The PSYCHO Films (reviews)

We All Go A Little Mad Sometimes...

The PSYCHO films

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@Cleric20)

"They're probably watching me. Well, let them. Let them see what kind of a person I am. I'm not even going to swat that fly. I hope they are watching... they'll see. They'll see and they'll know..."

The Psycho films have a special place in the pantheon of horror films - Hitchcock started a whole new breed of 'mental illness as a danger to society' genre - and he did it with such power and style that it became an icon.

Several sequels of varying quality followed plus an infamous 'shot-for-shot' colour remake in '98. There is even a lesser-known, and highly quirky '87 TV movie featuring Jason Bateman that was supposed to kick off a Bates Motel series way before the excellent Vera Farmiga and Freddie Highmore series redefined the early years of Norman Bate's life.

As is often the case - my ranking of these might differ to the 'accepted' version - for me, a film can be rated highly for many things not just the 'craft' with which it is made... So read on if you dare as I explain my feelings for each of the Psycho films to date:

Psycho IV: The Beginning

Directed by Mick 'Critters 2' Garris

Psycho IV hit in 1990, it was very much a TV movie and the quality was lacking. It does have Anthony Perkins reprise his role as Norman Bates for one final time (he died two years after this movie was released). It's an hour and a half mostly filled with Norman calling in and dumping his psychological baggage to a seedy late-night radio show - will it help?

There are some fun flashbacks to Norman's childhood and teenage years, young Norman (played by Henry Thomas) tries and fails to please his overbearing mother, Norma (Olivia Hussey). Norman himself has moved on and married but can he outrun his demons? Bates grapples with his unsettling feelings for his mother and considers a career change into stabbing young women to get his manhood back...

It's fine, but nothing special.

Out of a potential 5, you have to go with a Darkmatters:

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(2.5 - Worth a watch for die-hard psycho fans )

Bates Motel (1987)

Directed by Richard 'writer of Universal Soldier' Rothstein

Before Freddie Highmore, there was Bud Cort (HEAT) who stars not as Norman but as Alex West, a young man who had the pleasure of being locked up in the same asylum as Norman Bates, who becomes a sort of father figure to him. What could possibly go wrong after Alex is released and left Bates Motel.

But the motel isn't empty... Squatting there is Willie (a pre Tank Girl Lori 'Point Break' Petty) and maybe also the ghost of dear old Norma Bates!?

It all gets a bit Scooby Doo as things go bump in the night and there is a literal double unmasking scene at the end. But there is lots to enjoy here if you like quirk, and can handle the less-than-stellar production values.

Out of a potential 5, you have to go with a Darkmatters:

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(3 - Weirdly fun '90s oddity )

Psycho III

Directed by Anthony 'Lucky Stiff' Perkins

Strap in folks - here's a massive fun '80s horror movie which has Perkins pulling double duty as both director and star. Additionally, Diana Scarwid (Rumble Fish) steals the whole movie as a literal 'nun on the run' and the cast is stacked with quality bit players.

Written by Charles Edward Pogue (of the excellent The Fly remake fame) and boosted by some pumping synth murder music Psycho III to many fans is the peak of everything the Psycho franchise strives for. It's certainly a really good time, it's nasty enough, but has goofy bits, it's sweaty too but also not as predictable as some of this franchise.

Can Norman have a love interest and not end up carving her? It's compelling to find out...

Out of a potential 5, you have to go with a Darkmatters:

ööö1/2

(3.5 - Decent 3-quel that is definitely worth a look )

Psycho II

Directed by Richard 'Road Games' Franklin

Psycho II, one of the few films that has unnerved me - I was 12 when this came out in '83 and I saw it unsupervised late one night with a mate. Ooooo baby - this has everything you could want from a sequel to a classic. It got the green light when Hitchcock's estate allowed Universal to continue the Psycho franchise.

Perkins returns and totally nails his Norman Bates after a 22-year hiatus along with original cast member Vera Miles. This movie was the start of my Meg Tilly infatuation - cemented by Masquerade in '88.

So Bates Motel stumbles back into life after Norman is deemed fit to leave the institution but the local populace aren't convinced that he's all there. When Mary (Tilly) befriends him, you can almost feel his madness pulsing in his mind but maybe, just maybe it IS all in his mind?

When very real dead people start being found around the Motel Norman's grip on reality begins to slip and it makes brilliant viewing! Psycho II is well served because it keeps you guessing and presents some sympathetic elements to Norman - so he pretty much becomes a 'horror hero' here.

Out of a potential 5, you have to go with a Darkmatters:

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(4 - Top psycho-em-up sequel stuff! )

Psycho (1998)

Directed by Gus 'Good Will Hunting' Van Sant

Ah, the Psycho film that people love to hate... I count myself as one of the very few folks out there who love Gus Van Sant's shot-for-shot 1998 remake of Psycho. It flips some of the vibes of the original which some have knocked for having Perkins as a queer baddie - by having the wonderful gay rights trailblazer Anne Heche play the errant wife on the run, who makes the mistake of stopping over at the Bates Motel run by Norman (a genius bit of against type cast in Vince 'Swingers' Vaughn).

Also different this time round is that it's in colour, and has the awesome supporting cast of Julianne Moore, Viggo Mortensen, William H. Macy, and Philip Baker Hall. The film looks beautiful and sounds great too with Danny Elfman reworking Bernard Herrmann's original score.

Psycho '98 is fun to watch, and for me is the most re-watchable of all the Psycho films. The cast put their own spin on their readings of the characters, with more room for fun and because they keep most of Stefano's original script - it allows you to appreciate just how good it is.

Hate on it if you want but I urge you to give it another shot. Is it necessary? Not at all. Is it a campy slice of horror excellence - oh yes!!

Out of a potential 5, you have to go with a Darkmatters:

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(5 - One of my all-time fav remakes! )

Psycho (1960)

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Just pretty much a perfect film. Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho was picked by the American Film Institute as the most suspenseful film ever made. Variety recently named it the best movie in the history of all cinema.

Almost 65 years old, and it holds up as a masterful viewing experience now, as much as it ever did. Hitchcock must have known that he was channelling magic when he created the uberly iconic shower scene. But Psycho has it all - a Gothic haunted house, THAT staircase, THAT silhouette, THAT knife, THAT screeching Bernard Hermann score.

If you've never been a fan of black-and-white movies, this is the one that could change your mind. It's tense. It's frightening. And Norman Bates is an icon.

STUNNING STUFF...

Out of a potential 5, you have to go with a Darkmatters:

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(5 - The grandaddy of horror, epic and wonderful!! )