Psycho (film series)
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| Psycho film series | |
|---|---|
 Main title logos of Psycho (1960), Psycho II (1983), Psycho III (1986) and Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990). |
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| Directed by | Alfred Hitchcock Richard Franklin Anthony Perkins Richard Rothstein Mick Garris Gus Van Sant Ryan Murphy Robert V. Galluzzo |
| Produced by | Alfred Hitchcock Bernard Schwartz Hilton A. Green George Linder Ken Topolsky Les Mayfield George Zaloom Gus Van Sant Brian Grazer Tom Thayer Allan Barnette Stephen Rebello Robert V. Galluzzo |
| Starring | Anthony Perkins Bud Cort Vince Vaughn Anthony Hopkins Janet Leigh |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures (1960 - 1968) Universal Pictures (1968 - present) Media Rights Capital (finance for Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho.) Shout Factory (The Psycho Legacy) |
| Release date(s) | 1960 - 2013 |
| Running time | 704 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Psycho film series is an American horror franchise loosely based on the Psycho novels by Robert Bloch. The franchise consists of seven films, a future television series, four novels and two retrospective documentaries. The first film, Psycho, was directed by legendary filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock in 1960,[1] with three sequels, a spin-off, and a remake following. The official films consist of Psycho, Psycho II, Psycho III and Psycho IV: The Beginning. Two related but non-canon films in the series are Bates Motel and a remake of the first film. Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho is currently in pre-production, with scheduled filming in April 2012. An independent documentary called The Psycho Legacy was released on October 19th 2010 which mostly focused on Psycho II, Psycho III and Psycho IV: The Beginning, but did discuss the impact and legacy of the original film. The series is the fourth highest grossing American horror franchise in the genre.
The films are based around the twisted personality and murders of Norman Bates, a disturbed young man who operates the Bates Motel who is haunted by the spirit of his deceased mother.
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[edit] Canon films
[edit] Psycho (1960)
In need of money to marry her boyfriend Sam Loomis, Marion Crane steals $40,000 from her employer and flees Phoenix, Arizona by car. While en route to Sam's California home, she parks along the road to sleep. A highway patrol officer awakens her and, suspicious of her agitation, follows her. When she trades her car for another at a dealership, he notes the new vehicle's details. Marion returns to the road but, rather than drive in a heavy storm, decides to spend the night at the Bates Motel.
Owner Norman Bates tells Marion he rarely has customers because of the motel's disconnection from a new interstate, and mentions he lives with his mother in the house overlooking the motel. He invites Marion to supper. She overhears Norman arguing with his mother about letting Marion in the house, and during the meal she angers him by suggesting he institutionalize his mother. He admits he would like this, but does not want to abandon her.
Marion resolves to return to Phoenix to return the money. After calculating how she can repay the money she has spent, Marion dumps her notes down the toilet and begins to shower. An anonymous female figure enters the bathroom and stabs her to death. Finding the corpse, Norman is horrified. He places Marion's body, wrapped in the shower curtain, and all her possessions — including the money — in the trunk of her car and sinks it in a nearby swamp.
Shortly afterward, Sam is contacted by both Marion's sister Lila and private detective Milton Arbogast, who has been hired by Marion's employer to recover the money. Arbogast traces Marion to the motel and questions Norman, who unconvincingly lies that Marion stayed for one night and left the following morning. He refuses to let Arbogast talk to his mother, claiming she is ill. Arbogast calls Lila to update her and tells her he will call again after he questions Norman's mother.
Arbogast enters Norman's house and at the top of the stairs is attacked by a figure who slashes his face with a knife, pushes him down the stairs, then stabs him to death. When Arbogast does not call Lila, she and Sam contact the local police. Deputy Sheriff Al Chambers is perplexed to learn Arbogast saw a woman in a window, since Norman's mother died ten years ago. Norman confronts his mother and urges her to hide in the cellar. She rejects the idea and orders him out of her room, but against her will Norman carries her to the cellar.
Posing as a married couple, Sam and Lila check into the motel and search Marion's room, where they find a scrap of paper in the toilet with "$40,000" written on it. While Sam distracts Norman, Lila sneaks into the house. Sam suggests to Norman that he killed Marion for the money so he could buy a new hotel. Realizing Lila is not around, Norman knocks Sam unconscious and rushes to the house. Lila sees him and hides in the cellar where she discovers the semi-preserved and mummified body of Norman's mother. Wearing his mother's clothes and a wig and carrying a knife, Norman enters and tries to attack Lila, but she is rescued by Sam.
