Customer Reviews

Psycho 4 [VHS]

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Psycho IV- The Beginning explores both the past and future of Norman Bates. It starts off when the cured Norman Bates calls into his favorite radio station to discuss the nights topic, which happens to be matricide. He starts to tell his life story and past experiences with his mother to the radio talk show host- We get to learn more about Norman's mother and the way she treated him before he killed her. We get to see what went on before he killed his mother and why he did it. Norman is no longer under the control of his mother and has now fallen in love with a woman. She is pregnant and he dosent want to have a baby for fear of passing along his blood line. Then comes the suprising ending. Excellent acting by all. Great end to the series. The young Norman ( Henry Thomas) was also perfect for the role. You should definetly get this if you are a fan of the previous chapters or are looking to complete your collection. Highly Recomended.

This made for T.V.movie shows us just how Norman Bates(Anthony Perkins)become a killer.While listening to a talk radio show whose topic is "Why boys kill their mothers"?After hearing some of the people,Norman deiceds to call in and talk about his experinces with his mother growing up as a teenager and what led to Norman killing his mother.We also find out that Norman as a wife and that's she pregant and Norman is so scared that the baby will grow-up to be just like him.This was the last time we would see Anthony Perkins play his most famous character of all time.Psycho 4 is alittle bit better then the 3rd one but of course not as good as the first one.

ok so they have done a decent job releasing the PSYCHO films on DVD thus far..

we've got a GREAT version of the original, a pretty groovy version of the remake, a GOODTIMES DVD version of part II but it's full screen and a decent release of III hey at least it's widescreen.

but alas no PART 4.. even if it's a bare bones film only version I really would like to complete my psycho collection...

COME ON MOVIE COMPANY PEEPS!

Part two

You know, hearing the title Psycho IV: The Beginning makes you think its going to be completely god-awful with a bunch of 80s slasher flick noir references but to my disbelief, I could easily compare it to the original. In fact, none of the Psycho movies were all that bad which is probably due to Perkins being cast in EVERY one of them. And this one has to be the 2nd best one, A huge accomplishment since its the 4th. After 4 of these damn films youd think that the vision would have been dumbed down to stylistic splatterhouse in the same leauge as friday the 13th and such, but NOOO, the film not only stays true, but also expands on it in some very creative ways. Some moments are sadistic and make you feel uneasy to watch and some moments are very heartfelt as Bates recalls the "good" things about his childhood but ALL are interesting.. The movie has such a large scope of feelings that are explored and presented realistically that I have to seriously recommend this film to anyone who liked the original. But it missed a star becuase, although the ending delivered, it seemed uninspired and pedestrian in its execution. But other than that, its watchable.

Like so many other reviews of this movie, I have to preface this by saying that "PSYCHO IV" is not a great film...however, it is the best of the PSYCHO spinoff-sequels.

Featuring excellent performances by Olivia Hussey (as "Mother") as well as CCH Pounder -- formerly an underused character actor, now notable for her performance on TV's "THE SHIELD" -- (as talk show host Fran Ambrose) -- "PSYCHO IV" sticks pretty closely to the original story from Robert Bloch's novel and the original "PSYCHO" film as license to delve into Norman Bates' troubled childhood, prequel-style (Joseph Stefano, who wrote the screenplay to the original film, penned the script for this one, is evidently largely responsible for this).

First, Olivia Hussey.

When I first heard about this movie, I was skeptical that "Mother" could be portrayed on screen, especially by Hussey, primarily notable for her onscreen/dramatic turn as Juliet in the classic Franco Zeffirelli film adaptation of "ROMEO & JULIET." However, and to abbreviate my feelings for her in this role, she hit the nail on the head.

Secondly, CCH Pounder.

CCH's turn as Fran Ambrose really carries this movie. The scenes during Norman's on-air confessional are easily the most compelling, and, while not taking away from Anthony Perkins' finely-honed portrayal of Norman's insanity, this is mostly due to Fran Ambrose's subtle (and not-so-subtle) reactions.

Of course, there are numerous moments in the movie that detract from all these positives. The ending is just weak (I usually stop the tape as soon as Norman hangs up on Fran for the final time). Additionally, there is an altogether jolting cameo by John Landis (as the radio station's programming director) which usually distracts me.

