Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

Once again I was up late with the television on. I always have either the t.v. or radio on because I can't stand silence. It drives me nuts. So I have to have something on for background noise. Most of the time, it ends up being the t.v. on, so I have ended up watching movies I normally wouldn't have watched just because they were on. The last movie to fit into this category was Psycho 4: The Beginning. Yes I really sat through this movie. I was doing some other things while the movie was on, so I think I missed a minute or two near the beginning of the movie, but once it got going, I was paying more attention to what was going on because I did think the movie was interesting. It is no where near as good as the original Psycho, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be either.

Psycho 4: The Beginning is a prequel to the original Psycho, showing events from Norman’s past through flashbacks. Those events did help to explain more about Norman and his mother. Those are the things that I found interesting in the movie.

CAST

Anthony Perkins - Norman Bates
Henry Thomas - Young Henry
Olivia Hussey - Norma Bates
Donna Mitchell - Connie Bates
CCH Pounder - Fran Ambrose
Warren Frost - Dr. Leo Richmond
Thomas Schuster - Chet Rudolph
Sharon Camille - Holly
Bobbi Evans - Gloria
John Landis - Mike
Alice Huson - Mother

Mick Garris - Director

Psycho 4: The Beginning is 96 minutes long and was made in 1990. It isn’t rated, so I think it was either a made for cable movie or a direct to video release. There is some violence in the movie, but it isn’t excessive. I didn’t notice much swearing in the movie. I don’t think this is a movie that children should see. I don’t even think that people who loved Psycho should see Psycho 4: The Beginning. It is not a great movie, but some people may find the things related to Norman’s past interesting.

PLOT

A radio talk show host, Fran Ambrose, was doing a show about people who killed their mothers. Dr. Leo Richmond was also there taking part in the radio show. He had treated some men who had killed their mothers.

Some where in town, a man was in his kitchen and he heard Fran’s radio show. The man was Norman Bates. He called into Fran’s show, saying his name was Ed and he started to talk about how he had killed his mother. He talked to Fran and Dr. Richmond for a few minutes before hanging up. He talked to his wife, Connie, for a little while. They had a special dinner planned for that night.

Fran wasn’t happy that Ed hung up. She wanted him to call back and she asked on air for him to call back. He did. He talked more about his mother and how he had killed other women too. Fran kept asking him questions to keep him talking. Norman started to talk about the first woman he had murdered.

Norman was a young man who was running a hotel with his mother. They lived in a large, spooky looking house that was near the hotel. Norman handled most of the running of the hotel and his mother spent most of her time in the house. One night a young woman stopped at the hotel and started to hit on Norman. He wasn’t interested at first, but after a few minutes he seemed interested. He had to go up to the house to check on his mother, and her told the girl to wait for him at the hotel, but she followed him up to the house. Norman, dressed in his mother’s clothes, murdered her. Another night, Norman was making out with an older woman in her car in the middle of the night. Norman called a halt because he had to go give his mother her medicine. When he came back, he was dressed in her clothes and he murdered the older woman.

Norman and his mother, Norma, had a strange relationship. They were close, but Norma would blow up at him sometimes. Norma had some kind of mental problem and Norman witnessed her having a fit of some kind once. Norma started to date a man named Chet. Norman was shocked that his mother started to date, and he wasn’t taking it too well. Chet started to spend some nights with Norma at the house, and Norman was always upset to see Chet there. Norman was unhappy when Norma told him that she and Chet were going to get married. Norman was very possessive of his mother, and he didn’t want to share her attention with anyone. He took drastic measures.

Norman told Fran that he was going to kill again. Fran was trying to figure out some way to stop him. He also shared with Fran how he and Connie had met when he has a patient in a mental hospital. Norman was still disturbed and had problems. Who was he planning to kill? Would he kill again?