After Norman's arrest, a forensic psychiatrist tells Sam and Lila that Norman's dead mother is living in Norman's psyche as an alternate personality. After the death of Norman's father, the pair lived as if they were the only people in the world. When his mother found a lover, Norman went mad with jealousy and murdered them both. Consumed with guilt, Norman "erased the crime" by bringing his mother back to life in his mind. He stole her corpse and preserved the body. When he was "Mother", he acted, talked, and dressed as she would. The psychiatrist concludes that the "Mother" personality now has complete control of Norman's mind.
In the final scene, Norman sits in a cell, thinking in "Mother's" voice. In a voiceover, "Mother" explains that she plans to prove that she is incapable of violence by refusing to swat a fly that has landed on her hand. The final shot shows Marion's car being recovered from the swamp.[2]
[edit] Psycho II (1983)
Convicted killer Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) is released from a mental institution. Lila Loomis (Vera Miles), the sister of Bates' victim Marion Crane, vehemently protests with a petition that she has been circulating with signatures of 743 people, including the relatives of the seven people Norman killed prior to his incarceration, but her plea is dismissed.
Norman is taken to his old home, the Bates Motel, with the house behind it on the hill, by Dr. Bill Raymond (Robert Loggia), who assures him everything will be fine. He is introduced to the motel's new manager, Warren Toomey (Dennis Franz). The following day, Norman reports to a prearranged job at a nearby diner, run by a kindly old lady named Emma Spool (Claudia Bryar).
One of his co-workers there is Mary Loomis (Meg Tilly), a young waitress. Mary claims she has been thrown out of her boyfriend's place and needs a place to stay. Norman offers to let her stay at the motel, then extends the offer to his home when he discovers that Toomey has turned his beloved establishment into a sleazy adult motel.
Norman's adjustment back into society appears to be going along well until "Mother" begins to make her presence known. Norman gets mysterious notes from "Mother" at the house and diner. Phone calls come from someone claiming to be Norman's mother. Toomey picks a fight at the diner after Norman fires him. Later, a figure in a black dress stabs Toomey to death with a kitchen knife as he is packing to leave the motel.
Norman begins to doubt his sanity when he begins hearing voices in the house. He enters his mother's bedroom to find it looks exactly as it did 22 years ago. A sound lures him to the attic, where he is locked in.
Believing the house to be abandoned, a teenage couple sneaks in through the cellar window. They notice a female figure pacing in the next room. As they try to climb out, the boy is stabbed to death. The girl escapes and alerts the police.
Mary eventually finds Norman in the attic. The sheriff questions them about the boy's murder. He finds the cellar neat and orderly. Norman is about to admit that something suspicious is going on, but Mary claims that she has cleaned up the basement herself. After the sheriff leaves, Norman asks Mary why she lied. She explains that she had to save him from being arrested. Norman collapses into the chair with his head in his hands and moans, "It's starting again!"
Mary is startled later when she discovers someone looking at her through a peephole in the bathroom wall. She calls out to Norman, who is downstairs and out of reach. The two are horrified to find a bloody cloth that has been stuffed down the toilet. Norman appears confused and believes he may have committed another murder.
Mary goes down to check the motel. In the parlor she is surprised by Lila, who reveals herself to be Mary's mother. She has been calling Norman claiming to be his mother, even going so far as to dress up as her and allowing him to see her in the window. Mary has been helping her. She was responsible for restoring Mother's room at the house and locking Norman in the attic. All of this was an attempt to drive Norman insane again and have him recommitted.
Mary's growing feelings for Norman, however, have been preying on her conscience leaving her to reconsider her actions. Meanwhile, Dr. Raymond discovers Mary's identity as Lila's daughter and informs Norman. He also orders the corpse of Norma Bates (which was buried in a proper grave after the events of the original film) to be exhumed, to prove that Norman isn't being haunted by his mother.
Mary admits to Norman that she has been part of Lila's ruse, and that while she now refuses to continue, Lila won't stop. Mary goes to Lila's hotel and their argument is overheard by a bartender. Later, Lila drives over to Norman's house, unaware that Dr. Raymond is watching her from the Bates Motel as she sneaks into the cellar.