All in all, I'd rather watch this movie than any of the other "PSYCHO" sequels any day. It's *reasonably* intelligent, it's got an altogether perfect cast, and it sticks to the story at hand. Definitely recommended.

Psycho IV:The Beginning is the very best since Psycho. Henry Thomas is more the focus point of this movie because he plays Young Norman because this movie is a Pre-Quel and Sequel kinda like mixed. But this one is better than Psycho II & III. This is the final chapter in the saga. NOT that stupid, horrible Psycho remake in 1998.What makes this movie so great is that Writer Joseph Stephno (Writer of "Psycho, 1960) returns for this one.Also stars Anthony Perkins (of course) (this movie begins final 3 movies of Anthony Perkins career).

a few of the reviews say that norma bates was not normans mother but just his aunt and a person named mrs. spool was actually his mother as was stated in psycho 2. this was resolved however in psycho 3 when the reporter found out that mrs spool was actually his aunt. she was crazy and started to believe that she was actually normans mother. the reporter revealed this to norman at the end. that is why in psycho 4 norman talked about norma being his biological mother because she was.

This movie, in my eyes, was a psychological masterpiece. I believe it was a well put together piece of work, and that it was the perfect culmination to what has become my favorite thriller series.

Psycho IV; The Beginning takes you back in time to the childhood of Norman Bates, and shows you what he had to go through living with his aunt, Ms. Bates (if you dont know about that see Psycho II). This woman, who he thought was his mother, was pretty much a schizophrenic nutcase.

Mother and son have a sort of subtle Oedipus/Jocasta complex going on. There is so much sexual tension between them that the movie is thick. This is the seed of Norman's problems with women. I believe, after watching this film several times, that the reason Norman had so many troubles with women was because he was so in love with his mother, romantically and maternally, that all other women seemed inferior. Thus the whole "Get that sl** out of my house issue.

Yes, this was not as good as the original. But it was a perfect ending to the series. Whether it was made for cable or movies matters not. I am just glad that we finally DID get a chance to meet Mrs. Bates and see just what caused Norman to become the monster that he was.

Watching Norman grow up and beomce what he became due to the malevolent machinations of his mother makes your heart go out to him. You almost want to jump in the movie and stop it from happening. To take the young Norman away from all that and save so many lives.

But unfortunately, you cant. This movie pulls at your heart strings while stimulating your mind. There are so many metaphors, so much symbolism, on top of the obvious. Learning what made Mrs. Bates tick and what made Norman do what he did to her in the end was definitely worth it, and I will keep enjoying this movie for a long time to come. Along with the rest of the series.

I often wonder what Alfred Hitchcock would have thought about the sequels generated around the iconic Norman Bates character that he visually created in his 1960 film PSYCHO. Joseph Stefano's original screenplay was superbly realized under Hitchcock's direction and Anthony Perkins' portrayal of Bates. Stefano is back at the scripting helm on this movie, which was originally produced for the home Pay-TV market. This movie is composed of a series of flashes from Bates' present (where Bates is engaged in interesting banter between a psychoanalyst and a Radio Phone-In host) to his past (where Bates recalls his painful and dysfunctional childhood). I have pondered the merits of this film over time. Where the character of Norman Bates may have been a screen creation of Hitchcock and Stefano, it is Perkins who owns this role and he has it down to a perverse yet enigmatic attraction for the viewer. Anthony Perkins is Norman Bates and that is the main appeal of this move and it is worth seeing.

Four years after Psycho III, Norman Bates has been granted parole. From the home he shares with his wife (a nurse from the institution), he phones in to a radio show that's featuring a program about matricide. Gaining the compassion of the deejay (and the animosity of the psychiatrist who analyzed him at the conclusion of the first film who happens to be in the studio), Norman recalls his childhood and teenage years. Olivia Hussey plays his mother, who definitely sets a crazy precedent for her son to follow. Henry Thomas plays young Norman and does well, with all the appropriate twitches. Film does have inconsistencies with the other films which fans should notice. Some of the flashbacks we see are very well done, other scenes are laughable. The original score is used and the screenplay was penned by Joseph Stefano, who wrote the original. The original premise was to have Norman and a girl escape the institution and return to the house and the motel, where it is now a tourist attraction/theme park. The murders are recreated here, and Norman was to step in for his stand-in, with predictible results. A lot of "Psycho" fans seem to be divided on this last installment, but I think there's definitely enough going here to recommend it.