Psycho II (1983)

Director:

Richard Franklin

Writers:

Tom Holland (written by)
Robert Bloch (characters created by)

Release Date:

3 June 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

It's 22 years later, and Norman Bates is finally coming home

Plot:

After twenty-two years of psychiatric care, Norman Bates attempts to return to a life of solitude... but the specters of his crimes -- and his mother -- continue to haunt him.

Plot Keywords:

Motel | Mysterious Death | Stabbed In The Mouth | Beaten To Death | Psycho

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Anthony Perkins	...	Norman Bates
Vera Miles	...	Lila Loomis
Meg Tilly	...	Mary Loomis
Robert Loggia	...	Dr. Bill Raymond
Dennis Franz	...	Warren Toomey
Hugh Gillin	...	Sheriff John Hunt
Claudia Bryar	...	Mrs. Emma Spool
Robert Alan Browne	...	Ralph Statler
Ben Hartigan	...	Judge
Lee Garlington	...	Myrna
Tim Maier	...	Josh
Jill Carroll	...	Kim
Chris Hendrie	...	Deputy Pool
Tom Holland	...	Deputy Norris
Michael Lomazow	...	D.A.

Also Known As:

Psicosis 2 (USA: Spanish title)
Psycose 2 (USA: Spanish title)

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:R (Nova Scotia) | Spain:13 | Canada:18A (Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Italy:VM14 | Netherlands:16 | Australia:M | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Finland:K-18 | France:-12 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (original rating) | UK:18 (video rating) | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Bakersfield, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Meg Tilly was never allowed to watch any sort of television as a child, and so had never seen the original Psycho (1960) and was unaware of its significance. She didn't understand why the press was giving all the attention to Anthony Perkins for his comeback role in this movie, and one day on the set Perkins overheard her say, "Why is Tony getting all the attention?" Perkins was upset, didn't talk to her during filming, and recommended that she be replaced, even though half of her scenes had already been shot.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Norman and Toomey have their face-off in the diner, there is a kid playing a video game in the corner. We hear the sound effects, which are clearly from the game "Pac Man", but when we see the video game it's a cabinet for "Ms. Pac Man", which had completely different sound effects from the original.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Norman Bates: Mother, oh God, Mother. Blood! Blood!
Judge: The basis of the staff report Norman Bates is judged returned to sanity and is ordered released at will.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Psychos in Love (1987)

Soundtrack:

Piano Sonata Op. 27, No. 2 'Moonlight'

Actually not as bad as I expected, but it defeats he whole purpose of the first classic thriller

I don't know why, but when I was shopping for DVD's at Best Buy I found the triple feature for all the Psycho sequels, it was ten dollars, so I figured what the heck? So I bought it and I watched Psycho 2 last night, it actually was not as bad as I expected. It was an interesting plot and made the story work, I'm not going to say that it was un-necessary, yeah, Psycho did not need a sequel, but it wasn't a bad movie to watch. My only problem with the film, the blood, Hitchcock did something that made the first film scary, he left things to the imagination, the mind's power and thought is more powerful than seeing something and jumping so quickly to conclusion. Psycho 2 shows a lot more blood and gore. But Anthony Perkins performs well and makes Psycho 2 worth the watch.

Norman Bates is back in business, he is released from the mental institution, but when Lila Loomis finds out about this, she freaks out and sends her daughter, Mary into undercover duty to try to get Norman back where he belongs. But something is odd, Norman seems actually like he could have a normal life, just everyone is playing tricks on him to where he's loosing his mind once again, or is he? Mary tries to keep a cool Norman so she's not the next Marian Craine.

Psycho 2 is over all a decent sequel, I wouldn't mind watching it again actually. The story keeps your attention and there are some chilling moments. It was a little predictable I think, I had a feeling with Mary, that her story wouldn't end so well, but it's all good, you'll have to see what I mean. Psycho 2 is worth the watch if you loved the first Psycho, just like I said, I think they did mess up on showing too much blood and gore, Hitchcock got it right by leaving it to the imagination.

5/10