Post by The Curmudgeon on Sept 23, 2012 16:33:02 GMT 2
For a limited time only! Things The Curmudgeon actually LIKES: Part two!
No, faithful followers of my Amazon reviews, you are NOT hallucinating. This isn't a dream and your drink has not been spiked. This is actually a five star review, not my usual trip down Amazon's darker paths to find the worst items available, instead it's a celebration of the great and the good. Five reviews of amazing music and movies that has rocked my world in the past. This is review number two. You are now officially Up To Speed. Let's go.
More often than not, sequels aren't as good as the original movies. Some buck the trend of course; Empire Strikes Back, The Dark Knight Returns, Aliens and, if you're 10 years old, Terminator 2. An accepted rule seems to be though that not only are horror sequels never as good as the original, no-one ever really expects them to be. In fact, in the smug, self-referencing tedium of the Scream franchise (a franchise of diminishing returns itself), someone shouts out that "the horror franchise was destroyed by sequels" and then rattles out that horror sequels need to have more gore and more dead bodies to be effective. Pesky things like plot, characters, acting and pace? Naah. Who needs them, right? It's horror. Just kill teenagers. That's all the genre is good for.
More often than not, though, this does seem to be the case. No matter how good the original film was, when it comes to sequels they just seem to be churned out, hoping the goodwill factor generated from the first movie will be enough to shift tickets. It ranges from great films who took their original premise and made it stupid (the Ring, Saw), completely lost what made their predecessor frightening in the first place (Blair Witch, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the Exorcist) or, God help us, turned their monsters into "pop culture" figures of fun (witness Friday 13th 007 opening parody or Freddy Kruegar dressing up as the Wicked Witch of the West). In short, and almost universally, horror sequels suck.
Except for Psycho.
It's a pity that the widely available (in the UK, at least) boxset containing all 4 Psycho movies isn't for sale on Amazon, because that's actually what I'm reviewing today. Here's a franchise that doesn't sink into idiocy, it doesn't replace the central character, it doesn't take Norman Bates out of his motel and into New York or space. It doesn't have rappers as guest stars. What it does have is an intelligent, logical plot that runs through all four movies. The characters, from Janet Leigh's doomed Lila Crane right to Jeff Fahey's badboy scumbag Duane Duke in Psycho III, are all believable, perfectly performed and well written characters.
Special mention must go to Anthony Perkin's portrayal of Norman Bates; cripplingly shy and undoubtedly haunted, it's an amazing performance from Perkins, who gives enormous weight and depth to a tragic character. Anthony Hopkins gets (deserved) kudos for his take on Hannibal Lector, but Perkins' Norman remains a criminally under-appreciated part. Timid, gentle and often terrifying, he's arguably horror's greatest acted role.
You all know about the original movie, so I won't give too much detail here. Needless to say it's an iconic, ground breaking film, with a score and a scene that will be forever parodied and imitated. Regardless of how well guarded it was in the 60's on its initial release, the twist ending is now so well known to render it moot. No matter. Hitchcock's pacing, from the paranoia of Lila Crane in the opening scenes to the flailing basement light reveal of Bates at the end, is masterful. That much you already know.
When sequels are made 20 odd years later and after the original director is dead and buried, you could be forgiven for expecting the worse. But Psycho II remains one of, if not the, greatest horror sequel ever. Instead of starting up again in a new motel or with a different killer, instead Bates returns to his motel, and its in this movie we peel back the layers of Bates and find out just how tortured a soul he really is. Instead of some malevolent serial killer, he's possessed by memories of an abusive childhood, and it's the people around him who are the real bad guys this time. Personal note; I saw this movie for the first time when I was about 12 years old, and the scene where the teenage couple are making out in Norman's basement, only to be caught by "mother", has burned into my consciousness ever since. I can still close my eyes and see that scene. Now that is effective horror.
Psycho III introduces new characters to the franchise but still harks back to the earlier movies, and features quite possibly the greatest twist on a classic horror shot. The now infamous shower scene that is mistaken as a hallucinogenic vision of the Virgin Mary is as surprising and inventive a take on a well-worn and recongised horror staple as any I've ever seen. Again, Perkin's painfully shy (but still undoubtedly dangerous) Bates has us actually rooting for the killer, without any winks to the camera or Kruegar-style camp catchphrases.
Psycho IV is, admittedly, patchy in places and to the trained eye who has sat and watched all four movies in a row, gets some of the earlier plot details a little muddled. But it's still an entertaining TV movie, big in heart, and finally gives us a glimpse of what growing up with Mrs Bates was really like (Hint: not great) And, hey, if anyone deserved a happy ending, it's Norman Bates.
So yes, horror sequels are, more often than not, shoddy imitations of greater films, content to throw blood at a screen and disguise it as being scary. Other notable exceptions to the rule include Dawn of the Dead, Paranormal Activity 2 and The Omen, but The Psycho franchise (ignore the remake) is the best of the lot. A towering central performance through all four films, a smart ongoing story and some genuinely frightening moments make the Psycho Collection I-IV (go get it on eBay) not only a must have for genuine horror fans, but a How To guide for any director wanting to create a frightening franchise. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go and board up my shower forever.
And that, friends, is part two of five. What comes next? Only one way to find out...
