X
- 1983
- R
- Universal Pictures
- 1 h 53 m
- 1983
- R
- Universal Pictures
- 1 h 53 m
Summary 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.
Directed By: Richard Franklin
Written By: Tom Holland, Robert Bloch
- 1983
- R
- Universal Pictures
- 1 h 53 m
- 1983
- R
- Universal Pictures
- 1 h 53 m
Psycho II
54
6.2
Where to Watch
Summary 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.
Directed By: Richard Franklin
Written By: Tom Holland, Robert Bloch
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or average
Based on 13 Critic Reviews
54
31% Positive
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
62% Mixed
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
8% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Mixed or average
Based on 13 Critic Reviews
54
31% Positive
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
62% Mixed
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
8% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Psycho II is an impressive, 23-years-after followup to Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 suspense classic. Director Richard Franklin deftly keeps the suspense and tension on high while dolling out dozens of shock-of-recognitions shots drawn from the audience’s familiarity with Psycho.
Psycho II doesn’t live up to the original, but doesn’t dishonor it either, even though its allegiances are clearly with Hitchcock’s film rather than Robert Bloch’s words. Psycho II isn’t perfect or brilliant. But it was good enough to successfully bring a beloved cinematic fixture back into action after an extended hibernation, and savvy and soulful enough to realize that what makes Norman Bates such an icon isn’t his monstrousness, but his trembling, eminently relatable humanity.
User Reviews
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Psycho II is only a shadow of the master, a technical scare without the original's life-long grip on the subconscious. It fades as soon as the house lights go up. [10 June 1983, p.21]
Though Psycho II is essentially camp entertainment, Mr. Perkins plays Norman as legitimately as possible, and sometimes to real comic effect. His new Norman doesn't seem as much rehabilitated as reconstituted, but as what? That's the point of the film.
Although Psycho II is obviously a travesty masquerading as a sequel, it's impossible to tell how deliberate the ludicrous aspects of the masquerade were meant to be. In fact, the best sustained mystery element of the show derives from stylistic sloppiness and confusion.
For much of its length, the film is a surprisingly serious plea for the rights of the mentally ill and the legitimacy of the insanity defense. When the need to make a commercial shocker finally asserts itself, the film shifts gears with unseemly, damaging haste. Though far from a worthy successor to the original the film clearly could have been much worse.
You don't have to be a Hitchcock idolater to see that this dumb, dull, plodding, pseudo-camp bore is a callous, commercial parasite. [13 June 1983, p.78]
Although Psycho II is nowhere near as amazing as the first, but it's still a watchable movie. I do believe that it's better than most second installments from other slasher franchises. As far as sequels go, they tried their best with this one.
Report
Production Company
Universal Pictures,
Oak,
Oak Media Development
Release Date Jun 3, 1983
Duration 1 h 53 m
Rating R
Tagline The mystery continues...
Awards
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA
• 1 Nomination
Edgar Allan Poe Awards
• 1 Nomination
