{"id":5195,"date":"2008-01-29T11:10:16","date_gmt":"2008-01-29T18:10:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5195"},"modified":"2021-01-31T23:18:22","modified_gmt":"2021-02-01T06:18:22","slug":"psycho-ii-1983","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5195","title":{"rendered":"Psycho II (1983)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;I don&#8217;t kill people anymore, remember?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/01\/Psycho-II-Poster-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/01\/Psycho-II-Poster-1-201x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"201\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-67587\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/01\/Psycho-II-Poster-1-201x300.jpg 201w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/01\/Psycho-II-Poster-1-86x128.jpg 86w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/01\/Psycho-II-Poster-1-181x270.jpg 181w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/01\/Psycho-II-Poster-1.jpg 505w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 201px) 100vw, 201px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nDeclared legally sane after 22 years in a mental institution, Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) tries to establish a new life for himself back at his motel &#8212; but as bodies begin piling up, he soon discovers that someone is out to convince him his dead mother is still alive&#8230;\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Anthony Perkins Films<\/li>\n<li>Gaslighting<\/li>\n<li>Horror<\/li>\n<li>Mental Illness<\/li>\n<li>Murder Mystery<\/li>\n<li>Serial Killers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nThree years after Hitchcock&#8217;s death, director Richard Franklin helmed this sequel-cum-homage starring two members from the original <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5177\"><em>Psycho<\/em><\/a>&#8216;s cast: Vera Miles as Marion Crane&#8217;s vengeance-seeking sister, Lila, and &#8212; most critically &#8212; Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates. In his review of <em>Psycho II<\/em>, Roger Ebert notes that &#8220;the first thing is to put Alfred Hitchcock&#8217;s original 1960 <em>Psycho<\/em> right out of your mind&#8221; &#8212; a point well-taken to a certain extent, given that <em>Psycho II<\/em> doesn&#8217;t begin to scale the heights of Hitchcock&#8217;s groundbreaking masterpiece. At the same time, however, <em>Psycho II<\/em> is likely to be most enjoyable to those who love and remember the original, given that nearly every scene plays upon one&#8217;s intimate knowledge of camera placement, set design, and character development from the first film. <\/p>\n<p>With that said, <em>Psycho II<\/em> actually works on its own as a reasonably engaging, campy thriller, with enough plot twists and nasty surprises to satisfy most horror fans. Perkins is note-perfect as an older, more sympathetic Norman, who we grow to genuinely care for &#8212; as does Meg Tilly&#8217;s sexy waitress Mary, who at first seems like the ultimate putz for daring to sleep over at Norman&#8217;s house, but whose true motivations for spending time around Norman are soon revealed. As long as one can buy the initial, highly unlikely premise that Bates would be released on his own, back to his childhood home, rather than to a halfway house, the remainder of the story gradually clicks into place, and ends on a surprisingly freaky, satisfying note. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Anthony Perkins as an older Norman Bates<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/01\/psycho-bates.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/01\/psycho-bates.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5196\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Meg Tilly as Mary<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/01\/psycho-tilly.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/01\/psycho-tilly.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5198\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>An affectionate homage to Hitchcock&#8217;s classic<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/01\/psycho-homage.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/01\/psycho-homage.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5197\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Plenty of unexpected thrills, chills, and twists<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/01\/psycho-thrills.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/01\/psycho-thrills.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5199\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as a noteworthy &#8212; albeit inevitably inferior &#8212; follow-up to Hitchcock&#8217;s famous thriller. Listed as a Sleeper and a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary&#8217;s book. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Historically Relevant<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/imdb.com\/title\/tt0086154\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1983\/06\/03\/movies\/sequel-to-psycho.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/reviews\/psycho-ii-1983\">Roger Ebert&#8217;s Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.moriareviews.com\/horror\/psycho-ii-1983.htm\">Moria Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/psycho-ii\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t kill people anymore, remember?&#8221; Synopsis: Declared legally sane after 22 years in a mental institution, Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) tries to establish a new life for himself back at his motel &#8212; but as bodies begin piling up, he soon discovers that someone is out to convince him his dead mother is still alive&#8230; Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Anthony Perkins Films Gaslighting Horror Mental Illness Murder Mystery Serial Killers Review: Three years after Hitchcock&#8217;s death, director Richard&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5195\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5195"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5195\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67588,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5195\/revisions\/67588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}