While removing her "Mother" costume from a loose stone in the floor, another figure dressed as "Mother" steps out of the shadows and murders her. Dr. Raymond runs up to the house. Lila's body is not in the cellar. Meanwhile, Mary discovers that a car has been retrieved from the swamp, with Toomey's body in the trunk.
Realizing the police will shortly arrive to arrest Norman, Mary returns to warn him. The phone rings in the house, Norman answers, and starts speaking to his "mother." Mary listens in and discovers that nobody is on the line with Norman. Terrified, Mary runs downstairs into the cellar, and quickly dresses up as Mother to confront Norman. Someone grabs her from behind, and she plunges the butcher knife into ... Dr. Raymond, who has sneaked back into the house.
A stunned Mary runs downstairs and is confronted by a deranged Norman, who promises to cover up for "Mother." Mary tries to keep him away, repeatedly stabbing him in the hands and chest. He backs Mary into the fruit cellar to hide and slips on a pile of coal, which avalanches away from the wall, revealing Lila's body hidden behind it. Mary is now convinced that Norman had been committing the murders. She raises her knife to stab him and is shot to death by the incoming police.
The sheriff inaccuratetely believes Mary committed all the murders. That evening, a woman walks up the steps to the Bates' mansion. Bandaged from his injuries, Norman has set a place for dinner when he hears a knock at the door. It is Emma Spool, the kindly woman from the diner.
Norman gives her a cup of tea. Ms. Spool tells him that she is his real mother, that Mrs. Bates was her sister, who adopted Norman as an infant while Ms. Spool was institutionalized. She further reveals that she was the murderer, having killed anybody who tried to harm her son. As she sips the tea, Norman kills her with a sudden blow to the head with a shovel.
Norman is now completely insane again. He carries Ms. Spool's body upstairs to Mother's room and we hear Mother's voice warn Norman not to play with "filthy girls." Norman reopens the Bates Motel and stands in front of the house, waiting for new customers as Mother watches from the window upstairs.[3]
[edit] Psycho III (1986)
The film begins with Maureen Coyle (Diana Scarwid), a mentally unstable young nun, on top of a bell tower about to commit suicide. When another nun tries to get her to come down, Maureen accidentally pushes her over the railing to her death. Another nun tells Maureen that she will burn in hell. She is forced to leave the convent after this ordeal.
Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) is still manning the desk at the Bates Motel and living with the preserved corpse of his "true" mother, Emma Spool (Claudia Bryar), whom Norman killed at the end of Psycho II. Local law enforcement and Norman's ex-boss Ralph Statler (Robert Alan Browne) are concerned since Mrs. Spool has been missing for over a month. Duane Duke (Jeff Fahey), a sleazy musician in his 20's desperate for money, is offered the job of assistant manager at the Bates Motel. Maureen, now the new long-term tenant, has some issues to resolve in her life. She gave up her vows as a nun only days before, and she isn't sure just how she feels about either spiritual or earthly matters.
Sheriff John Hunt (Hugh Gillin) and Statler have a conversation at the diner, when Tracy Venable (Roberta Maxwell), a pushy journalist from Los Angeles, interrupts them. She is working on an article about serial killers being put back on the streets. Venable is trying to back up her theory that Norman is back to his old ways again. Norman appears and Venable jumps at the chance to talk with him. Unaware of her ulterior motives Norman opens up to her, but is distracted when an exhausted Maureen enters and sits at the lunch counter. He is startled by Maureen's presence, because he feels she strongly resembles Marion Crane (Janet Leigh). Seeing the initials "M.C." on her suitcase Norman freaks out and leaves the diner.
After the conversation with "Mother", Norman spies on Maureen as she undresses and heads into the bathroom to take a shower. Keeping "her" word, "Mother" enters Maureen's motel room with plans to kill her. Upon pulling back the shower curtain, it is revealed Maureen has attempted suicide by cutting her wrists, a sight which snaps Norman back to his "normal" side. Maureen looks up at "Mother" who is so weakened by what "she" sees, "she" lowers the knife. Due to blood loss, Maureen hallucinates and she mistakes Norman, dressed up as "Mother," is the Virgin Mary holding a silver crucifix.
Meanwhile, Tracy has met with Duane at a bar where they discuss Norman, and it seems Tracy blames Norman for Mrs. Spool's disappearance. When she leaves, Duane picks up another girl at the bar, Red (Friday the 13th: A New Beginning's Juliette Cummins). Norman gets Maureen to the local hospital to save her life. After she is released, he invites her to stay back at the motel and they begin a romantic relationship.
