‘Psycho II’ Accomplished what So Many Sequels Fail to Accomplish (Review)

Directed by: Richard Franklin

Cast: Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, Meg Tilly

Norman Bates has spent two-plus decades trapped away in a mental asylum. Surprisingly, he’s one day informed he’s believed to be fit to find his way in the outside world. Naturally, Norman heads back to the old family hotel. And that’s probably the worst decision he possibly could have made.

The first time Norman plays host to a female in need, “mother” gets pissed off and jealous. You don’t need to work for NASA to work out the direction this one is traveling. It looks like “mother” is happy to kill again.

But, could the spin be different in this late-to-the-party Psycho installment? Might there be an actual female calling the Bates residence home, now? Fortunately for fans, it doesn’t take too long for the big blades to come out, and the strange demeanor of Norman Bates to crawl under the skin.

This is a unique sequel. Sure, it’s a few decades late, yet it still picks up right where things left off. Norman spent his time in a padded cell, and he’s now free. Free to act on impulse once more, should those impulses beckon to him

Anthony Perkins is great in the picture. It’s interesting to see that he brings some of his old quirks back to the character, but also injects a few new idiosyncrasies. It works far better than it should, and Perkins is just as disconcerting as he’s ever been. You wouldn’t want to spend much time with this nut-job, that’s for damn sure.

Psycho II is, in my humble opinion a very impressive picture that works perfectly as a sequel. It’s amazing how tight-knit director Richard Franklin runs the ship. Of course, I’m not entirely floored by how solid the story is: the bad ass Tom Holland himself writes.

Don’t skip this one after formulating any preconceived notions. It may not exactly seem likely that you’d get an impressive Psycho sequel, but we got it. It’s here. It’s time to pay it proper mind.

Rating: 4/5