Plot
After twenty-two years of psychiatric care, Norman Bates attempts to return to a life of solitude... but the specters of his crimes -- and his mother -- continue to haunt him.

Release Year: 1983

Rating: 6.1/10 (8,736 voted)

Director: Richard Franklin

Stars: Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, Meg Tilly

Storyline
Now declared legally sane, Norman Bates is released from a mental institution after spending 22 years in confinement over the protests of Marion Crane's sister Lila Loomis, who insists that he's still a killer and that the court's indifference to his victims by releasing him is a gross miscarriage of justice. Norman returns to his motel and the old Victorian mansion where his troubles started, and history predictably begins to repeat itself.

Writers: Tom Holland, Robert Bloch

Cast:
Anthony Perkins - Norman Bates
Vera Miles - Lila Loomis
Meg Tilly - Mary Loomis
Robert Loggia - Dr. Bill Raymond
Dennis Franz - Warren Toomey
Hugh Gillin - Sheriff John Hunt
Claudia Bryar - Mrs. Emma Spool
Robert Alan Browne - Ralph Statler
Ben Hartigan - Judge
Lee Garlington - Myrna
Tim Maier - Josh
Jill Carroll - Kim
Chris Hendrie - Deputy Pool
Tom Holland - Deputy Norris
Michael Lomazow - D.A.

Taglines: Norman Bates is back. Coming home was a bad mistake!

Release Date: 3 June 1983

Filming Locations: Bakersfield, California, USA

Box Office Details

Budget: $5,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend: $8,310,244 (USA) (5 June 1983)

Gross: $34,725,000 (USA)

Runtime: 113 min

Trivia:
The way that Norman says "cutlery" in the scene in the kitchen was conceived during a table read of the script. Anthony Perkins accidentally stuttered when he said the line and director Richard Franklin loved it and told him to say it like that in the film.

Goofs:
Continuity: When Norman drops his suitcase, his clothes fall out of it twice between shots as it rolls downstairs.

Quotes:
[first lines]
Norman Bates: [voice-over] Mother, oh God, Mother. Blood! Blood!
Judge: The basis of the staff report Norman Bates is judged returned to sanity and is ordered released at will.

"Just don't let them take me back to the institution"

Rating: 10/10

Psycho II is, without a doubt, the greatest sequel of all time. Having to make a follow-up to a film as unique and wonderful as Psycho seems like an impossible task, but director Richard Franklin and brilliant writer Tom Holland knew how to pull it off. This isn't a rip-off of the original like some sequels are; this really stands on its own. It's unpredictable, chilling, gruesome, exciting, interesting, and surprisingly touching.

With Psycho II, we are able to see exactly what kind of man Norman is. We get such a clear feeling of how he thinks and feels, and we realize what a fascinating character he really is. He is no longer the villain here, and instead, we just wish that everyone could leave the man alone. Anthony Perkins' performance is too good for words, and the other actors shine as well, especially Meg Tilly, Robert Loggia, and Dennis Franz.

The only real misfire in this movie is that they showed the shower scene from the original Psycho at the very beginning. It doesn't serve any real purpose, especially since there is so much more to Psycho than that one famous scene. However, it recovers quickly during the opening credits when we see the sun set upon Norman's creepy house, making it look lovely. One of the best things about this movie is the music. Jerry Goldsmith contributes some really lovely scores, and they are used perfectly throughout the movie. I honestly can't get enough of the main score; it's beautiful.

Try to avoid seeing this on TV. USA does a lot of editing, and they completely cut out a couple really special parts, in my opinion. The parts they cut out are the most sensitive/sentimental parts of the movie, so try and rent Psycho II instead!!!

Just as good as the original, in my opinion. ***** (out of 5)

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