Psycho IV: The Beginning

My father first rented this film in the summer of 1991. I was about ten years old when I watched it. I didn't understand most of it, but I liked it. I just re-watched it within the last few months as result of a sparked interest in both the movies and the books.

I liked how this film dove into Norman Bates's troubled past (that of course is an understatement). That was probably the best aspect of the film, not much else. I liked how Anthony Perkins once again reprised his signature role as Norman Bates after suffering that horrid humiliation from Psycho III. Olivia Hussey was wicked in this movie as Norman's mother. She must have taken lessons from Faye Dunaway in her role as Joan Crawford in Mommie Dearest. The way she yelled at him and stripped poor Norman of his manhood was just awful. But yet, she managed to stay human in certain scenes of the movie and not be such a demon. Henry Thomas did somewhat a good job playing Norman Bates as a teenager, but his performance lacked the geeky, child-like charm that Anthony Perkins had in the original film.

As for the rest of the actors, well, most of them aren't worth mentioning. Except for Thomas Schuster, who played Chet Rudolph, Norma Bates's midnight cowboy. His character was very cocky and rude, the kind of guy you love to hate. The kind of man mom would bring home and expect you to call dad, which in Norman's case was true. But that never came to pass, if you know the story line.

Director Mick Garris is no Alfred Hitchcock. He is no Richard Franklin either. But he does manage to deliver a good addition to the Psycho series. Not as good as Psycho or Psycho II, but good enough.

After an onslaught of mass murder in PSYCHO III, Norman Bates is back....in a nice suburban home, with a lovely wife, and a new problem. He has to kill again.

Norman Bates, once again played excellently by the late, great and highly-talented Anthony Perkins, calls in to a radio talk-back show, where the topic of the night is matricide. Norman relives his past, and through these flashbacks we finally meet "Mother" -- played wonderfully by Olivia Hussey (man, she is SCARY!).

This film is a delightful surprise....there's not much bad to say about it. Henry Thomas captures "young Norman Bates" nicely, though I remember Norman Bates as being a bit more polite and friendly than portrayed here....but he still pulls off a good job as a mentally-abused and opressed psychopath in the makings.

Be aware, that this is not appropriate for anyone under the age of 15. No, it isn't "shocking," but there are strong incestual undertones. They are necassary, however, because they give more valid reasons for Norman's descent into sick obsession, rather than "He had a domineering mother," which we've all known for years.

PSYCHO IV has alot of character as a film, and is hard to forget. Perhaps the best sequel of the three.

Highly Recommended.

I first watched "Psycho IV" when I rented it on the early 90's. I was a big fan of Psycho II and I respected Psycho. Psycho III was a big disappointment so I thought that part IV would be at least, a decent slasher.

This pre-quel is not as bad as you may think. It explores Norman's origins and tries to reach a conclusion about his personality. To me, it worked. Norman is not the villain anymore and the director makes sure about that because he displays a victimized, sick Norman.

The ending is a perfect way to end the Psycho series which were far from being bad. Part II is excellent, unlike Part III which is a boring slasher flick. Part IV deserves the watch for it's ending and because it's Anthony Perkins' last hurrah as Norman Bates.

Psycho IV was the swan song for America's favorite nutcase, as Anthony Perkins died of AIDS complications only a year or so after making it. But the character goes out in style.

In many ways it appears this film ignores the events of Psycho II and III in favor of a "where is he now" story which leads into a flashback that in part explains why Norman went crazy.

Tony Perkins gives a sympathetic performance as Norman. You actually feel sorry for him, particularly at the end (which I won't give away). Has he reformed? Is he still crazy?

Olivia Hussey, meanwhile, is marvelous as his insane mother. She's still one of the most underappreciated actresses in movies today, and there's a scene of her standing in a downpour in which she looks exactly like she did when she played Juliet back in 1968. Her scenes with Henry Thomas are full of tension -- including sexual tension, making much of this film an uncomfortable viewing experience. But you don't watch a Psycho movie to relax, do you? Argentine-born, British-raised Hussey also has one of the sexiest voices ever put on film -- although it's a bit odd hearing a midwestern woman having a British accent.

The rest of the supporting cast is also good, especially CCH Pounder as a talk radio host who attracts the attention of Norman.

My only real disappointment is they should have shot the flashbacks in black and white, as several scenes intentionally reflect the original film (Norman spies on his mother making love using the famous peep hole and also stabs a girl in much the same way (music included) that he killed Janet Leigh in the original film).

A fitting send off for one of the most terrifying characters in cinema history. I must go now ... my mother is calling me.

Psycho IV is a continuation of the Bates Family history. For the most part it's a prequel to the original 1960 film. I was always kind of turned off to this one because I feel they added way too much story to the original film as each sequel came out. Psycho II introduces us to Mrs. Spool who was really Norman's mother. But then Psycho III tells us, no, Spool was just a crazy aunt of Norman's. Now Part 4 adds so much to Norman's childhood that really makes it puzzling to follow any sort of true time line or plot line. We discover in this one that Norman's mother was truly sick, more sick then we could've imagined. It's alluded to in the other sequels that Norman had a "twisted" relationship with mother, but part IV goes into explicit detail as to how twisted it really was. The story is well done in part 4, but for the most part it's kind of pointless. Did we really need to see Norman have that sort of relationship with his parent? Probably not.

We get to see Norman functioning like a normal person. He has a new house and a wife. It's him calling into a radio show to tell his life story that causes him to become unhinged. Anthony Perkins and Olivia Hussey save this movie from being a total letdown. Their performances are top notch. Psycho IV doesn't go overboard with blood, we only see Norman kill I think one or two people in his flashback to growing up. I did like that the makers of this one added to the fact that Norman did kill people before Marion Crane was attacked in the famous shower scene. I liked those scenes with the teenage "Norman". It adds to the scene at the end of the first Psycho where the psychiatrist asks if there were any missing reports on girls in the area. It alluded to the idea Norman killed before, and I like that Psycho IV explores that.

Psycho IV is a prequel to the 1960 film, and adds a lot to the already twisted back story of the Bates clan. It's a good watch, but the ending is pretty weak. Only true "Psycho" fans interested in the back story of Norman will like this one. There aren't many murders committed in IV like in the second and third sequels.

6/10