Psycho II | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Richard Franklin |
Written by | Tom Holland |
Based on | Characters created by Robert Bloch [1] |
Produced by | |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Dean Cundey |
Edited by | Andrew London |
Music by | Jerry Goldsmith |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Universal Pictures [2] |
Release date |
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Running time | 113 minutes [3] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $5 million [4] |
Box office | $34.7 million [5] |
Psycho II is a 1983 American psychological slasher film directed by Richard Franklin, written by Tom Holland, and starring Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, Robert Loggia, and Meg Tilly. It is the first sequel to Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film Psycho and the second film in the Psycho franchise. Set 22 years after the first film, it follows Norman Bates after he is released from the mental institution and returns to the house and Bates Motel to continue a normal life. However, his troubled past continues to haunt him as someone begins to murder the people around him. The film is unrelated to the 1982 novel Psycho II by Robert Bloch, which he wrote as a sequel to his original 1959 novel Psycho .
In preparing the film, Universal hired Holland to write an entirely different screenplay, while Australian director Franklin, a student of Hitchcock's, was hired to direct. The film marked Franklin's American feature film debut. [2]
Psycho II was released on June 3, 1983, and grossed $34.7 million at the box office on a budget of $5 million. [5] It received mixed-to-positive reviews from film critics. The film was followed by Psycho III (1986).
Twenty-two years after his killing spree, Norman Bates is released from a mental institution, despite the protests of Marion Crane's sister Lila. Against the advice of Dr. Bill Raymond, he moves to his old home behind the Bates Motel and starts working in a diner. A waitress there, Mary, gets thrown out of her boyfriend's place, and Norman offers for her to stay at his home. He later discovers that the motel's new manager, Warren Toomey, is dealing drugs and fires him.
Norman's assimilation into society appears to go well until he begins receiving phone calls and notes from "Mother.” A drunk Toomey picks a fight with Norman, who suspects him of leaving the messages. A figure in a black dress later kills Toomey.
After hearing voices in the house, Norman enters his mother's bedroom to find it exactly as it was twenty-two years before. A sound lures him to the attic, where he is locked in. A female figure later appears in front of two teenagers who sneaked into the basement and kills one. The second one escapes. In the attic, Mary finds Norman, who shows her his mother's bedroom, only to find it back to its state of disuse. Norman fears he may have killed the boy, since Mary said the attic door was unlocked when she found him.
That evening, Mary meets with Lila, her mother. The two have been making the phone calls and notes. Mary altered the bedroom and locked Norman in the attic so she could change it back. All of this was an attempt to drive him insane again and have him recommitted. However, Mary's growing friendship with Norman has convinced her he is no longer capable of killing. She suspects someone else is in the house, pointing out that Norman was locked in the attic at the time of the boy's death.
Dr. Raymond discovers that Mary is Lila's daughter and suspects the two women must be harassing Norman. Norman does not buy it, saying the one behind everything must be his "real mother", despite there being no record of him being adopted.
While Lila is retrieving her "Mother" costume from the cellar, a shadowy figure murders her. Meanwhile, the police find Toomey's body. Mary runs to the house to try to convince Norman to flee. He answers the phone and starts speaking to "Mother". Mary listens in; nobody is on the line with him. While Norman debates with "Mother" about her command to kill Mary, she dresses as Mother in a bid to get Norman to "hang up". Dr. Raymond grabs her, thinking he has caught her in the act of trying to drive Norman insane, and Mary accidentally kills him with a knife.
When Norman sees “Mother" standing over Dr. Raymond's corpse, his sanity snaps, and he advances upon Mary. Backing into the fruit cellar, she stumbles upon Lila's body. Assuming Norman is responsible, Mary raises her knife to kill him but is shot dead by the incoming police. In light of an overheard argument between Mary and Lila, Mary's attempt to kill Norman, and her dressing as his mother, the police incorrectly determine that Mary committed all the murders.
Later, Emma Spool, another waitress, visits Norman and reveals that she is his biological mother. Mrs. Bates was her sister and adopted Norman as an infant while Emma was institutionalized. Emma was the real murderer, having killed anybody who tried to harm her son. In response, Norman kills her and carries the body to Mother's room. He begins talking to himself in her voice, as the "Mother" personality again takes control of his mind.