The same night, Duane and Red arrive at the motel and hear an argument between "Mother" and Norman, but think it's just a TV turned up too loud. Red and Duane, head to cabin 12 where they make love. Later that night, Red, makes it clear she wants more than just a fling. Calling him a pig, they argue. Duane, infuriated, throws her out of the cabin. Red heads down to the payphone to call a cab, where she realizes she is wearing her blouse backwards. As she takes it off to put it on the right way, "Mother" shatters the phone booth door and stabs a trapped Red to death. The next morning, Duane finds Norman scrubbing down the phone booth.
A group from out of town arrive at the motel where they plan to watch the local football game. Tracy comes to find Norman and ask questions about his past and "Mother". Norman becomes defensive with the reporter and tells her to leave, never to return. Later that night, he and Maureen go to a restaurant, where they dance and talk romantically, while Tracy searches Mrs. Spool's apartment. She discovers the Bates Motel's telephone number written on a magazine cover. Norman and Maureen return to the motel to find most of the other guests engaged in drunken stupor. Norman goes with Maureen to her room and they fall asleep in each other's arms having refused to make love. Some time afterwards, Patsy Boyle (Katt Shea Ruben), the only sober guest, wakes up Maureen to ensure her safety as Norman had left the door open, a bad idea with all the drunken guests around. Patsy needing to use the bathroom finds the one in Norman's parlor unoccupied, but "Mother" again emerges and slashes her throat. Norman (an homage to the reaction of finding Marion dead in the shower in the original) gasps when he discovers Patsy's body. He buries her in the motel's ice chest outside the office.
The next morning, Sheriff Hunt and Deputy Leo appear at Norman's house to investigate Patsy's disappearance. Norman tries to prevent Hunt from entering his mother's bedroom, when he discovers that "Mother"/Mrs. Spool has disappeared completely. Outside, Tracy tells Maureen about Norman, and she, rather upset, leaves the motel and goes to stay with Father Brian, who took care of her at the hospital. Meanwhile, Tracy is convinced Norman is behind the latest disappearances. Norman searches for his mother all over the house and finds a note from her stating that she is in cabin 12. When Norman arrives at the cabin, he learns it was Duane who took "Mother". Duane confronts him then attempts to blackmail Norman into paying him off, or he'll turn Norman into the police. He tells Duane he doesn't have that kind of money, but Duane reminds him that Norman has made a lot of cash from his business, and if Norman doesn't give money for his silence, he will go to the police. He agree's to Duane's blackmail demands, but he then unexpectedly throws an ashtray at Duane's head. They fight and Norman seemingly kills Duane by hitting him several times with his own guitar. Terrified of what he has done, he blames "Mother" for this.
Tracy talks to Statler and Myrna (Lee Garlington) about Mrs. Spool and discovers she was working at the diner before Statler bought it from Harvey Leach. Tracy meets with Leach, a resident at an assisted living facility, and is informed that Mrs. Spool had also once been institutionalized for murder. Meanwhile, Norman drives Duane's car to the swamp with Duane and Patsy's bodies in it. Duane turns out to be alive and attacks Norman, who accidentally drives the car into the swamp. He struggles out of the car while Duane drowns. Tracy reads some old newspapers at her study and discovers about the "Bates kidnapping".
Maureen convinces herself that Norman is her true love. She returns to the motel and takes a shower before visiting Norman at his house. They share a tender moment at the top of the staircase when "Mother" shouts furiously at Norman, which startles and causes him to lose grip on Maureen's hands. She falls down the stairs into the cupid statue at the base of the stairs. She goes limp and sinks to the floor revealing the arrow had punctured her skull. Distraught, Norman, screams and confronts his mother that he will get her for this. "You don't have the guts boy!" utters "Mother." Then, Tracy arrives at the motel and tries to find Maureen. She enters the house only to find her lying dead on the couch of the living room which is filled with lit candles. Then she sees Norman dressed as "Mother," bearing a knife, and tries to flee. She tries to reason with Norman by explaining his family history: Emma Spool, who was in fact his aunt, was in love with Norman's father, but he married her sister, Norma, instead. Mrs. Spool, having serious psychological problems, kidnapped Norman when he was a baby, after she killed Mr. Bates, believing Norman was the child "she should have had with him."
