[Inspector Abberline]

Psycho II (1983)
The only thing that kind of spoils this sequel for me,was the fact they had to use the footage from the first film,im sorry but if you do not know your seeing the sequel to a bona fide classic then you should not be allowed out let alone going to watch movies.(yes i am a film snob.so sue me) This minor quibble aside the Richard Franklin sequel to Mr Hitchcock's classic slasher is a witty and well acted if belated sequel.Although you do have to wonder what brought about this resurrection of Norman Bates,was it that slasher films were big at the cinema? During those early 1980s up until Psycho 2 was released there were probably around,well a lot of slashing was done let us say. The main difference between Psycho and the abundance of masked killers that slashed and chopped there way through the 1980's was that unlike them Norman had a face,a personality and a sense of humour and not forgetting a mummified mother in the basement.While nowhere near a high body count as the other nutter's on the block,Psycho 2 sees the newly released Norman Bates being released back into society after spending 22 years in a mental hospital.The whole film only really works because Anthony Perkins is so damn good in the role,he starts off newly cured but eventually he is gradually worn down and seemingly reverts back to his old ways.Apart from a few wrinkles and probably some hair dye,Perkins at the time looks remarkably like his younger self,thin,gaunt and ever so slightly bonkers in a way that only Anthony Perkins could play it.Richard Franklin was a smart choice to direct at the time,especially considering his previous two movies were the brilliant Patrick and Hitchcock inspired Road Games.Unfortunately he did not seem to reach the directorial heights of other such Hitchcock inspired directors and for me never directed anything as good as those early films.