In 1982, author Robert Bloch published his novel Psycho II, which satirized Hollywood slasher films. Concerned by this, Universal decided to make their own version that differed from Bloch's work. [6] Australian director Richard Franklin, who was Hitchcock's student [7] [8] and even visited him on the set of Topaz , [9] was hired to direct Psycho II on the basis of his earlier Hitchcock-inspired thrillers Patrick and Roadgames . [2] Universal hired writer Tom Holland to write the screenplay. [10]
Hilton A. Green, assistant director of the original Psycho , was contacted and asked if he wanted to produce the film. Green, fearing that Hitchcock might not have approved of sequels to his films, contacted Hitchcock's daughter Patricia Hitchcock and sent her the script for the film. [11] Patricia Hitchcock gave her blessing, saying that her father would have loved it. [11]
Originally, the film was intended as a made-for-cable production. [12] Anthony Perkins initially turned down the offer to reprise the role of Norman Bates, but after he read the script, he agreed to do the film. [13] Perkins said: "When I received Tom Holland's script, I liked it very much. It was really Norman's story..." [13] Before landing Perkins, the studio was exploring recasting the role of Norman and Christopher Walken was among those considered. [7] Vera Miles also returned as Marion's sister Lila, but John Gavin was unavailable to reprise his role as Sam Loomis after being appointed U.S. Ambassador to Mexico by President Ronald Reagan. [14] Originally Jamie Lee Curtis was sought to portray Lila's daughter Mary before Meg Tilly was cast. [15]
Principal photography of Psycho II took place at Universal Studios in Universal City, California on Soundstage 24 from June 30–August 13, 1982. [12] The Bates house set was still standing from 1960, but the motel had to be reconstructed. [12] Similarly to the original film, it was mostly shot on the Universal backlot and in a number of sound stages. [16] Several props and set pieces from the original film were found by set designers John W. Corso and Julie Fletcher, including two Tiffany lamps, the stuffed owl and raven, the brass hands seen in Mrs. Bates's bedroom, the bedroom fireplace, the Victorian bed and armoire, and the 40-foot-long threadbare runner for the staircase. [10] The exterior of the house featured in the original film was relocated to a different section of the Universal Studios lot for the production. [10] The town of Fairvale (seen when Lila Loomis is tailed by Dr. Raymond) is actually Courthouse Square, which is probably best known for its appearance in Back to the Future (1985), located on the Universal Studios backlot.
Both Franklin and Holland wanted the film to be a tribute to Alfred Hitchcock and the original film.[ citation needed ] To accomplish this, they added various in-jokes such as the scene when Mary and Norman first go into Norman's mother's room, before they turn the lights on, Alfred Hitchcock's silhouette is visible on the wall to the far right. Franklin also repeated various shots from the original film such as the shot where Norman walks into the kitchen and sets his jacket down on the chair. The final pages of the shooting script were not distributed to cast and crew until the last day of filming.[ citation needed ]
The final shot of Norman standing in front of the house was used as a Christmas card for various crew members.[ citation needed ] When Universal presented concept art for the one sheet film poster, director Franklin was not pleased with it.[ citation needed ] It was editor Andrew London who came up with the idea of using the Christmas card photo as the film poster and also came up with the tagline: It's 22 years later and Norman Bates is coming home.[ citation needed ]
Reflecting on the shoot, Franklin recalled Perkins as being "very generous" on-set, and praised Miles as a "powerhouse" and "one of the most forceful" actors he had worked with. Reportedly, Perkins and Tilly did not get along well during filming. [17]
Composer John Williams was considered to do the score for the film, but it was decided to go with composer Jerry Goldsmith. Goldsmith was a long-time friend of original film composer Bernard Herrmann. On some film assignments Goldsmith would discover that the director had used some of Herrmann's music from other films as temporary soundtracks. Goldsmith would often joke when he discovered this ("Not Benny again!"); [18] when he conducted a rerecording of "The Murder" for the opening of Psycho II he suggested that Herrmann "must be rolling over in his grave". [19]
Goldsmith had written a theme for Norman Bates that was rejected but used for the second segment of Twilight Zone: The Movie . [20]
MCA Records released a 30-minute album on LP and cassette; in 2014 Intrada issued the complete score.