She discovers Mrs. Spool's corpse in the bedroom, and Norman takes off his mother's dress. "Mother" orders him to kill Tracy, and when Norman raises the knife, he brutally attacks "Mother", dismembering her preserved remains. The last scene shows Sheriff Hunt taking Norman to his squad car, with Father Brian and Tracy following behind. Hunt informs Norman that they may never let him out of the institution again, Norman replies "But I'll be free...I'll finally be free." Norman, sitting silently in the back of the squad car on the way to the institution, enjoys his victory over his mother by caressing a trophy: the severed hand of Mrs. Spool. He smiles sardonically as the screen fades to black and the credits roll.[4]
[edit] Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990)
Fran Ambrose is a radio talk show host who is talking on the topic of "matricide" (when children kill their mothers) with guest Dr. Richmond, who was Norman Bates' former psychologist. The radio receives a call from Norman Bates, who has re-entered society and married another of his former psychiatrists, Connie. Under the alias of "Ed" (Possibly a reference to Ed Gein the killer his character was modeled after), Norman tells his story, which the audience sees as a series of flashbacks. Some flashbacks are slightly out of order. The chronological story is: In 1950 Norman's mother, Norma Bates had schizophrenia (see Psycho II) and was smothering Norman and would have violent mood swings. Due to Norman's sexual repression at her hands, when she was frolicking with him he had an incestuous erection, causing her to dress him in women's clothing and taunt him by calling him "Norma". She then got engaged to a man named Chet Rudolph who would beat up Norman. Eventually Norman got fed up with her allowing Chet to be in their lives and poisoned them both, albeit reluctantly. He then developed his infamous multiple personality disorder and stole her corpse to create the illusion that she was alive - whenever her corpse spoke to him, the "Norma" personality would take over. This caused Norman as "Norma" to kill two women who wanted to have sex with him. Throughout the spaces in the flashbacks, Dr. Richmond realizes "Ed" is Norman and tries to convince Fran to trace the calls. Richmond's worries are dismissed because they cannot trace the call and they believe they can talk Norman out of the reason he called: he fears he will kill again. He tells Fran that Connie got pregnant against his wishes and that he does not want another "monster". He then tells Fran he does believe his mother is dead, but he will kill Connie "with my own hands, just like the first time". He then takes Connie to his mother's house and attempts to stab her, but after Connie reassures Norman that their child will not be a monster, he drops his knife in shame and Connie forgives him. He then burns the house where all his unhappiness began. As he tries to escape the flames, he hallucinates that he sees his victims, Chet, his mother and eventually himself preserving her corpse. He and Connie leave the scene with Norman stating, "I'm free".[5]
[edit] Psycho (Remake) (1998)
In need of money to get her boyfriend Sam Loomis (Viggo Mortensen) out of debt, Marion Crane (Anne Heche) steals $400,000 from her employer and flees Phoenix, Arizona by car. While on route to Sam's California home, she parks along the road to sleep. A highway patrol officer awakens her and, suspicious of her agitated state, begins to follow her. When she trades her car for another one at a dealership, he notes the new vehicle's details. Marion returns to the road but, rather than drive in a heavy storm, decides to spend the night at the Bates Motel.
Owner Norman Bates (Vince Vaughn) tells Marion he rarely has customers because of a new interstate nearby and mentions he lives with his mother in the house overlooking the motel. He invites Marion to have supper with him. She overhears Norman arguing with his mother about letting Marion in the house, and during the meal she angers him by suggesting he institutionalize his mother. He admits he would like to do so, but does not want to abandon her.
Marion resolves to return to Phoenix to return the money. After calculating how she can repay the money she has spent, Marion dumps her notes down the toilet and begins to shower. An anonymous female figure enters the bathroom and stabs her to death. Finding the corpse, Norman is horrified. He cleans the bathroom and places Marion's body, wrapped in the shower curtain, and all her possessions — including the money — in the trunk of her car and sinks it in a nearby swamp.
Shortly afterward, Sam is contacted by both Marion's sister Lila (Julianne Moore) and private detective Milton Arbogast (William H. Macy), who has been hired by Marion's employer to find her and recover the money. Arbogast traces Marion to the motel and questions Norman, who unconvincingly lies that Marion stayed for one night and left the following morning. He refuses to let Arbogast talk to his mother, claiming she is ill. Arbogast calls Lila to update her and tells her he will contact her again within an hour after he questions Norman's mother.
