183) Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990) - The Psycho Series Concluded

"I'm free."

Director 

Mick Garris

Cast
Anthony Perkins - Norman Bates

Henry Thomas - Young Norman Bates
Olivia Hussey - Norma Bates

CCH Pounder - Fran Ambrose
Warren Frost - Dr. Leo Richmond
Donna Mitchell - Connie Bates
Thomas Schuster - Chet Rudolph
Sharen Camille - Holly

The "Beginning" marks the end.

After the underwhelming and pointless bore-fest that is the 1987 made-for-TV movie, "Bates Motel," Hollywood writers gave that movie a symbolic middle finger. Why? Well, "Bates Motel" retcons "Psycho II & III" and tells a tale without Norman Bates. He's an afterthought.

So, Anthony Perkins along with these writers made their own made-for-TV "Psycho" installment that completely ignores "Bates Motel." 

The movie is called "the beginning" while it ends the film series. 

In this movie, radio talk show host Fran Ambrose (CCH Pounder) along with her guest host Dr. Leo Richmond (Warren Frost) hosts a show covering the topic of matricide.

At his home, Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) happens to hear the show and decides to call in under the pseudonym "Ed." 

If anyone knows about matricide, it's Norman Bates. He opens up to Ambrose and Richmond, telling them about his childhood upbringing and his relationship with his mother, Norma Bates (Olivia Hussey). He breaks down the control she had over him.
Henry Thomas plays teenage Norman, who's story is told through flashbacks. 

He starts with discussing his murdering of a girl named Holly (Sharen Camille) who checked into the Bates Motel when Bates as a teen, and then tried to seduce him sex. 

The narrative jumps around as Bates discusses the death of his father, and the mental abuse Norma, who suffers from schizophrenia and borderline personality disorder, inflicts on Norman. In some situations, their mother and son relationship leans a little too close to incestuous.  

At one point, Norma becomes engaged to a guy named Chet Rudolph (Thomas Schuster). He bullies Norman at times which amuses Norma. 

In another moment, Norma forces her son to wear a dress and paint his lips in an attempt to emasculate and humiliate him as a form of punishment. She forces him to look at himself in a mirror while berating him. Norma even suggests she should have aborted him. Some of this abuse stems from Norma's frustration that business at the motel is dwindling, especially after a highway is built nearby. 

Henry Thomas and Olivia Hussey as Norman and Norma Bates in "Psycho IV: The Beginning."

Her mental abuse becomes intense, leading to her domination over him. Finally, having had enough and driven mad with jealousy and anger, Norman poisons Chet and Norma's iced tea after he sees the two of them in bed. 

Once they're both dead, he disposes of Chet's body and preserves his mother's remains. 

Norman then begins to develop a split personality, dressing and speaking like his mother in order to cover up the guilt he has for murdering her.  

As Norman talks to Ambrose, Dr. Richmond begins to suspect that "Ed" is actually Norman Bates. But Ambrose doesn't want "Ed" to know whom they suspect he really is lest they lose him. 

Norman reveals on air that he's planning on killing his wife, Connie (Donna Mitchell), that very night. Connie is pregnant and Norman doesn't want to bring another Bates into the world lest his offspring has the same mental issues and split personality he and his mother have. 

Now, Ambrose is left trying to dissuade Bates from carrying out another murder. 

It all ends in "Psycho: The Beginning." Or at least it should. A near shot-for-shot remake of "Psycho" came out in 1998. 

And the TV series "Bates Motel" ran for five seasons from 2013 to 2017. 

As a movie that gives insight into Norman Bates's early life, his relationship with his mother, and moves the franchise along smoothly to a welcoming and much needed conclusion, "Psycho IV" isn't a bad story. By calling into a radio station, it's Norman's way of confessing his dark crimes to the world. 

In fact, exploring the disturbing relationship between Norman and his mother makes this movie the darkest, most twisted and psychotic movie of the series. 

Henry Thomas nails the role of young Norman amazingly and impressively well. He presents the same level of vulnerability and inner chaotic turmoil that matches Anthony Perkins's portrayal of Bates.  

Perkins, by the way, hasn't missed a beat since playing Bates in the first movie. He's just as disturbing and intense as he is in Hitchcock's original picture. He sadly died two years after the release of "Psycho IV." 

We've seen everything we've needed to see. Anything after "Psycho IV" can only be a greedy cash grab, whether it's a TV series, or remake, or a continuation. So far, there have been no continuations. 

There's nowhere left to go but back to the original horror masterpiece from Alfred Hitchcock. "The Beginning" is a careful and respectful end that started with Hitchcock's masterful horror thriller. 

Trivia: I stopped including trivia questions in my posts, but I'm including one now. 

"The Sixth Sense" (1999) is the second movie in which Bruce Willis is paired with a character named Cole who sees dead people. What is the other film? 

Stay tuned for the answer in my next post...