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Psycho IV: The Beginning

  • TV Movie
  • 1990
  • R
  • 1h 36m
IMDb RATING
5.4/10
9K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
3,680
1,249
Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990)
Psycho 4: The Beginning: Dead Bodies
Play featurette2:02
Watch Psycho 4: The Beginning: Dead Bodies
1 Video
59 Photos
HorrorMysteryThriller

Norman Bates recalls his childhood with his abusive mother while fearing his unborn child will inherit his split personality disorder.Norman Bates recalls his childhood with his abusive mother while fearing his unborn child will inherit his split personality disorder.Norman Bates recalls his childhood with his abusive mother while fearing his unborn child will inherit his split personality disorder.

  • Director
    • Mick Garris
  • Writers
    • Joseph Stefano
    • Robert Bloch
  • Stars
    • Anthony Perkins
    • CCH Pounder
    • Henry Thomas
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    5.4/10
    9K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    3,680
    1,249
    • Director
      • Mick Garris
    • Writers
      • Joseph Stefano
      • Robert Bloch
    • Stars
      • Anthony Perkins
      • CCH Pounder
      • Henry Thomas
    • 114User reviews
    • 43Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Videos1

    Psycho 4: The Beginning: Dead Bodies
    Featurette 2:02
    Watch Psycho 4: The Beginning: Dead Bodies

    Photos59

    Anthony Perkins in Psycho II (1983)
    Anthony Perkins in Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990)
    Anthony Perkins in Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990)
    Olivia Hussey in Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990)
    Bobbi Evors in Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990)
    Bobbi Evors in Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990)
    Bobbi Evors in Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990)
    Bobbi Evors in Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990)
    Bobbi Evors in Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990)
    Sharen Camille in Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990)
    Sharen Camille in Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990)
    Sharen Camille in Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Anthony Perkins
    Anthony Perkins
    • Norman Bates
    CCH Pounder
    CCH Pounder
    • Fran Ambrose
    • (as C C H Pounder)
    Henry Thomas
    Henry Thomas
    • Young Norman
    Olivia Hussey
    Olivia Hussey
    • Norma Bates
    Warren Frost
    Warren Frost
    • Dr. Leo Richmond
    Donna Mitchell
    Donna Mitchell
    • Connie Bates
    Tom Schuster
    • Chet Rudolph
    • (as Thomas Schuster)
    Sharen Camille
    • Holly
    Bobbi Evors
    • Gloria
    John Landis
    John Landis
    • Mike Calveccio
    Kurt Paul
    • Raymond Linette
    Louis Crume
    • George Emeric
    Cynthia Garris
    Cynthia Garris
    • Ellen Stevens
    Doreen Chalmers
    • Mrs. Lane
    Alice Hirson
    Alice Hirson
    • Mother
    • (voice)
    Ryan Finnegan
    Ryan Finnegan
    • Child Norman
    • (as Ryan Finnigan)
    Peggy O'Neal
    Peggy O'Neal
    • Nurse
    Bob Barnes
    • Salesman
    • Director
      • Mick Garris
    • Writers
      • Joseph Stefano
      • Robert Bloch
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Anthony Perkins and Psycho III (1986) screenwriter Charles Edward Pogue originally pitched an idea for Psycho IV that had Norman's house and motel getting turned into a tourist attraction for horror weekends. Norman then escapes from the mental institution with a mute patient and the actor who was set to play Norman Bates for the horror weekend quits and Norman comes home and gets hired to play himself. Pogue claims that it was meant to be a black comedy but Universal opposed the idea.
    • Goofs
      Norman uses strychnine to poison his mother and her lover. The lethal dose of strychnine is around 10mg and Norman's bottle reads 1.5mg/oz. He puts a maximum of 4oz into the ice-tea. Even if his mother and her lover drank the whole pitcher, it would have hardly killed them. Furthermore, strychnine is one of the most bitter substances known to man, it's highly unlikely to be swallowed by accident, even in very small doses.
    • Quotes

      [last lines]

      Mother: Let me out of here! Norman! You hear me, boy? LET ME OUT!

    • Connections
      Edited into Psychos (2021)

    User reviews114

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    6/10
    Psycho IV: The Beginning
    Psycho IV is a continuation of the Bates Family history. For the most part it's a prequel to the original 1960 film. I was always kind of turned off to this one because I feel they added way too much story to the original film as each sequel came out. Psycho II introduces us to Mrs. Spool who was really Norman's mother. But then Psycho III tells us, no, Spool was just a crazy aunt of Norman's. Now Part 4 adds so much to Norman's childhood that really makes it puzzling to follow any sort of true time line or plot line. We discover in this one that Norman's mother was truly sick, more sick then we could've imagined. It's alluded to in the other sequels that Norman had a "twisted" relationship with mother, but part IV goes into explicit detail as to how twisted it really was. The story is well done in part 4, but for the most part it's kind of pointless. Did we really need to see Norman have that sort of relationship with his parent? Probably not.

    We get to see Norman functioning like a normal person. He has a new house and a wife. It's him calling into a radio show to tell his life story that causes him to become unhinged. Anthony Perkins and Olivia Hussey save this movie from being a total letdown. Their performances are top notch. Psycho IV doesn't go overboard with blood, we only see Norman kill I think one or two people in his flashback to growing up. I did like that the makers of this one added to the fact that Norman did kill people before Marion Crane was attacked in the famous shower scene. I liked those scenes with the teenage "Norman". It adds to the scene at the end of the first Psycho where the psychiatrist asks if there were any missing reports on girls in the area. It alluded to the idea Norman killed before, and I like that Psycho IV explores that.

    Psycho IV is a prequel to the 1960 film, and adds a lot to the already twisted back story of the Bates clan. It's a good watch, but the ending is pretty weak. Only true "Psycho" fans interested in the back story of Norman will like this one. There aren't many murders committed in IV like in the second and third sequels.

    6/10
    helpful•6
    0
    • Toronto85
    • Apr 13, 2011

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 10, 1990 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Universal Pictures
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Psycho IV
    • Filming locations
      • Orlando, Florida, USA
    • Production companies
      • Smart Money Productions
      • Universal Television
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 36 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Stereo

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