Macy, and Philip Baker Hall rounding out the main cast. This most recent Psycho movie is shot in color, with Anne Heche and Vince Vaughn stepping into the roles made famous by Leigh and Perkins, and Julianne Moore, Viggo Mortensen, William H. Gus Van Sant's shot-for-shot 1998 Psycho is a fascinating bit of filmmaking. But, ultimately, Psycho IV is neither well-done enough or confident enough in its execution to be anything more than just a whimper of a franchise finale. Thomas gives a solid supporting turn as a teenage Norman Bates grappling with his unsettling feelings for his mother and budding penchant for stabbing young women, so I guess that's something.
This TV movie only seems interested in pathologizing Norman's behavior and it's equal parts sordid and boring. To have Psycho IV close out the end of what is actually a very fun horror franchise is simply very disappointing. We also discover Norman has married and is trying to do away with his demons for good, which, sure. There are flashbacks to Norman's childhood and teenage years, with the subtext of these flashbacks getting uncomfortably Oedipal as young Norman ( Henry Thomas) tries to please his mother, Norma ( Olivia Hussey). Over the course of an hour and half, we watch as Norman attempts to unpack all of his emotional and psychological baggage via a late-night call into a radio show hosted by Fran Ambrose ( CCH Pounder). Psycho IV is a 1990 TV movie which sees Perkins reprise his role as Norman Bates for the fourth and final time (he would pass away two years after this movie was released). Image via Showtime Networks/Universal Home Video As you might have guessed, the 1987 Bates Motel TV movie is very much a "for diehard fans only" kind of viewing experience. It's also pretty sweaty and problematic in the way it paints Alex and Norman's dynamic. Unfortunately, this 90-minute special is connected to the Psycho canon in name only, with the story so muddled and overwrought it feels like a dare to try and get through it. The rest of the special sees Alex attempting to get the motel up and running amidst rumors of the ghost of Norma Bates haunting the hotel and one Bates Motel guest seeing the ghost of her younger self gifting her with an important lesson.
Alex gets help re-opening Bates Motel with help from teenage runaway Willie ( Lori Petty). After his death, Norman leaves Bates Motel to Alex in his will.
Norman takes Alex under his wing during their stay. Bud Cort ( Harold and Maude) stars as Alex West, a young man who grew up in the same asylum as Norman Bates after Alex killed his father.
The first attempt, 1987's Bates Motel, was intended to be the pilot of a TV series which ultimately ended up as a made-for-TV movie. There have been two efforts to get spinoff of the Psycho franchise on TV screens. Keep reading to see how every Psycho movie in this highly underrated horror franchise shapes up you might be surprised which title come out on top. But how does it hold up against its sequels, a remake, and a TV special? Boasting one of the most famous shower scenes in movie history and more than enough to material to psychoanalyze in the case of Norman Bates, Psycho lives on as a foundational horror movie and queer text. Psycho also features solid performances from Janet Leigh as Marion Crane, Vera Miles as Lila Crane, John Gavin as Sam Loomis, and Martin Balsam as Detective Milton Arbogast. That might be in part thanks to Anthony Perkins, who plays the movie's young killer Norman Bates in a breakout performance.
Adapted from the Robert Bloch novel of the same name and loosely inspired by the murders of notorious midcentury serial killer Ed Gein, Psycho is the kind of bloodless horror movie which still finds interesting ways to run a chill up your spine. Hitchcock's Psycho is a unique entry in his stories canon as a director. That means we're ranking all four movies - Psycho, Psycho II, Psycho III, and Psycho IV: The Beginning, plus the 1987 Bates Motel TV special and the 1998 Gus Van Sant remake, from worst to best. Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho is turning 60 on June 16, which means it's about time we revisit the movie which spawned a unique and uniquely fun horror franchise. In order to properly honor Hitchcock's Psycho, we're revisiting every movie in the franchise and seeing how they shape up after all this time.