Arbogast enters Norman's house and at the top of the stairs is attacked by a figure who slashes his face three times with a knife, pushes him down the stairs, then stabs him to death. When Arbogast does not call Lila, she and Sam contact the local police. Deputy Sheriff Al Chambers (Philip Baker Hall) is perplexed to learn Arbogast saw a woman in a window, since Norman's mother died ten years ago. Norman confronts his mother and urges her to hide in the cellar. She rejects the idea and orders him out of her room, but against her will Norman carries her to the cellar.
Posing as a married couple, Sam and Lila check into the motel and search Marion's room, where they find a scrap of paper in the toilet with "$400,000" written on it. While Sam distracts Norman, Lila sneaks into the house to search for his mother. Sam suggests to Norman that he killed Marion for the money so he could buy a new motel. Realizing Lila is not around, Norman knocks Sam unconscious with a golf club and rushes to the house. Lila sees him and hides in the cellar where she discovers the semi-preserved and mummified body of Norman's mother. Wearing his mother's clothes and a wig and carrying a knife, Norman enters and tries to attack Lila, but she is rescued by Sam.
After Norman's arrest, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Fred Richmond (Robert Forster) tells Sam and Lila that Norman's dead mother is living in Norman's psyche as an alternate personality. After the death of Norman's father, the pair lived as if they were the only people in the world. When his mother found a lover, Norman went over the edge with jealousy and murdered both of them. Consumed with guilt, he tried to "erase the crime" by bringing his mother back to life in his mind. He stole her corpse and preserved the body. When he is "Mother", he acts, talks, and dresses as she would. Norman imagined his mother would be as jealous of a woman to whom he might be attracted just as he was of his mother's lover, and so "Mother" kills any woman he has feelings for; when Norman regains consciousness, he believes that his mother has committed the crime, and covers up for her. It is implied that Norman is responsible for the unsolved disappearances of two young girls. Richmond concludes that the "Mother" personality has now taken complete control of Norman's mind.
In the final scene, Norman sits in a cell, thinking in "Mother's" voice. In a voiceover, "Mother" explains that she plans to prove to the authorities she is incapable of violence by refusing to swat a fly that has landed on her hand. The final shot shows Marion's car being recovered from the swamp, and then goes to end credits.
After the credits, we see the swamp again, except this time it turns red.[6]
[edit] Bates Motel (1987)
Alex West (Bud Cort) is a man who roomed with Norman Bates at the state lunatic asylum for nearly 20 years. After the death of Bates, Alex finds that he is in Norman's will as the inheritor of the Bates Motel, which has been vacant since the time of Norman's arrest. Alex travels to Fairvale, California and with a little help from a teenage runaway, named Willie (Lori Petty), Alex struggles to re-open the motel for business, only to have strange things happen. Is someone trying to drive him away, or is the motel really haunted by the ghost of Norman's mother?
[edit] List of films
| Film | Year | Reception | Gross | Release Date | Running Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Psycho | 1960 | 98% | $32,000,000 | June 16, 1960 | 109 minutes |
| Psycho II | 1983 | 55% | $34,725,000 | June 3, 1983 | 113 minutes |
| Psycho III | 1986 | 59% | $14,481,606 | July 3, 1986 | 94 minutes |
| Bates Motel | 1987 | 19% | N/A | July 5, 1987 | 100 minutes |
| Psycho IV: The Beginning | 1990 | 35% | N/A | November 10, 1990 | 96 minutes |
| Psycho | 1998 | 36% | $37,141,130 | December 4, 1998 | 105 minutes |
| The Psycho Legacy | 2010 | 55% | N/A | October 19, 2010 | 87 minutes |
Series gross: $118,347,736
[edit] Graphic Novels
In 1992, a series of graphic novels based on the original Psycho was published by the Innovation Comics group. Today, the novels are out of print and are very rare to find.