Psycho II | |
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Studio album | |
Released | 1983 |
Genre | Film score |
Length |
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Label | MCA/Universal |
Alternative cover | |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "The Murder" | Bernard Herrmann | 0:51 |
2. | "Main Title" | 1:37 | |
3. | "Don't Take Me" | 4:48 | |
4. | "Mother's Room" | 4:01 | |
5. | "It's Not Your Mother" | 5:11 | |
6. | "New Furniture" | 2:04 | |
7. | "The Cellar" | 4:02 | |
8. | "Blood Bath" | 3:37 | |
9. | "End Title" | 4:13 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "The Murder" | Bernard Herrmann | 0:59 |
2. | "Main Title" | 1:39 | |
3. | "The House" | 1:51 | |
4. | "Mother's Hand" | 1:54 | |
5. | "Old Weapons" | 0:41 | |
6. | "Cheese Sandwich" | 0:31 | |
7. | "Mother's Room" (previously titled "New Furniture") | 2:05 | |
8. | "Out to Lunch" | 2:00 | |
9. | "No Note" | 1:05 | |
10. | "The Peep Hole" | 1:47 | |
11. | "Toomey's Death" | 1:11 | |
12. | "Peep Hole #2" | 0:55 | |
13. | "Mother's Room #2" (previously titled "Mother's Room") | 4:28 | |
14. | "Basement Killing" | 1:18 | |
15. | "New Furniture" | 0:44 | |
16. | "It's Starting Again" | 0:40 | |
17. | "A Night Cap" | 1:08 | |
18. | "Blood Bath" | 4:01 | |
19. | "Don't Take Me" | 5:39 | |
20. | "She's Not Dead" | 1:16 | |
21. | "Hello Mother" | 2:52 | |
22. | "The Cellar" | 4:48 | |
23. | "It's Not Your Mother" | 5:11 | |
24. | "Expected Guest" | 2:44 | |
25. | "End Title" (revised) | 4:18 | |
26. | "Sonata #14 (Moonlight), Op. 27, No. 2 – 1st Mvt" | Ludwig van Beethoven | 1:51 |
27. | "Sonata #8 (Pathetique), Op. 13 – 2nd Mvt" | Beethoven | 1:04 |
28. | "Peep Hole #2" (original) | 0:56 | |
29. | "Mother's Room #2" (alternate no. 1) | 4:28 | |
30. | "Mother's Room #2" (alternate no. 2) | 4:28 | |
31. | "End Title" (original) | 4:18 | |
Total length: | 74:10 |
In an interview with Josh Korngut at Dread Central, screenwriter Tom Holland confirmed that Universal initially intended to release the film directly to cable, but decided upon a full theatrical release after the production secured the return of actor Anthony Perkins. [21] When the film opened on June 3, 1983, it earned $8,310,244 in its opening weekend at No. 2 (behind Return of the Jedi ) and went on to gross over $34 million. [5]
Variety deemed the film "an impressive, 23-years-after followup to Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 suspense classic". [22] Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote that the film "has all of the characteristics of a conventional sequel to Hitchcock's 1960 classic but, as you watch it, you may feel as if you're seeing a couple of precocious film students play with artifacts found in the Hitchcock mausoleum". [23] Gary Arnold, writing for The Washington Post , was less laudatory, referring to the film as "a travesty masquerading as a sequel...if Franklin had any respect for the source material, he might feel a little protective and avoid outrages as conceptually, as well as literally, nasty as the treatment of Vera Miles' character. Psycho II transforms her once sympathetic, heroic supporting role into a hateful bit part and then kills her off with a revoltingly obscene flourish. Has movie storytelling broken down this grotesquely in 23 years?" [24]
Roger Ebert wrote that, while the film sustained the suspenseful atmosphere of the original and is better than the average slasher film, the film was too heavy on the plot and was too willing to cheat about its plot to be successful. [25] A review published in the Detroit Free Press praised the film as "jumpy fun" and "another cult film in the making". [26]
Christopher John reviewed Psycho II in Ares Magazine #15 and commented that "the real importance of Psycho II rests in its originality. Refusing to be just a blood-letting free-for-all, the picture goes to great lengths to create an entirely new story". [27]
Film scholar John Kenneth Muir praised the film's depiction of Bates in "human, realistic terms", [28] deeming it "admirably frank and sincere" and "a great film on its own merits". [1] In Empire , film critic Kim Newman gave the film three out of five stars, calling Psycho II "a smart, darkly-comic thriller with some imaginative twists. The wittiest dark joke is that the entire world wants Norman to be mad, and 'normality' can only be restored if he's got a mummified mother in the window and is ready to kill again". [29]
On Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, it holds an approval rating of 62% and an average rating of 5.60/10 based on 37 reviews. The site's critics consensus states: "Although it can't hold a cleaver to the classic original, Psycho II succeeds well enough on its own merits to satisfy horror fans." [30] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 54 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. [31]
