180) Psycho II (1983) - The Psycho Series Continued

"It's starting again." 

Director
Richard Franklin

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 - Emma Spool

You'd think a sequel to Hitchcock's groundbreaking horror movie "Psycho" couldn't possibly be any good. It's almost a travesty to think someone in Hollywood would dare piggyback off of the master of horror, Alfred Hitchcock. Well, someone did. And the bastards did it three years after Hitchcock's death. 

No doubt Hitchcock would've raised hell at the idea of a sequel to his masterpiece of a psychological horror, a precursor to slasher films. It's one of a kind, and there hasn't been a movie like it since. 

I went into this sequel anticipating it to be a terrible cash grab. 

"Psycho II" begins with the infamous shower seen from the original "Psycho." Much to my disappointment, it excludes the image of Marion Crane's blood swirling down the tub drain. 

It has been 22 years since Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) murdered Marion and was committed to a mental institution. 

Now, he has just been released although Marion's sister, Lila (played again by Vera Mills), who is filled with loathing towards Norman and rightly so, is adamantly opposed to his release. 

Norman's doctor, Bill Raymond (Robert Loggia), doesn't want him to move back to his mother's house overlooking the Bates Motel thinking it'll trigger him. But Norman does. He also lands a job as a cook at a nearby diner.

Norman meets a young waitress named Mary (Meg Tilly) at the diner, who gets kicked out of her boyfriend's place and has nowhere to go. 

So, Norman invites her to stay with him at his mother's. 

All the furniture, by the way, in the home is covered in sheets, and belongings are all boxed up. 

When Norman returns to the Motel, he finds that the new manager, Warren Toomey (Dennis Franz), is a drug dealer who uses the rooms for sleazy and unsavory activities. So, he fires Toomey on the spot. This leads to Toomey often harassing Norman in retaliation. 

Norman seems to be acclimating back into society well enough, but he soon starts receiving mysterious phone calls, and finds strange hand-written messages wherever he goes, that seem to be from his mother.

Of course, Norman thinks Toomey is behind it all. 

In one scene, the two cross paths in which the drunk Toomey tries to pick a fight with Norman. 

Later, Toomey meets his end when a dark hooded figure murders him. 

Just as before, Norman starts hearing voices coming from his mother's house just like before. 

At one point when he walks into his mother's bedroom, he finds it strangely set up exactly the way it was setup 22 years ago. 

During this confusing moment, a noise lures Norman into the attic where he winds up locked in.

Anthony Perkins returns as Norman Bates in 'Psycho II.'

Meanwhile, a pair of teenagers sneak into the basement to make out. A woman hidden in shadow sneaks up on them and tries to kill them. One of the teens gets away but the other doesn't. 

When Mary returns to the house, she finds Norman up in the attic. 

He shows Mary his mother's bedroom, only to find it back in the state of neglect as it has been for years. 

The sheriff shows up to inquire about the murdered teen. Mary tells him that she and Norman were out walking at the time the surviving teen claimed her boyfriend was murdered.  

Later that night, Mary meets up with her mother who turns out to be none other than Lila. Both of them are behind the mysterious phone calls and notes in an attempt to drive Norman insane and ultimately have him committed back into the asylum. Lila even dressed as Norman's mother and rearranged her bedroom.

Mary's friendship with Norman, however, starts growing as she feels pity for him. She doesn't believe Norman is capable of committing murder. Rather, she thinks someone else is hiding in the house, especially as Norman was locked in the attic when the teenager was killed. 

After Dr. Raymond figures out the Lila and Mary are mother and daughter, he suspects they're behind all the calls and notes. 

While Lila is fueled by her hatred of Norman, and goes to some crazy lengths to get revenge, she doesn't quite cross the line into insanity. It's pure hatred. 

But Norman doesn't believe Dr. Raymond. Instead, he thinks his real mother is behind it all. Still. he questions Mary about all this. And she admits she has given up her role in Lila's scheme. Lila, however, has no plans to stop. 

The plot deepens when Lila is murdered by a shadowy figure while retrieving her mother costume from the cellar. 

