
A dark and disturbing thriller, The Vanishing relates the harrowing tale of one man’s search for his missing girlfriend. While on holiday, Jeff Harriman (Kiefer Sutherland) and Diane Shaver (Sandra Bullock) make a brief stop at a petrol station during which time Diane disappears without a trace. As the years pass, Jeff’s determination to find her shows little sign of fading, and when oddball professor Barney Cousins (Jeff Bridges) turns up on his doorstep and confesses to Diane’s abduction, events take a very sinister turn. Cousins promises to show Jeff what happened to Diane, but only if he agrees to go through the same things as she did.

Dexter (2006-13. Starring Michael C. Hall)
This popular TV series focuses on the character of Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall), a blood spatter pattern analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department, who leads a secret life as a serial killer. His personal mission is to hunt down murderers who have managed to evade the justice system; a process which Dexter deems perfectly acceptable.

With record-breaking viewing figures, Dexter enjoyed wide critical acclaim and ran for 8 seasons. When the final episode aired in Sept 2013, it drew the largest overall audience in Showtime’s history. All 8 seasons are available to stream on Roku via Netflix.

Bates Motel (2013 – present. Starring Freddie Highmore, Vera Farmiga)
We couldn’t present our tribute to Psycho without including this gem of a TV series. Inspired by the film itself, Bates Motel explores the formative years of Norman Bates and delves into the complex, unconventional relationship with his mother which ultimately molded him into a twisted murderer.

It was recently announced that Bates Motel will return for a fourth and fifth series, due to air in 2016; which leaves plenty of time to catch up on episodes so far! Roku users can currently stream seasons 1 and 2 via Netflix.

Google Play Movies & TV:

Roku’s Google Play channel offers a pay-as-you-go model for video delivery. Users can rent or purchase films and television shows, including individual episodes or entire seasons, and watch them via the Roku platform:

Se7en  (1995. Starring: Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey)
One of the highest grossing films of the ‘90s, Se7en follows David Mills (Brad Pitt) and William Somerset (Morgan Freeman), two homicide detectives who become deeply involved in the case of a sadistic serial killer whose meticulously planned murders correspond to the seven deadly sins: gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, pride, lust, and envy. Sometimes brutal, at all times gory, but a very very slick film. (£7.99 Buy / £2.49 Rent)

One Hour Photo (2002. Starring Robin Williams, Michael Vartan, Connie Nielsen)
In this intense film written and directed by Mark Romanek, Robin Williams stars as Sy Parrish, – a lonely man who works in the one-hour photo lab of a department store. Though quiet and seemingly harmless, Sy harbours a dark obsession with his favourite customers, the Yorkin family. One Hour Photo takes viewers through Sy’s descent from a hard-working photo technician to a creepy, dangerous voyeur. (£7.99 Buy / £2.49 Rent)

OVGuide

Using the OVGuide channel on Roku, users can access full-length movies across a variety of genres. Our top thriller picks include:

Shutter Island  (2010. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley)
Considered by many critics as a homage to the works of Hitchcock, Shutter Island tells the story of two U.S marshals, Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), who are dispatched to a remote island off the coast of Massachusetts to investigate the disappearance of a convicted murderess from the island’s hospital for the criminally insane. Atmospheric and unnerving, Shutter Island is one of Martin Scorsese’s directorial masterpieces.

Secret Window (2004, starring Johnny Depp, John Turturro)
In a film based on Stephen King’s novella Secret Window, Secret Garden, Johnny Depp stars as best-selling author, Mort Rainey, who retreats to a remote cabin on discovering his wife’s infidelity. Things take a dark turn when local farmer, John Shooter (John Turturro), tracks Mort down and accuses him of plagiarism. While trying to prove his innocence, a series of disturbing events begins to unfold before the film takes an unexpected twist.