Psycho II

A surprisingly decent sequel to Alfred Hitchcock’s landmark slasher, Psycho II follows Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) as he’s released from a mental institution and given a job in a local diner – with problems naturally ensuing as a shadowy female figure again begins offing anyone and everyone in Norman’s immediate proximity. Director Richard Franklin, working from Tom Holland’s screenplay, has infused Psycho II with a deliberate sensibility that echoes the original film’s slow build, and although the pacing is occasionally just a little too sedate for its own good (ie the first half feels more like a psychological drama than a horror flick), Franklin effectively lures the viewer into the proceedings by emphasizing Perkins’ striking performance and by offering up a handful of admittedly suspenseful interludes (eg a pair of stoned teenagers foolishly break into Norman’s iconic home). It is, however, awfully difficult to overlook the relatively flat nature of the movie’s visuals, as Franklin, perhaps hampered by the transition from black-and-white to color, is simply unable to replicate the lush, intensely cinematic atmosphere contained within Hitchcock’s consistently superior predecessor. And although the excessively deliberate pace remains a problem right through to the end, Psycho II boasts an increasingly compelling mystery at its core that ensures the film grows more and more engrossing as it progresses – with the inclusion of a few unexpected twists lending the movie’s third act a surprisingly engrossing quality that proves impossible to resist. The end result is an uneven yet watchable horror sequel that never feels like a rehash of the original, which is, for the most part, reason enough to overlook the movie’s various deficiencies.

**1/2 out of ****