Second Viewing: Psycho II (1983)

Psycho II isn’t as good as I remember it, but I still love it as a character study on Norman Bates, one of my favorite film characters of all time.

Even though it might not be that great of a performance, it’s a difficult role, and he does capture the innocence we first see in Norman way back in the original classic, before he starts getting creepy in that dinner scene with Janet Leigh.

The movie is all about his struggles with his own sanity, and it’s a truly tragic story, actually, told reasonably well. A few of the scares are kind of random, and the movie does feel repetitive after a while, but I have no fault with what this movie is attempting to do on a character level.

The story falls apart a bit, but it’s a strong and somewhat worthy successor to the original, and it’s far better than you’d believe from a sequel to an immortal classic made over 20 years later.

Rating: 6/10