Film Discussion of the Week: Psycho II

Why the fuck does there exist a Psycho sequel? Is it any good at all?

Surprisingly, it not only does exist, it's a fucking GREAT movie.

This movie had no right to be as good as it turned out to be. It's a sequel to the most well known Hitchcock classic, and yet, it not only lives up to the original, it may even be (I really dare to say it) as good or even, in some ways, BETTER than the first one. Even its twists are good and get even better on a second watch!

Seriously. I just rewatched all the Psycho movies last month (and the Bates Motel series), and I stand by this: this movie is worth every damn second of it. It's all about paranoia: Norman is trying really hard to be sane, but a lot of strange things keep happening around him and he doesn't know if it's his mind slipping again or someone messing with him, and in the movie this is done in a way that we also don't know who to trust.

Anthony Perkins is as good as ever as Norman; he's even more sympathetic than in the first movie, since you get the impression that he legitimately regrets the previous killings. And his very slow descent into paranoia and madness is very well written and, most importantly, acted.

I think the only reason why it can't be better than Hitchcock's Psycho is because, well, Hitchcock "did it first". But if you don't take novelty into consideration and just look at both movies by the quality of the story and acting, they're on par with each other (though the first one has better cinematography and music).

That's why I chose this one to discuss: it's one of the best horror sequels that I know of (Aliens doesn't count because it became an action movie!), and almost no one knows about it. I thought it was going to be a shitty made-for-tv sequel to a classic, but, after seeing it last year (and rewatching last month), I do recommend that everyone watches Psycho 1&2 back to back. I just can't praise it enough.

On the other had, 3 and 4 are bad. I mean, 3 is still an ok slasher and Perkins saves it from being terrible, but 4 was a totally unnecessary made-for-tv origins movie. The 1998 remake is the worst idea ever. The Bates Motel series begins very shitty, but the later seasons are ok. So, if you ask me, the only Psycho-related things everyone should watch are Psycho 1&2, and only see the others if you're really curious.

Yep. Four movies, a remake, a series and a very obscure failed pilot for another series.

Also, the Hitchcock movie was based on a book; that one got its own sequel, unrelated to the second movie.

So I watched the movie as promised. And you know what, I'm glad I did. Thanks, Cervantes ! This isn't a movie I would have watched otherwise.

I never watched Psycho and thought, Gee, I wonder what happened next? But that's exactly what this is. We start off 20 years after Norman Bates was sentenced and now he's been freed. It's kinda neat that the film takes place the same time after as is being filmed. That they got the original cast back is even better.

Norman is trying to rebuild his life. Unfortunately, he's trying to do it in his old hometown, by living in his old motel. There's a bit of suspension of disbelief, especially in the beginning as the townsfolk welcome him back pretty friendly-like, but it's never silly (as I had hoped for after watching the trailer). There's a nice twist as the story progresses that I didn't see coming. The ending was meh.

Obviously this isn't as good as Hitchcock's masterpiece, but it's a valiant effort and I enjoyed it. An upside to going into a sequel like this is that your expectations are low, so I guess it isn't hard to come out of it pleased. This is a movie that could have been way worse than it is. Does it need to exist? No, but it still feels like it could exist in the universe of the original. It stayed true to the tone of Psycho and there's some good suspense here. I would watch it again, but unlike the original, this is more of a movie that I'd watch if it happened to be on TV than I'd probably run out and buy on Bluray.


4/5 from me.

It's definitely better than just about any other remake/reboot/delayed sequel I've seen. It stays as true to the original as it can. And when you think about how much horror movies had changed from the first Psycho to the early 80s, I respect the fact that they didn't follow the trends and kept Psycho Psycho.

I knew you'd say that.