Psycho IV: The Beginning

Elliott , ouuuuuch.

Anthony Perkins and Olivia Hussey both do a great job, and Henry Thomas And CCH Pounder are pretty good too. Overall I thought this was an interesting and reasonably convincing imagining of Norman’s pre-Psycho 1 days. While the original is obviously the best by some distance I’ve enjoyed my journey through the Psycho sequels and think that it deserves to be thought of as a horror “franchise” just as Halloween, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, etc.

To their credit the Psycho films together tell one story about one troubled man. You generally can't say that about most horror franchises, but when you can, it usually is at the expense of the films themselves as Phantasm keeps rehashing things or Saw spends more time trying to tie the middle entries to the mythos than they do on traps. Norman Bates is fascinating and I love the house overlooking the motel. It's blueprint is ingrained in my memory. This is the weakest entry IMO but still fun.

Men would really rather murder their mother, then spend years dressing up as her and killing women rather than go to therapy. I sure am glad we got to hear Norman's classic catchphrase one last time: "Just me and my trusty umbrella."

Was really liking these Psycho sequels but this one kinda sucked.

I thought this was surprisingly good. Norman Bates recalls much of his earlier wrongdoings to a radio talk show host.

A step-up from the 3rd installment w/ far better performances all around & a completely different narrative structure, which may not always work but at least it's unexpected. The origin scenes are fairly predictable, but the actors make them work. In the "present" day, Norman's situation is easily the most unlikely event in the series, but it's refreshingly different for anyone tired of horror franchises insisting on formula. It's no exaggeration to say the end is groundbreakingly unpredictable.

Norman at the end feels more like Scotty from Vertigo than Norman Bates. This is not helped by the fact that older Anthony Perkins sounds a lot like Jimmy Stewart. Anyway, this was pretty bad.

Acting & Casting 12/15 Presentation and Development of Characters 10/15 Story and Story Presentation 7/15 Visual Quality 7/10 Creativity 3/5 Execution 5/10 Pacing and Length 4/5 Music and Theme 4/5 Sound and Visual Quality, Cinematography 7/10 Directing 7/10

2025'de #IzlediğimFilmler ; 61. Psycho IV: The Beginning Bir TV Filmi için çok iyi bir devam filmi. 2 ve 3 hikayelerini göz ardı edip ilk filmden bir devam kurgusu yapmış #MickGarris, tv filmi konusunda daha iyisi yok sanırım zaten. Anthony Perkins yine çok iyi. Eşimle bunu da beğendik. 7/10