When asked his thoughts in 2015, writer Tom Holland replied: "We should have called it something other than Psycho, because it had no more than a passing resemblance to the original. What we did to Norman Bates and Lila Loomis was criminal". Smiling, he added: "Outside of that, it was wonderful". [32]
Filmmaker Quentin Tarantino has said this was Perkins best performance of his career. [33]
Psycho II has been released five times on DVD. The initial release came in 1999 when Universal Pictures leased the film out to GoodTimes Home Video in a 1.33:1 open matte transfer. [34] The second release came in 2005 from Universal itself. [35] The third release came in 2007 as part of a triple feature package with Psycho III and Psycho IV: The Beginning . [36] Shout Factory, under their Scream Factory logo, released Psycho II on DVD & Blu-Ray on September 24, 2013 under their "Collector's Edition" line-up.
RiffTrax released a VOD commentary on the film in May 2013. [37] Universal released Psycho II, Psycho III, Psycho IV: The Beginning and the 1987 TV-movie Bates Motel on DVD as part of its "4-Movie Midnight Marathon Pack" in September 2014.
Psycho is a 1960 American horror film produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The screenplay, written by Joseph Stefano, was based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch. The film stars Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin, and Martin Balsam. The plot centers on an encounter between on-the-run embezzler Marion Crane (Leigh) and shy motel proprietor Norman Bates (Perkins) and its aftermath, in which a private investigator (Balsam), Marion's lover Sam Loomis (Gavin), and her sister Lila (Miles) investigate her disappearance.
Robert Albert Bloch was an American fiction writer, primarily of crime, psychological horror and fantasy, much of which has been dramatized for radio, cinema and television. He also wrote a relatively small amount of science fiction. His writing career lasted 60 years, including more than 30 years in television and film. He began his professional writing career immediately after graduation from high school, aged 17. Best known as the writer of Psycho (1959), the basis for the film of the same name by Alfred Hitchcock, Bloch wrote hundreds of short stories and over 30 novels. He was a protégé of H. P. Lovecraft, who was the first to seriously encourage his talent. However, while he started emulating Lovecraft and his brand of cosmic horror, he later specialized in crime and horror stories working with a more psychological approach.
Norman Bates is a fictional character created by American author Robert Bloch as the main antagonist in his 1959 horror novel Psycho. He has an alter, Mother, who takes from the form of his abusive mother, and later victim, Norma, who in his daily life runs the Bates Motel.
Anthony Perkins was an American actor, director, and singer. Perkins portrayed Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's suspense thriller Psycho, which made him an influential figure in pop culture and the realm of horror films.
Vera June Miles is an American retired actress, known for roles in two Westerns directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne, The Searchers (1956) and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). She is also known for playing Lila Crane in the Alfred Hitchcock film Psycho, a role she reprised in the sequel Psycho II.
Psycho IV: The Beginning is a 1990 American made-for-television slasher film directed by Mick Garris, and starring Anthony Perkins, Henry Thomas, Olivia Hussey, Warren Frost, Donna Mitchell, and CCH Pounder. It serves as both the third sequel and a prequel to Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, focusing on the early life of Norman Bates and the flashbacks that took place prior to the events of the original film. It is the fourth and final film in the original Psycho franchise, and Perkins' final appearance in the series before his death in 1992.
Psycho III is a 1986 American slasher film, and the third film in the Psycho franchise. It stars Anthony Perkins, who also directs the film, reprising the role of Norman Bates. It co-stars Diana Scarwid, Jeff Fahey, and Roberta Maxwell. The screenplay is written by Charles Edward Pogue. The original electronic music score is composed and performed by Carter Burwell in one of his earliest projects. Psycho III is unrelated to Robert Bloch's third Psycho novel, Psycho House, which was released in 1990.
