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Psycho II

Psycho II

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Superior Horror
Review: Of course, it would have been difficult to top the original Psycho and this movie obviously doesn't do that, but what it does do is create some interesting human drama and genuine suspense making it soar over the countless slasher movies of the 70's and 80's. Anthony Perkins gives a stellar performance as Norman Bates trying to peice his life together after 22 years in jail. Meg Tilly is good as the young woman who befriends him. This high gloss production was a cash in on the success of movies like Halloween and Friday the 13th but regardless the end product was fully engrossing and suspenseful.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: YES, MOTHER
Review: This is an excellent movie. The ending is a little shakey but over all this movie is good. It's suspenceful, shocking, and like the first, it keeps you guessing. A truley great film for any who is interested.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: PSYCHO 2: After 22 Years, Norman Bates Is Coming Home!
Review: PSYCHO 2 is a worthy follow-up sequel to Alferd Hitchcock's original masterpiece. After 22 years of being locked away in an institution, Norman Bates has been declared "restored to sanity" and he is released. He returns home to his mother's house on the hill and the run-down Bates Motel. Soon, Norman is receiving notes, and getting phone calls from his "Mother." Norman begins to suspect that he may be going mad again and this time no one is safe! Anthony Perkins once again reprises his role as the troubled Norman Bates, and he helps carry the weight of this film all the way through.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Good horror sequel, but why a pan and scan only version?
Review: Psycho II is a very good sequel. It is scary, well acted and loyal to Hitchcock's original masterpiece, but why did Good Times Video release Psycho III as a widescreen DVD and its immediate predecessor Psycho II in a pan and scan only DVD format? Skipping the widescreen format on the first (and better) sequel makes no sense to me. It had to be a mistake (?) Because of this, I have refused to actually buy Psycho II (though I did buy Psycho III). I am waiting to see the whole picture on a widescreen DVD. I would suggest that any serious movie buffs do the same.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Norman Bates is home
Review: After twenty two years of psychiatric treatment, Norman Bates has been judged restored to sanity and is released. Vera Miles, reprising her role from the original, makes her displeasure about this known. Meanwhile Norman moves back home and takes a day job in a diner. There he meets a young waitress (Meg Tilly) whom he invites home after she has a falling out with a boyfriend. Shortly afterward things start to happen: Norman sees "Mother" up in the window again, he gets phone calls from "Mother", he hears "her" voice, and complicating things are a few murders that Norman thinks he might be responsible for. Film has a professional look and fine cinematography. Anthony Perkins is great in his role and comes across as a sympathetic character, more so than the original. It's interesting to note that in the original film the violence decreased as time went on, but here the violence increases throughout the film. But it's not nearly as bad as some of the early 80's slasher films. The premise for the movie is great and there is genuine suspense and scares. The first half is pretty taut, but then it starts to unravel in different directions. I don't think the ending is believeable but it's certainly a surprise when you get there. I would recommend this to fans of the original.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Norman Bates undergoes Rehabilitation
Review: "Psycho II" starts off well. We get a change of perspective, as Norman Bates becomes the unlikely hero of the piece while others lacking objectivity try to undermine his rehabilitation. We actually sympathize with Bates thanks to Anthony Perkins' performance and Jerry Goldsmith's touching score. The film however falls apart in the final third as in reverts to horror mentality and a totally improbable ending. Too Bad! In any event I don't think Alfred Hitchcock would have approved.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Lunacy Revisited
Review: Featuring Anthony Perkins and Vera Miles once again, this is a somewhat good follow-up to the masterwork of Hitchcock. Lacking the huge attention to detail, and perhaps the brilliance in direction the predecessor enclosed, this is a lighter sequel compared to the 1960 unique opus, nevertheless, director Richard Franklin did a fine work behind the cameras, as there are plenty of good moments of eeriness and suspense, not to mention the continual intensity of Perkins as the Bates Motel caretaker (now released from the mental asylum, after 20 years of being institutionalised for the appalling crimes everyone must be aware of). In a nutshell, I would recommend this one to any hard-core fans of the earlier version, and of suspense on the whole, but if you are generally suspicious when sequels are concerned, then I would suggest a trip down to your video store instead, before reaching any further decision.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Terrible and completely unnecessary
Review: I cannot believe that anyone at Universal saw this screenplay and felt it worthy. This movie does nothing but detract from the original masterpiece. The characters and flat and uninteresting, the deaths are quick and unsuspenseful, leaving most of the movie to support itself on its boring story and poor dialogue, and the ending is terrible!

I'm not saying that a sequel to "Psycho" shouldn't have been made. However, if a sequel were to be made, this obviously wasn't it. There's nothing remotely decent about this sequel other than Anthony Perkins. Made only to cash in on one of the most popular films of all time, "Psycho II" is a terrible slasher that has contributed to the bad reputation the genre has gotten. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Psycho II
Review: Psycho II is certainly not as good as the orginal but it is very good. Norman bates returnes from prison to his own house only to find dead bodies turning up again on the premises. But the ending is unbelivable are the cops that dumb.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: "I'm home Mother!"
Review: Norman Bates is back in this surprisingly good sequel. It continues 22 years after the previous film and consists of Bates being declared 'sane' and allowed to return home. But some people won't let him rest and soon Bates finds himself losing his mind again, or is someone framing him? Is mother really dead? or is Norman just still a 'psycho'? All though this film is nothing compared to the first, it is definitely worth a look...


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