Review of Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990) by Griff C — 28 Oct 2017

Psycho IV: The Beginning is a lackluster installment to the mythos launched by the original 1960 Alfred Hitchcock film. Not that Psycho II and III are great by any means, but they stand on stronger footing than IV.

I don't want to come across as thinking this is a completely bad film, as there are things to enjoy. First, Anthony Perkins gives a great performance as his career-defining character yet again, sadly the last time prior to his death.

I would even be willing to say that it's his second best performance as Norman Bates, following only his first portrayal thirty years earlier. The general plot, from a very basic viewpoint, is also intriguing.

Additionally, there is some great talent present here, most notably Olivia Hussey, Henry Thomas, and CCH Pounder. However, the positives sadly end there. The talented supporting cast here is sadly wasted.

Because this was a made-for-TV film, director Mick Harris must have thought that cheesy acting was suitable. The murder scenes are incredibly cheesy, and there are overreactions aplenty throughout. Next is probably my biggest gripe, which is the movie's lack of care or attention to continuity.

Granted, a film doesn't need to pay great attention to canon to be good. However, such failure to do so comes across as lazy. Most of the film would have you believe that it ignores the continuity put forth in Psycho II and III (no mention of Emma Spool, a different cause of death for Norman's father, etc.

). However, Norman himself states that it's only been four years since he last murdered, which would seem to suggest that events of the previous two movies did occur. Also, we can't ignore the fact that they decided to call this one "Psycho IV: The Beginning.

" If they were truly moving into different storytelling, shouldn't they have merely called it "Psycho: The Beginning"? It's a bigger shame that this was written by Joseph Stefano, who was the screenwriter who adapted Robert Bloch's original novel into the Hitchcock film we all know and love.

The lack of attention to what had come before aside, it's kind of sad that he had forgotten how to write believable characters. Though this isn't the worst movie in the franchise (hello, 1987's made-for-TV Bates Motel and 1998's Psycho remake), it's sadly largely ignorable despite its good intentions and premise.

If you want to skip over any of the four Anthony Perkins-starring Psycho properties, it should probably be this one. One more thing, if you really wish to see a better telling of Norman's backstory, check out the Bates Motel series that run from 2013-17 on A&E.

Granted, it's set in the modern-day and is a different continuity from the films, but it is a much better produced piece of entertainment than Psycho IV.