I just finished writing this as a result of a praising thread for Psycho II. I think this sums up exactly how I feel. I didn't want it to die with the thread once it has run its course, so I will reserve it on the blog for posterity.
I think it is wonderful. You see someone fragile but sympathetic due to why he did what he did, coming out of the institution very vulnerable and perhaps easy to manipulate.
One of the conversations I have had with my siblings regarding this film is regarding whether or not Norman could have lived a normal life had certain individuals left him alone. If Mama wasn't "encouraged", could Norman have have lived the rest of his life somewhat rehabilitated. Because once the film ends, Norman is never going to be freed from his mania again (unless you are convinced he is by the end of Mick Garris' forth film in the Psycho series). But could he have without interference from his victim's sister (and her daughter), and "his real mother"? Psycho III certainly indicated Norman was too far gone to help after what transpired in this film. I think it is an interesting thought, if anything.
The rich, melancholic score is just magnificent, I think. It sets the right mood, detailing what a murder committed leaves behind. Not only those who loved the victim are effected, but also Norman himself. If you think about it, a mentally ill man spends twenty years under intense therapy trying to heal from what happened to him during a rather unusual childhood. The victim's advocate spends time tormenting him, but she's not alone. Someone enters Norman's life as a friend and confidante but soon she too emerges as "an enemy". But there is someone that appears to be an ally. Has "mother" returned?
I think this is also terrific because it understands its two iconic locales, and a Hitchcock devotee truly cares enough about the 1960 film to embellish both the Bates Motel and the large, ominous house on the hill. The director of Road Games obviously is a student of the thriller, and he knows how to weave an upheaval of developments around Norman, truly plaguing him. The classic film is about a cast of characters, each important in their own way. But in this 1983 film, Norman is front and center, allowing Perkins to totally own the whole show with others around his orbit either trying to send him back to the booby patch or hoping he can be left alone to live a normal life a changed man.
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