Bates Motel is a 1987 American made-for-television supernatural horror film and a spin-off of the Psycho franchise written and directed by Richard Rothstein, starring Bud Cort, Lori Petty, Moses Gunn, Gregg Henry, Jason Bateman, and Kerrie Keane. Outside of the 1998 remake, this is the only installment not to feature Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates as Kurt Paul portrays the character. The film premiered on July 5, 1987. It is a direct sequel to Psycho, ignoring the other sequels.
Richard Franklin was an Australian film director.
Psycho is a 1998 American psychological horror film produced and directed by Gus Van Sant, and starring Vince Vaughn, Julianne Moore, Viggo Mortensen, William H. Macy, and Anne Heche. It is a modern remake of Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film of the same name, in which an embezzler arrives at an old motel run by a mysterious man named Norman Bates; both films are adapted from Robert Bloch's 1959 novel.
Psycho is an American horror franchise consisting of six films loosely based on the Psycho novels by Robert Bloch: Psycho, Psycho II, Psycho III, Bates Motel, Psycho IV: The Beginning, the 1998 remake of the original film, and additional merchandise spanning various media. The first film, Psycho, was directed by filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock. Subsequently, another film related to the series was made: an Alfred Hitchcock biopic, and two new novels, by Takekuni Kitayama and Chet Williamson, were released. Also, an independent documentary called The Psycho Legacy was released on October 19, 2010, mostly focusing on Psycho II, Psycho III and Psycho IV: The Beginning, while covering the impact and legacy of the original film.
Psycho is a 1959 horror novel by American writer Robert Bloch. The novel tells the story of Norman Bates, a caretaker at an isolated motel who struggles under his domineering mother and becomes embroiled in a series of murders. The novel is considered Bloch's most enduring work and one of the most influential horror novels of the 20th century.
Osgood Robert "Oz" Perkins II is an American actor, screenwriter, and director.
Psycho II is a 1982 horror novel by American writer Robert Bloch. It is a sequel to his 1959 novel Psycho. The novel was completed before the screenplay was written for the unrelated 1983 film Psycho II. According to Bloch, Universal Studios loathed the novel, which was intended to critique Hollywood splatter films. A different story was created for the film and Bloch was not invited to any screenings. Universal suggested that Bloch abandon his novel, which he declined and released anyway to good sales.
Alfred Hitchcock's films show an interesting tendency towards recurring themes and plot devices throughout his life as a director.
Emma Spool is a fictional character created by screenwriter Tom Holland for the 1983 film Psycho II. She serves as the primary antagonist, and is portrayed by Claudia Bryar. More attention is given to her character in Psycho III, although she only appears as a corpse.
Norma Bates is a fictional character created by American author Robert Bloch in his 1959 thriller novel Psycho. She is the deceased mother and victim of serial killer Norman Bates, who had recreated her in his mind as a murderous alternate personality.
Marion Crane, also under the alias Marie Samuels, is a character created by American author Robert Bloch in his 1959 thriller novel Psycho. She is portrayed by Janet Leigh in the 1960 version of Psycho directed by Alfred Hitchcock, by Anne Heche in the 1998 version of Psycho, and by Rihanna in the television series, Bates Motel (2017). For her performance in Psycho, Leigh was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in the Academy Awards and won a Golden Globe Award in the same category.
Lila Loomis is a fictional character created by American author Robert Bloch in his 1959 thriller novel Psycho; she is the sister of Norman Bates's victim Marion Crane. She is revealed as the real protagonist of the novel in the final chapters, after several false protagonists, including her sister, who gets murdered. Lila is portrayed by Vera Miles in the 1960 film version and by Julianne Moore in the 1998 version. Additionally, Lila appears in Bloch's 1982 sequel novel Psycho II, and the unrelated 1983 sequel film of the same name, in which she serves as an antagonist.
The Psycho Legacy is a 2010 American independent direct-to-video documentary film that examines the history of the Psycho film franchise and the continuing legacy of the original Psycho. It also pays a tribute to actor Anthony Perkins for his portrayal of character Norman Bates. It is written and directed by Robert Galluzzo. It includes interviews with the cast and crew who were involved in the productions of Psycho, Psycho II, Psycho III and Psycho IV: The Beginning. It also features interviews with current horror filmmakers who are fans of the Psycho series.
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