Also, police find Toomey's body and want to talk to Norman about it. Mary is terrified what might happen as a result, and tries to convince him to run away. Of course, running won't look good for Norman. 

While she's trying to convince him, the phone rings. Norman answers and starts talking to "mother." 

Mary listens in on another phone, but no one is talking to Norman. Still, the conversation he's having indicates his mother is commanding him to kill Mary. 

She quickly runs to the cellar to dress up as his mother and command him to hang up the phone. 

Dr. Raymond sees her and thinks he's catching her in the act of framing Norman. He grabs her, and in a moment of surprise, Mary accidentally stabs him through the heart.

Norman then spots his "mother" standing over Dr. Raymond's dead body. This causes him to snap and to threateningly approach Mary, backing her into the cellar. That's where she finds Lila's dead body. 

Of course, she thinks Norman killed her, and raises her knife to stab him in outrage. 

In that instance, police barge in and see Mary, dressed as Norman's mother, right about to stab him. They open fire and kill her. This crime scene leads police to think Mary was responsible for the murders and for attempting to seek revenge on Norman.
Later, Emma Spool (Claudia Bryar), another waitress who worked at the diner, visits Norman and admits to him that she's his real mother. 

Supposedly, Mrs. Bates was her sister and adopted him when Emma was institutionalized. 

She admits that she was responsible for all the murders, attempting to protect Norman from anyone who tried to hurt him. 

Norman doesn't know how to take this. He kills Emma and carries her body to his mother's room. Then he starts talking to himself in his mother's voice. 

The movie is one plot twist after another. 

Believe it or not, "Psycho II" isn't that bad of a movie. Of course, it doesn't compare at all to Hitchcock's original. It does have its issues. 

Meg Tilly as Mary in 'Psycho II.'

The setup is a bit forced starting with Norman quickly befriending younger Mary and inviting her to stay at his home. 

Then it turns out she's not only Lila's daughter, but her stay with Norman seems to be all part of a plan. How'd they know Norman would invite her in? Was it all a coincidence? Did Lila simply seize upon the opportunity when it presented itself? Or, maybe I misread the situation. 

Thankfully, the storyline doesn't lead to the same scenario as part one. Writers still changed things up a bit. Occasionally, odd angles are used to turn up the hint of surrealism and unsettling mood. It's thankfully not overused, and does work more or less. 

Despite all the twists and plot points, it's not a bad sequel. It plays out rather well, and at a decent pace. It pulls the audience in through just enough intrigue and suspense.

"Psycho II" doesn't have the intensity, nor the brilliant and daring writing seen in "Psycho." Still it somehow manages to work on its own. In other words, it gets by.

The character Tilly is really half-assed at first. Her intentions aren't clear. 

Other performances are a bit too weak and not written well. Toomey, for instance, seems too over the top, being upset enough to focus all his energy on getting back at Norman for letting him go from a dead-end job at the motel that's barely surviving. 

Anthony Perkins picks right back up Norman's likeability despite his darker side and secrets without effort, playing on the audience's emotions. He didn't forget how to be Norman Bates after all those years. 

Perkins continues to be a sympathetic character, but not quite like he is in the first movie. He strikes me as more confused and lost rather than being a person tormented by his deceased mother. Still, Perkins takes the role seriously, and gives it the respect it deserves.  

The effort to make "Psycho II" a compelling and worthy sequel is clearly present. 

Of course, it's not the groundbreaking thriller the original "Psycho" remains to be. But part two is surprisingly a decent follow-up to Norman Bates's story years after the events of part one.  

There are a few call backs to the original but nothing that goes out of its way. 

The story starts off predictably, but takes a welcoming insanity-driven turn to make the film it's own story that goes towards a logical conclusion. 

Vera Miles returns as Lila Loomis, though she plays Lila Crane, Marion's sister, in the original film. John Gavin plays Sam Loomis in the first film - Marion's lover. I guess after her sister's murder, Lila and Sam hooked up? 

This first sequel to Hitchcock's masterpiece of horror may make the master director spin in his grave, but regardless, it's an entertaining passible movie, all things considered.