In 1983, an astonishing 23 years after Master Alfred Hitchcock's point-turning original Psycho
and toward the end of the post-Halloween
slasher craze, Universal decided to try to cash in on the trend with Psycho II
and resurrect the character of Norman Bates, played again deliciously by favorite Anthony Perkins. After having spent 22 years incarcerated in a mental institution, Norman -- much to the chagrin of victim Marion Crane's sister Lila Loomis (Vera Miles also reprising her role from the original) -- is declared sane and released, free to return to his empty hilltop home and take over his beloved motel, which is now being run by the lecherous and unscrupulous Warren Toomey (Dennis Franz in a great love-to-hate-him, scene-stealing performance). After unsuccesfully trying to start a new beginning as a short-order cook at the local diner, where he befriends young waitress Mary (Meg Tilly), Norman fires scoundrel Toomey (who is soon murdered on-screen with a large butcher by an unknown woman in black) and takes control of his business, eager to do things the right way. But as luck would have it, he has begun receiving unnerving phone calls from a character claiming to be his "real" long-lost mother, and he seemingly starts experiencing hallucinations that drive our neurotic hero over the edge. Before we know it, there's a full-fledged murder mystery to be solved, as the mysterious figure in black commits murder after murder in the name of Norman.
During the midst of this trouble, Mary -- who we soon discover is not who she seems -- has moved in with Norman and taken to cooking and cleaning. Norman counsels with his psychiatrist Dr. Raymond (Robert Loggia) on a regular basis and informs him of his new living companion and that he has been receiving creepy phone calls from "Mother," so Raymond does some investigative work and becomes convinced that Lila Loomis is responsible. Things really become nasty when the police drag the swamp where Norman's victims were found years before and discover the decomposing corpse of Mr. Toomey stuffed in the trunk of his submerged car. The killer attacks a horny couple that sneaks into the basement of the Bates house to smoke some weed and get it on, the boy being brutally stabbed to death while the girl runs to alert Sheriff Hunt (Hugh Gillin), who does arrive at Norman's and investigate but is unable to find any evidence the crime ever occurred. When Lila Loomis herself sneaks into the Bates basement and prepares to change into her Mrs. Bates wig and black dress, she is greeted by another sinister character in a black dress who shoves a knife into her screaming mouth and out the back of her throat, which drives the question even harder: Who is the killer?
One of the best attributes Psycho II has going for it is its breathtaking, harmonious Jerry Goldsmith score
that is alternately moving and terrifying. It gives the whole film a sense if class that isn't terribly far behind that of its predecessor -- for an '80s sequel anyway -- and showcases the film's scary moments beautifully. The Tom Holland script is solid and intriguing with a minimum of goofy plot holes (not that there aren't any, but definitely less than the average slasher film from this period), and there's crisp cinematography by veteran film lenser Dean Cundey that lends a nice spooky atmosphere to the ghoulish proceedings. All in all, Psycho II had some very large shoes to fill to be a worthwhile follow-up to one of the greatest horror films ever made, and it does the best job possible of doing so IMO. It's also wonderful to have Tony Perkins reprising his signature role a lifetime down the road, and his Norman Bates has weathered genuinely after 22 years of institution life. Sweet-faced Meg Tilly is unaffected and holds her own with Perkins as Mary, and Vera Miles, Robert Loggia, and Hugh Gillin provide terrific support. There was the oligatory occasional production problem that cropped up during its making, and Tony Perkins and Meg Tilly reportedly did not get on well or even speak to each other when not filming, but the problems and lack of chemistry between the two stars don't show IMO. I was actually surprised to learn that they didn't like each other, so Psycho II stands as a testament to both Perkins' and Tilly's individual talents.
With a $5,000,000 budget (pretty lofty at the time) and $34,000,000 in earnings at the 1983 box office, Psycho II was a very successful film for Universal that helped usher in another two Psycho sequels starring Perkins (though IV was made for television after the relatively low theatrical earnings of Part III). The very first scene of the film is a full excerpt of the notorious black-and-white shower scene from the original Psycho, one of the most influential 45 seconds in the history of film, before the color credits roll and we see the legendary Bates house basking in the low afternoon sun in present day 1983. Psycho II is definitely a beautiful experience for the eyes and ears, and has some good old-fashioned suspense combined with a smattering of '80s-style gore and subtle black humor, so it's surprisingly high 6.1 weighted IMDB rating is quite valid. Despite the film's rather lengthy 113-minute running time, there is no unnecessary padding or exposition, and the movie is never dull. As a side note, Robert Bloch, the writer of the original novel
that the 1960 Psycho was based on, wrote a follow-up book also titled Psycho II sometime after the original film was released, but the film Psycho II bears no relation to Bloch's novel of the same name and utilizes a completely different plot.
The late Richard Franklin, Australian director of Patrick
(1978) and Roadgames (1981) expertly crafts a very respectable and entertaining sequel in Psycho II to the original Hitchcock masterpiece that IMO rates an 8 of 10 and is worth seeing for fans of the original and '80s slashers alike.