[edit] Novels
In 1959, the novel Psycho was published. The novel was loosely based on the Wisconsin serial killer and cannibal Ed Gein. Author Robert Bloch lived 40 miles away from Gein's farmhouse and liked the idea of somebody being able to kill people in a small community and get away with it for years without being caught. The character of Norman Bates was very different in the novel than in the film version. In the novel, Bates is overweight, in his early 40's and drinks heavily. When Joseph Stefano adapted the novel into the screenplay, he made the character of Norman young, attractive and vulnerable. In 1982, Bloch wrote a sequel novel called Psycho II which had nothing to do with the 1983 film version. In the novel, Norman Bates escapes the mental institution and goes to Hollywood to stop the production of a film based on his life. Many critics and fans described the novel as being silly and weird and couldn't have possibly been made into a film. In 1990, due to the pressure from his publishing company Bloch wrote a third novel called Psycho House. However according to horror writer David J. Schow, when writing it Bloch originally called it Psycho 13. In the novel, the Bates mansion and motel are bought as tourist attractions and a series of murders begin to take place.
[edit] List of novels
| Novel | Year | Author |
|---|---|---|
| Psycho | 1959 | Robert Bloch |
| Psycho II | 1982 | Robert Bloch |
| Psycho House | 1990 | Robert Bloch |
| Robert Bloch's Psychos | 1997 | Stephen King, et al.. |
- Robert Bloch was the editor of Robert Bloch's Psychos until his death in 1994.
[edit] Future
[edit] The Psycho Legacy (2010)
In 2010, a direct to DVD documentary was released called The Psycho Legacy. It included interviews with cast and crew from all four Psycho films. It also featured interviews with current horror filmmakers who are fans of the series.The documentary was written,produced and directed by horror journalist Robert Galluzzo. Director Robert Galluzo claimed that he made the documentary due to the lack of information on the sequels and also to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the release of the original film. The documentary discussed the impact and legacy of the original Psycho and the production stories of Psycho II, Psycho III and Psycho IV: The Beginning. To the surprise of some critics and fans, the failed TV pilot Bates Motel and the Gus Van Sant remake were not discussed in the documentary, however originally in the deleted scenes section on the DVD two short segments on the two films were supposed to be on there, however for unknown reasons they were left off of the DVD when it was released. The documentary sold well, received mostly positive reviews and garnered new interest in the series from horror fans.
[edit] Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho (2013)
In 2005, the newspapers Variety and Hollywood Reporter reported that Arts & Entertainment Network would produce a television film or miniseries based on the Stephen Rebello non-fiction book Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho. Later, the motion picture feature rights were optioned by several major companies.
In 2011, director Sacha Gervasi was announced as being in negotiations to direct a dramatic feature motion picture based on the book for producer Ivan Reitman, executive Tom Pollock, the Montecito Picture Company and producers Tom Thayer and Alan Barnette. Anthony Hopkins will star as Alfred Hitchcock. The original screenplay draft was by John J. McLaughlin with subsequent drafts by Stephen Rebello. On December 8, 2011, Helen Mirren was announced as being in negotiations to play Hitchcock's wife Alma Reville in the film. The film has also moved from Paramount Studios to Fox Searchlight. Filming is expected to begin in April 2012.
[edit] Bates Motel (2013 TV series)
On January 13, 2012, A&E announced that a television series called Bates Motel was in development at the network. The TV series has nothing to do with the earlier Bates Motel failed TV pilot released in 1987. The series will take place before the events of the original film and will chronicle Norman Bates' early childhood with his mother and how she drove him to become a killer, similar to the flashback sequences in Psycho IV: The Beginning.
[edit] Cast and characters
List indicator(s)
- A dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film.
[edit] Home media
Psycho, Psycho II, Psycho III, Psycho IV: The Beginning, the Psycho remake, and Bates Motel have been released on VHS. A DVD box set containing the films Psycho, Psycho II, Psycho III and Psycho IV: The Beginning was released in Fall 2003 by Universal Studios Home Entertainment in the UK. In America, Psycho was released on DVD on May 26, 1998 and a 2-Disc Special Edition with digitally remastered picture and new extras was released on October 7, 2008. As for the sequels, Goodimes released Psycho II on DVD in full screen on March 2, 1999 and released Psycho III on September 28, 1999. Then, Universal re-released Psycho II and Psycho III on September 13, 2005. A "Triple Feature" collection containing Psycho II, Psycho III and Psycho IV: The Beginning (for the first time on DVD) was released on August 14, 2007. The Psycho remake was released on DVD on August 29, 2000. To this day, Bates Motel has never been released on DVD. In 2010, The Psycho Legacy documentary was released as a 2 disc set with the 87 minute documentary and 3 hours of special features.
