Psycho IV: The Beginning

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Audience Member Ridiculous! Wonder why Perkins agreed to play in it! Rated 1/5 Stars •  Rated 1 out of 5 stars 06/04/24 Full Review Jules N Une façon originale de faire un prequel qui est cependant inutile à la saga Rated 1.5/5 Stars •  Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 05/25/24 Full Review DanTheMan 2 I'll admit that I wasn't fully on board for this film after learning it was made for TV, but I couldn't help my interest in Universal's decision to bring back Joseph Stefano, writer of the original Psycho's screenplay, to write this one. He had famously hated the prior sequels so unfortunately, all the interesting plot threads that Psycho II and III had developed are abandoned in favour of further exploring Norman's past, relationship with his mother and what ultimately drove him to kill her. There are just way too many moments Stefano has lifted verbatim from his original work and lines are subsequently reused without the impact they once had, playing on your memory of the original. Hell, it's the only sequel to use large chunks of Bernard Herrmann's iconic score outside of the pre-credits recap of Psycho II, but occasionally tweaks it jamming way too many percussion instruments into something that was so famously strings only. There's some surprisingly decent direction from frequent Stephen King adaptor and collaborator Mick Garris, but nothing outstanding and is pretty much on par with what Perkins offered up with III perhaps less so. Although I will say that the build-up and subsequent reveal of Norman Bates are pretty good with Perkins delivering another good performance even if he spends the majority of the movie on the phone. Henry Thomas (Elliot from ET!) as Young Norman Bates does a particularly stand-up job in capturing the role just as Perkins had done 30 years prior, but he gets lobbied with uninteresting lines and repeats that don't hold up well. Olivia Hussey as Norma doesn't really fit the bill sadly, she's way too attractive to what most of us had probably envisioned Norma looked like. While I've probably sounded overly negative on this review, I will say that despite my issues, Psycho IV is still a decently made TV film with enough from Perkins to keep it from falling into an utter travesty. But the film is way too obnoxious at points in its reference to the original and really suffers from its writing. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 04/17/23 Full Review Audience Member The movie is slow, most of the actors are horrible and the script was pulled out of a toilet, and if I want to see a podcast I go to YouTube. Watch Bates Motel tells the same story and manages to explore it much better than this boring movie. (3.5/10) Rated 1.5/5 Stars •  Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 01/15/23 Full Review Audience Member A pointless attempt to demystify the Bates mythos into nothingness. An unnecessary psychological profile severely lacking cinema, collecting contrived circumstances to justify Norman Bates' existence. It's never as interesting as what should've been left to the imagination. Original screenwriter Josef Stefano culminates the saga with what may be a protest to Universal's decision to make this: burning everything to the ground. Yes, I believe this film is in-house arson to pave the way for future reboots. To absolutely ensure this film betrays the franchise, it ends on a schmaltzy, sentimental note, minutes after Bates tried to kill his wife. Rated 0.5/5 Stars •  Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 01/12/23 Full Review Audience Member as good as the first one Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/21/20 Full Review Read all reviews

Psycho IV: The Beginning

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