Horror Extreme Movie Catalog

PSYCHO 2 is an awesome sequel and I recommend it to anyone who loved the original PSYCHO by Alfred Hitchcock, but the one thing I don't understand is in the commercials & advertisements, why did they put "It's 22 years later & Norman Bates Is Coming Home" when PSYCHO II was actually made 23 years later after the popular PSYCHO hit theatres in 1960, but Universal didn't release PSYCHO 2 until the Summer of 1983 when I saw it for the very first time.

Additionally, PSYCHO II has more action and is even gorier than the original along with superb acting and superb music scoring done by Jerry Goldsmith, which also did music scoring for POLTERGEIST, FIRST BLOOD, etc.

The truth is, even though Lila Loomis(Vera Miles)had every right to be upset and devastated in the original PSYCHO and be be skeptical at the beginning of PSYCHO 2 when Norman Bates(Tony Perkins) gets released from the mental institution, but in PSYCHO II it's almost as if Lila was more guilty than Norman was, since Lila did everything she could to get Norman recommited back to the nuthouse by framing Norman and trying to make him go crazy again while Norman kept trying to go straight, but Lila and her disorganized daughter Mary Samuels Loomis(Meg Tilly) kept trying to make Norman go off the deep end again on purpose and by killing other people off at the Bates Motel one by one and showing us a side of Norman that we never saw before, which was a very sweet and lovely guy.

They also showed an intriguing nude scene with Meg Tilly(Mary)taking a shower unaware that she's being spied on in the bathroom showing Meg Tilly in full frontal nudity showing her coochie, tatas, and derrier.

It's just too bad that they don't make sequels like PSYCHO 2 and don't make them the way they used to anymore either, since most sequels are usually pretty cheesy nowadays.

Psycho II has so many great things going for it. First, the cast was excellent! Anthony Perkins and Vera Miles from the original film return along with Meg Tilly and Robert Loggia. It's too bad Meg Tilly retired from acting. I'm not clear on the reasons, but this Oscar-nominated actress had the talent to make more of a career for herself which was too short-lived. I fell in love with the musical score of this film. It's sad, haunting and beautiful to listen to. Another tragedy is that this soundtrack is no longer available. Psycho II rises above most sequels in its sophistication and intelligence. There is a small amount of killing and bloodshed because this film is more psychological (we would hope given the title) and character-driven. The scene where Anthony Perkins and Meg Tilly are in the bedroom when she cradles a sobbing Norman in her arms is something to relish. There is suspense and mystery here to behold and the ending is something you would not have assumed. I truly believe Alfred Hitchcock would have admired this as the producers dedicate this film to his memory. All in all, Psycho II is a classy sequel that earns its recognition. Also recommended by director Richard Franklin: Road Games, a suspense/thriller featuring Stacy Keach and Jaime Lee Curtis.