(If you enjoyed this article, I've also reviewed Psycho III and Psycho IV: The Beginning.)
and toward the end of the post-Halloween slasher craze, Universal decided to try to cash in on the trend with Psycho II and resurrect the character of Norman Bates, played again deliciously by favorite Anthony Perkins. After having spent 22 years incarcerated in a mental institution, Norman -- much to the chagrin of victim Marion Crane's sister Lila Loomis (Vera Miles also reprising her role from the original) -- is declared sane and released, free to return to his empty hilltop home and take over his beloved motel, which is now being run by the lecherous and unscrupulous Warren Toomey (Dennis Franz in a great love-to-hate-him, scene-stealing performance). After unsuccesfully trying to start a new beginning as a short-order cook at the local diner, where he befriends young waitress Mary (Meg Tilly), Norman fires scoundrel Toomey (who is soon murdered on-screen with a large butcher by an unknown woman in black) and takes control of his business, eager to do things the right way. But as luck would have it, he has begun receiving unnerving phone calls from a character claiming to be his "real" long-lost mother, and he seemingly starts experiencing hallucinations that drive our neurotic hero over the edge. Before we know it, there's a full-fledged murder mystery to be solved, as the mysterious figure in black commits murder after murder in the name of Norman.During the midst of this trouble, Mary -- who we soon discover is not who she seems -- has moved in with Norman and taken to cooking and cleaning. Norman counsels with his psychiatrist Dr. Raymond (Robert Loggia) on a regular basis and informs him of his new living companion and that he has been receiving creepy phone calls from "Mother," so Raymond does some investigative work and becomes convinced that Lila Loomis is responsible. Things really become nasty when the police drag the swamp where Norman's victims were found years before and discover the decomposing corpse of Mr. Toomey stuffed in the trunk of his submerged car. The killer attacks a horny couple that sneaks into the basement of the Bates house to smoke some weed and get it on, the boy being brutally stabbed to death while the girl runs to alert Sheriff Hunt (Hugh Gillin), who does arrive at Norman's and investigate but is unable to find any evidence the crime ever occurred. When Lila Loomis herself sneaks into the Bates basement and prepares to change into her Mrs. Bates wig and black dress, she is greeted by another sinister character in a black dress who shoves a knife into her screaming mouth and out the back of her throat, which drives the question even harder: Who is the killer?
One of the best attributes Psycho II
has going for it is its breathtaking, harmonious Jerry Goldsmith score that is alternately moving and terrifying. It gives the whole film a sense if class that isn't terribly far behind that of its predecessor -- for an '80s sequel anyway -- and showcases the film's scary moments beautifully. The Tom Holland script is solid and intriguing with a minimum of goofy plot holes (not that there aren't any, but definitely less than the average slasher film from this period), and there's crisp cinematography by veteran film lenser Dean Cundey that lends a nice spooky atmosphere to the ghoulish proceedings. All in all, Psycho II had some very large shoes to fill to be a worthwhile follow-up to one of the greatest horror films ever made, and it does the best job possible of doing so IMO. It's also wonderful to have Tony Perkins reprising his signature role a lifetime down the road, and his Norman Bates has weathered genuinely after 22 years of institution life. Sweet-faced Meg Tilly is unaffected and holds her own with Perkins as Mary, and Vera Miles, Robert Loggia, and Hugh Gillin provide terrific support. There was the oligatory occasional production problem that cropped up during its making, and Tony Perkins and Meg Tilly reportedly did not get on well or even speak to each other when not filming, but the problems and lack of chemistry between the two stars don't show IMO. I was actually surprised to learn that they didn't like each other, so Psycho II stands as a testament to both Perkins' and Tilly's individual talents. With a $5,000,000 budget (pretty lofty at the time) and $34,000,000 in earnings at the 1983 box office, Psycho II
was a very successful film for Universal that helped usher in another two Psycho sequels starring Perkins (though IV was made for television after the relatively low theatrical earnings of Part III). The very first scene of the film is a full excerpt of the notorious black-and-white shower scene from the original Psycho, one of the most influential 45 seconds in the history of film, before the color credits roll and we see the legendary Bates house basking in the low afternoon sun in present day 1983. Psycho II is definitely a beautiful experience for the eyes and ears, and has some good old-fashioned suspense combined with a smattering of '80s-style gore and subtle black humor, so it's surprisingly high 6.1 weighted IMDB rating is quite valid. Despite the film's rather lengthy 113-minute running time, there is no unnecessary padding or exposition, and the movie is never dull. As a side note, Robert Bloch, the writer of the original novel that the 1960 Psycho was based on, wrote a follow-up book also titled Psycho II sometime after the original film was released, but the film Psycho II bears no relation to Bloch's novel of the same name and utilizes a completely different plot.The late Richard Franklin, Australian director of Patrick
(1978) and Roadgames (1981) expertly crafts a very respectable and entertaining sequel in Psycho II to the original Hitchcock masterpiece that IMO rates an 8 of 10 and is worth seeing for fans of the original and '80s slashers alike.(If you enjoyed this article, I've also reviewed Psycho III and Psycho IV: The Beginning.)
