There are plenty more competent reviews of this film, so I'll just comment on a little observation - or rather an opinion - of the relation between Hitch and this film.
It seems to me like it was a very personal project for him. The story wasn't original - if I remember correctly he read the book while traveling on a plane, perhaps even picked it up at the airport, but don't quote me on that - but I think he saw in it a great opportunity to exorcise some demons: birds, mothers, policemen, and possibly others.
The birds that Hitch was terrified of are all over Norman's parlor, looming and seemingly alive, ready to strike - a crow is aimed at Marion's throat, its beak like a knife, when she gets up to leave. Pictures of birds are in her room too, next to the bathroom.
Cops are, as usual, threatening agents, the patrolman who stops Marion looking like a death's head.
And references to mothers are all over the place: mother's picture on the mantle, mother's doctor, mother called to see if Teddy called, and then all the mentions Norman makes. These give a claustrophobic feeling that mother is always watching, looming like a stuffed bird, her influence suffocating. Hitchcock and Perkins could probably relate on that one.
Then there are mirrors, which were more likely only added as symbols of duality. Mirrors here signal danger. They are present in Norman's office, in Marion's room, there are two mirrors in mother's room - which offer quite a scare - and Marion and Norman are often reflected in dark glass while they're talking outside.
A lot of Hitchcock's films, especially his early Hollywood work, seem to me a little controlled in a way that Psycho doesn't. Because it was such a small project with a limited budget, I doubt anyone other than the people on the set cared very much for it or had a lot of faith in the film.
The huge effect the music had should not at all go ignored - Bernard Herrmann was a musical genius - but I also think the freedom Hitchcock had when nobody would've been paying much attention, probably had a huge effect on how the film turned out. And if it is indeed true that Psycho is Hitch as his most uninhibited, it makes me wonder what sort of movies he could have directed had he had the freedom some contemporary directors enjoy.
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