Psycho II (1983) - Piece 2

Norman’s story is indeed a sad one. He was a killer. But the kid was troubled due to his upbringing, and that was especially emphasized in great depth in Hitchcock’s film when Oakland’s doc explains to the audience (and those confused about why Norman was dressed as his mother) why he killed those missing girls, Marion, and Arbogast as he did. But after 22 years, Norman, even if fragile and in need of supervision to make sure he stays legit, was given parole and a chance to prove that with patience and guidance he could hopefully live without mother returning to ruin his mental health. But no matter the hard work from Dr. Raymond at the institution and with therapy (all those hours and the time spent), Lila and Mary (and Spool, we later learn) soon undo all that was provided to Norman to help him “get better”.

I used to talk with my siblings about “Psycho II” all the time. Imagine us teens in the living room just conversing back and forth about the what if regarding whether or not Norman could have been a successful parolee had Lila and Mary (and Spool) left him alone. Well, one could even include Toomey (a wretched but well cast Dennis Franz, who is always capable of playing a sleazebag). Mary tries to fix the seemingly irreparable harm Lila and she caused, but unknowingly thwarted by Spool (Claudia Bryar), there is no going back. The little notes where Mother talks to Norman, I always loved this touch. Garlington’s handwriting (I just recently learned this, and I think that is such a cool bit of trivia) of those notes and the returning Gregg voice of “Mother Bates” are neat additions to the film. I have always been a fan of the slasher genre, but I think in this film’s case, the knife stabbings (although when Spool kills the teen boy, I thought it was effective because of his fingers trail on the basement window, and Toomey getting the knife to the face was to be expected considering his bullying of Norman) weren’t necessarily needed on screen. But this was 1983 (the film set in 1982) so even studios like Universal (just a year prior, they released “Halloween II”) were upping the violence. So you get Lila taking the knife to the mouth (through the neck), Toomey sliced in the eye, the teen mutilated by multiple stabs to the back (he seemed to get it the worse, for some reason), and Dr. Raymond with an accidental knife plunge to the chest (a startled Mary, dressed as Mrs. Bates, accidentally stabs him when he comes up from behind her) before flying off the stairs into the rail which just buries the blade in deeper.

It is those certain scenes with Norman, though, when the convoluted plot of “who is on the phone pretending to be Mrs. Bates and who is dressing as Mrs. Bates” isn’t altogether involved that I particularly find rewarding. The resounding melancholy of Norman returning home after Mary is shot dead by police when attempting to stab him—seeing her dead mother buried under a coal hill (the horrid fake head is another cringer) and Norman wanting to “keep her protected in the basement” set her off—as he turns on the lights and it is just silence (along with Goldsmith’s aching score just punching home his seeming perennial loneliness). There is no Dr. Raymond to keep tabs on him, no Mary to keep him company; however, an approaching Miss Spool (what a shot of her ascending the stairs as the clouds seem to move faster in the sky to the Bates home) hopes to be integral in his life, not knowing how she will be. It always intrigued me how Mary stayed despite every reason to leave, as Norman continued to slip further and further into madness…maybe it was Lila’s persistent, obsessive desire to see him slip off the deep end totally, that Mary remained, hoping to protect him, chain-blocking herself to an inevitable doom.

Holland’s script does really lather the film with lots of plot complications…Mary, Lila, and Spool all spend time in the Bates home, either decorating Mother’s room or peeping through a hole in a wall that goes from Mother’s room to the bathroom, or using the phone in the upper room hall (the camera shot above looking down at the path from the top of the stairs to Mother’s room is once again incorporated by Cundy following Hitchock’s exact shot in “Psycho” when Norman was carrying Mrs. Bates’ corpse to the basement). While “Psycho III” (1986) focuses more on the Bates Motel, “Psycho II” spends a lot of time in the Bates home. I like that, actually. Director Franklin (student of Hitchcock) and screenwriter, Holland, seem deadset on keeping a lot of the film’s plot in the home. Yes, Norman paints the hotel, hoping to renovate and reopen it, planning to repair its reputation he felt Toomey polluted, allowing it to turn into a fuck-and-dope, rent-it-for-a-few-hours dump. But the extent of what goes on there is limited. The parlor of the iconic conversation between Norman and Marion has a phone used to call and trick Norman seemingly by all three women (Dr. Raymond tries and fails to convince Norman he has been duped by those wanting to torment him). And the swamp of the classic Hitchcock film does feature importantly in its once-again use as a dumping spot for cars and bodies. Even Mrs. Bates herself makes an appearance, her grave dug up by Dr. Raymond to prove to Norman that she is not coming back, no longer a threat to him.

Franklin and Holland want to sprinkle in little reminders of what made the first film great and attach their sequel to it. Yes, they want to glean greatness from that film and, in turn, create some of their own magic in the process. Despite road bumps and the occasional pothole, I think they succeed. Perkins certainly brings his A-game. I loved all that combat you see. Norman constantly working to fight the darkness, all the while, forces (mostly human) against him refuse to let him remain at peace. So all the restlessness Perkins gets across. And the way knives in his hands seem to initiate a change in behavior. His weakened countenance as those phone calls progress his decline. His seeing Mother in her room’s window. How Norman doesn’t appreciate being lied to (Mary cautiously humors him) and refuses to let “mother” (this time Mary disguised as Mrs. Bates) push him away with attacks with the knife, insisting on helping her. Norman seeing a knife in a cake when Toomey insults him in the diner while trying to insert himself into everyday life by helping deliver food to the waitresses (where he met Mary, to begin with). Or when Norman has Mary in his home, giddy that he has someone to stay with him in the Bates house for the first time in 22 years while it rains fiercely outside…when she mentions going to a girlfriend’s or back to the boyfriend’s apartment, he can’t hide the disappointment. So it is the gamut for Perkins; he knows this character. Perhaps the best scene in the entire film is up in his child room with Mary. She is almost a comforting mother to Norman, cuddling his head in her chest, shushing his tensions, patting him to ease. I had read Perkins was behind Holland including this so you can feel a closeness developing between them. I have no idea if that is true or not but I appreciate its inclusion just the same.

Hugh Gillin as Sheriff John Hunt is a straight shooter, with no mincing of words and direct-to-the-point law authority. He lets Mary and Lila know exactly how he feels, and gets to the heart of the matter. He doesn't side against Norman, even giving him the benefit of the doubt.