Apple TV is being criticized online for ruining the ending of one of the best horror films ever made

Anthony Perkins in Psycho
(Image credit: Universal Pictures)

Horror fans are not happy at all with Apple TV Plus after the streaming service ruined the ending of one of the best horror movies ever made by placing a recommended viewing option on the screen. 

Instead of playing the iconic ending of Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 masterpiece Psycho in full, Apple TV minimised the movie and put a recommended viewing option for the most random suggestion possible: viewers missed the finale and instead could stare at an image of none other than comedy TV Show The Big Bang Theory, and then Friends. One horror fan quickly took to Twitter to post a video of the blunder and complain, writing, "Physical media will always be better than this abomination!!!" Watch the clip below. 

It looks like other horror fans share the viewer's pain too, with one replying, "This is unacceptable," and another added, “Yeah.. that's a tough one. There should be an option with all streaming media to disable that kind of a transition.”

So what was really supposed to happen? At the end of the movie, serial killer Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) sits in a police station after being caught posing as his dead mother and killing hotel guests at his family-owned motel. But as Bates sits in the cell, the audience can hear his mother’s voice play in his head, and it becomes obvious that the killer who suffers from multiple personality disorder still believes he is his mother. At the end of the inner monologue, the killer looks up at the camera and strikes an unforgettable smile as a flash of his dead mother's skull hits the screen. The camera pans to policemen retrieving one of Bates’ victims’ cars from a nearby bog, suggesting that the killer may finally be put to justice.

However, some horror buffs are finding the funny side in the situation, especially when it comes to those random recommendations, which are usually based on what you are watching at that moment. So, recommending sitcoms after watching Psycho is a little unhinged. "No one told Norman that life was gonna be this way…," jokes one Twitter user, while another one replied, "The movie was a little weird but I'm glad it had a happy ending! He can finally go back to just being a taxi driver," in relation to Big Bang Theory.

Aside from covering up the final scene, who knows, maybe the streamer wanted to recommend something light-hearted so that the viewer wouldn't have nightmares. 

For more, see our list of the best horror movies, or keep up to date with upcoming horror movies heading your way.

Editorial Associate, GamesRadar+

I am an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering TV and film for SFX and Total Film online. I have a Bachelors Degree in Media Production and Journalism and a Masters in Fashion Journalism from UAL. In the past I have written for local UK and US newspaper outlets such as the Portland Tribune and York Mix and worked in communications, before focusing on film and entertainment writing. I am a HUGE horror fan and in 2022 I created my very own single issue feminist horror magazine.