[edit] List of DVDs
- Psycho: Special Edition (1997)
- Goodtimes DVD:Psycho II (1999)
- Goodtimes DVD:Psycho III (1999)
- Universal Legacy Series:Psycho 2-disc Special Edition (2008)
- Psycho remake:Collector's Edition (2000)
- Universal Triple Feature Collection:Psycho II,Psycho III,Psycho IV: The Beginning (2007)
- Psycho:The Collection I-IV (2003)
- Psycho II (re-release) (2005)
- Psycho III (re-release) (2005)
- The Psycho Legacy 2 Disc Special Edition (2010)
- Psycho 50th Anniversary Blu-ray Edition (2010)
[edit] Continuity
Bates Motel, a telefilm produced in 1987, was a partial continuation of the series as it continued from where Psycho left off yet ignored continuity with Psycho II, Psycho III and Psycho IV: The Beginning due to the death of Norman Bates in the film, while in "Psycho II", Bates is deemed sane and returns to the Bates Motel. Psycho (1998), a shot-for-shot remake of the first film is not considered to be an official sequel of the original series as it breaks complete continuation from the last film "Psycho IV: The Beginning". It is sometimes referred to as a reboot of the Psycho series, however, some still consider it an installment of the films.There are also some continuity problems in "Psycho IV: The Beginning" that have to due with some of the past events explored in "Psycho","Psycho II" and "Psycho III". Reflecting on the continuity issues, Robert Price writes "It seems that all the different Psychos drift into and out of one another. There is no real sequence. All are variant versions of the same myth. The deep conflict being rehearsed and resolved in these movies is that of the Oedipal complex".
[edit] Impact
Psycho has become one of the most recognizable films ever made. The shower scene alone has become one of the most iconic cut scenes in cinematic history. Psycho is frequently referenced, given homage to or spoofed in television shows such as The Simpsons, South Park, American Dad, The Mary Tyler Moore Show and more. Films such as Scream 2, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Throw Momma from the Train, Scary Movie and more have referenced the film. Many critics and filmmakers have cited Psycho as the film that modernized the horror genre. Horror writer David. J. Schow stated (in The Psycho Legacy) "It brought the idea that the killer in a horror film was not a mutant, didn't have dents in his head; he could look like that nice young boy from next door". The film also brought in a new level of acceptable violence and sexuality in movies. Both Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh spent the rest of their careers being typecasted by the film. Even Alfred Hitchcock's films began to decline in critical and financial popularity after the release of Psycho. Hitchcock film scholars argue that for the rest of his career, Hitchcock's films were constantly being compared to Psycho. 51 years after its release, Psycho still maintains a large fan base for both the original film and the three sequels. Various websites dedicated to the franchise such as The Psycho Movies.com have appeared on the Internet. Books detailing the making and impact of the film such as Alfred Hitchcock and The Making of Psycho, The Moment of Psycho, Janet Leigh's Psycho: Behind The Scenes of the Classic Thriller have been published over the years. Two retrospective documentaries have been released detailing the making of all four films including The Making of Psycho (1997) and The Psycho Legacy (2010). The film also spawned a Hitchcock ride at Universal Studios, with part of the ride detailing how the shower scene was filmed. In 1992, Psycho was added to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.
[edit] Merchandise
Various Psycho related merchandise has been sold ever since the release of the original film. Merchandise includes t-shirts, posters, DVDs, books, stationary, shot glasses, shower curtains, action figures, model house kits, pens and more. Much of the merchandise is related to the fictional Bates Motel where items commonly found in a actual motel have the Bates Motel logo on them. A Bates Motel light up sign was released in 2009. To coincide with the 50th anniversary of the release of the original film, a Psycho house model kit was released in the U.S. Props from all the films are also sold occasionally on eBay. The original one sheet poster for Psycho is worth around $3000 dollars in mint condition. The original one sheets for Psycho II, Psycho III and Psycho IV: The Beginning are worth around $50 dollars each.
[edit] Awards
In 1960, Psycho received four Academy Award nominations including Best Director for Alfred Hitchcock, Best Supporting Actress for Janet Leigh, Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction. All three sequels have been nominated for Saturn Awards. Psycho II received a nomination for Best Screenplay for writer Tom Holland. Psycho III was nominated for Best Horror Film. Psycho IV: The Beginning was nominated for Best Genre Television Series.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- The Psycho Movies - A comprehensive site for the film series.
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