Directed by Mick Garris
Starring Anthony Perkins, Henry Thomas, Olivia Hussey and C.C.H. Pounder
So we're up to this - the first Psycho movie I ever saw, accompanied by skits involving Gilbert Gottfried attempting to find a videotape of the original movie in his mother's house that made 12-year-old me cackle with delight. Man, 1995 was a better, simpler time.
Seeing this movie first, it's just occurred to me that I actually saw the events the way they unfolded in Norman Bates' life in - somewhat - chronological order, because what we've got here is a prequel. I know, uh oh. Well, there's no need for the 'uh oh' here, because this is the extremely rare example of a prequel that does NOT suck. It isn't great, but it manages to tell its past story with a great deal of flair while also having a present-day story that sucks you in. That final bit really is the key; a lot of movie series that delve into the past for an entry just start in ancient history and stay there. Joseph Stefano takes a different approach here and it paid off with a movie that, while not as good as the series at its peak (and I'm not even counting the Hitchcock original - that one is untouchable), still has a lot going for it. Especially in the acting department. That should about do the "background" phase of this review - let's get to the show.
The script by Joseph Stefano (amazingly enough, the guy who penned the screenplay for the original film) has a pretty ingenious little setup. Radio talk show host Fran Ambrose (C.C.H. Pounder) is doing a show on the subject of matricide. It also brings back Dr. Richmond (Warren Frost), the psychologist from the original film who gives that long-winded explanation that pretty much every snooty film professor hates with a burning passion. Well, wouldn't you know it, Norman Bates himself listens to the Fran Ambrose Show and calls in to recount his own personal experience with matricide. As an added bonus, he also throws in the fact that he is about to kill somebody again. More on that later.
While Norman hasn't given the show his identity yet, it becomes clear to Dr. Richmond as the story unfolds. The young version of Norman is played by Henry Thomas of E.T. fame, and I give him seventeen stars compared to that dude who played the young Hannibal Lecter. But the movie's real ace is Olivia Hussey. Simultaneously mean to the max and strangely sexy as Norma Bates, we go through the whole gamut of madness with this character. We see almost every key event that has only been hinted at during the series as mythology, starting with the funeral of Norman's father, various cruel jokes that mother plays on Norman, the introduction of the boyfriend that led to the murder...and the death of mother herself. The stuff with Norma's new beau is particularly powerful, with these two essentially ganging up to embarrass Norman at every turn. By the time that poisoned tea hits the stage, you REALLY want these two to get some comeuppance.
These bits really are fascinating stuff. They give life to images that we've concocted in our minds throughout the three previous movies, and they actually manage to do this in a way that doesn't feel annoying or disappointing.
There are also a couple out-of-sequence bits from the past involving Norman's two original murders before that fateful evening that Marion Crane showed up at the Bates Motel. In between all of this, we spend a LOT of time inside the creepy house, and I've got to hand it to the set designers here because they did a phenomenal job dressing up the inside of this building (built on the Universal Studios Theme Park lot, according to the ever-accurate Wikipedia). Mazel Tov to the past section of the film, because it was quite simply phenomanally done.
What ISN'T so well done is the movie's present story. Once again out on parole, Norman is married now - to his psychiatrist in the institution, no less. It seems that she has gone against his wishes and gotten pregnant, and this is just simply unacceptable. So unacceptable that she has to DIE. I've never found the character of Connie Bates to be particularly likable, and the actress playing her doesn't do much more to make her stand out. So much that I can't even be bothered to look at Wikipedia to learn her name. All of this leads to a finale sequence in the modern-day version of the Bates Motel that starts off as a little eye-rolling but eventually redeems itself with a series of surprises. And that ending? Yikes. Chilling stuff.
I was once involved in a debate with a fellow horror fan about the direct-to-TV/direct-to-video genre. This guy made the claim that there has NEVER been such a thing as a non-theatrical horror film, and I vehemently disagree. While they are pretty few and far between, they DO exist, and this is one of them, as Psycho IV bypassed theaters and saw the light of day on the Showtime Network. Again, the acting is what makes this stick out, with Perkins again being game for his signature role and C.C.H. Pounder acing it as the radio show host. But this really is a movie that belongs to Thomas and Hussey. They have the most screen time, and they deliver all the goods when asked. It's enough to bring the movie past its hokey third act and make it essential viewing for anyone who has followed this incredibly underrated series this far, and it's a fitting capper, as well, since everything that has come after is one of those newfangled, slick, overthought TV series that I have come to despise so much. Not that I'm biased or anything.
*** out of ****. One of the best DTV/DTTV horror films ever made, and it's worth watching just for the acting alone. Check it out.
No comments:
Post a Comment