"It's an undisputed fact that Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho is one of the greatest horror films ever made, and one of the most significant pieces of cinema full stop. Sixty-five years since its controversial release, it continues to enthral audiences and inspire storytellers. Psycho is a lean, mean, and stylistically stunning piece of cinematic trickery. Audiences never saw its twists and turns coming, and in Anthony Perkins' Norman Bates, they had a new standard for big-screen evil."
"In 1983, Psycho II imagined a Norman who tried to move on with his life after being released from a mental institution, only for his demons to haunt him and Marion Crane's sister Lila to demand vengeance. Reviews were surprisingly solid, although no one thought it was akin to Hitchcock's original. Three years later came Psycho III, with Norman once again running the Bates Motel and getting a girlfriend while another murder spree takes place."
"Instead, 35 years ago today, we got Psycho IV: The Beginning, a TV movie that largely ignored its two predecessors. Norman, once again rehabilitated and now married to his psychiatrist, Connie, is preparing for fatherhood. His fear that his own awful childhood will lead to him repeating the cruelties of his mother, Norma (Olivia Hussey), leads to flashbacks of his youth and how he came to be a mentally disturbed murderer."
Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho remains a landmark horror film defined by its stylistic precision, shocking twists, and Anthony Perkins' iconic Norman Bates. Hollywood produced three sequels that did not recapture the original's impact but explored different facets of Bates' character. Psycho II (1983) follows a released Norman struggling with haunting impulses and Marion Crane's sister seeking revenge, earning relatively solid reviews. Psycho III returns Norman to the Bates Motel amid new murders and mixed critical response. Psycho IV: The Beginning, a 1990 TV movie, largely sidelines the middle sequels and portrays a rehabilitated Norman confronting childhood flashbacks and fears of repeating his mother's cruelties.
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