**End of Plot Discussion**

Psycho 4: The Beginning is an ok movie, but it could have been better. Some of the movie was interesting, but other parts of it were boring and pointless. I haven’t seen Psycho 2 or Psycho 3, so I don’t know how this movie compares to those, or if those movies were better sequels. I do know that Psycho 4: The Beginning was not as good as the original Psycho. People who loved the original may find some parts of this movie interesting, but they will be disappointed if they expect this movie to be as good as the original Psycho. If someone has never seen Psycho, I don’t think they would find anything about this movie interesting because they wouldn’t know what had happened in Psycho. The movie would probably be very boring for anyone not already familiar with the character of Norman Bates.

I think that Psycho 4: The Beginning is meant to be a scary, suspenseful movie like the original Psycho, but I didn’t think it was scary or suspenseful. Most of what takes place in the movie is shown through flashbacks and is set in the past. It is known how those events will turn out, so they aren’t suspenseful in any way. I don’t think the scenes when the young Norman is killing are scary either. It isn’t shocking or surprising to see Norman wearing his mother’s clothes like it was in the original Psycho. At the end of the movie, when it is set in the present day, there is a tiny bit of suspense one time. That is it for suspense in the movie. If you are looking for a scary suspenseful movie, don’t waste your time with this one.

Psycho 4: The Beginning is told mainly through flashbacks to Norman’s past. The movie isn’t confusing in any way. It is very clear when there is a flashback and when it is back in the present. Most of the movie is set in the past, but there are some scenes that are set in the present scattered throughout the movie. The scenes set in the past show Norman as a young man and show his mother still alive. Those scenes help to show why Norman is as messed up as he is. I did find those scenes interesting. Norman and his mother are both younger than I thought they would be at that point in time. I thought that Mother was older when she died. Norman and his mother are close, perhaps too close. They have a strange relationship, and there seem to be some hints that there could be some incest involved. At the very least, Norman has some unnatural feelings for his mother. The few scenes that show those things may be too disturbing for some people to watch.

The scenes in Psycho 4: The Beginning that are set in the present day are boring and rather silly. Fran is hosting a radio talk show and is discussing people who murder their mothers. Norman hears the show and calls in. He hangs and calls back more than once. He claims that he is going to kill again. I think it is strange that Norman kept calling the show back the way he did. Fran gets into some arguments with Dr. Richmond and with other people working at the radio station over what Norman is saying. She wants to let him keep talking. I think those scenes were supposed to be suspenseful, but they failed. Those scenes didn’t keep my interest in the movie at all. I think the movie would have been better if the whole thing had been set in the past and just explored more related to Norman and his relationship with his mother.

There are some scenes with some violence in them in Psycho 4: The Beginning. Norman murders more than one person in the movie, and the killings are shown. The violence isn’t excessive, but it may be too much for some people. After his mother dies, Norman has her body in the house for a long time. He then took her to his taxidermy workshop and does something to the body. It isn’t shown what he does, but it is hinted at. That may be too disturbing for some people. There are also a few sexual situations in Psycho 4: The Beginning. There isn’t any nudity in the movie, and no sexual acts are shown on camera, so I don’t think those things would offend anyone. However, it is hinted that Norman has some unnatural feelings for his mother, and that may offend some viewers. Norman has some major issues with sex, and he continues to have some of those issues in the present day.

Norman’s mother actually appears in Psycho 4: The Beginning alive. She does spend most of her time in the house, and she has some sort of mental problems. She isn’t really young, but she is younger than I thought she would be. Her relationship with her only son, Norman, is explored more in this movie. That helps to explain why Norman has the problems he has. Norman is messed up in his past, and he is still messed up in the present. Seeing Norma Bates and her problems does help to understand more about Norman’s problems. Something with Norman’s problems from his past ties in directly to a problem he is having with his wife.

There is very little character development in Psycho 4: The Beginning. There isn’t a lot of new development for Norman. It just builds on what is known about the character. There is a little bit of development to the character of Norma since she is shown alive. The other characters, Connie and Fran, are hardly developed at all. They are just in the movie to help move the plot along.

The acting in Psycho 4: The Beginning is all right, but it could have been better. Some of it is actually rather bad. Anthony Perkins returns to play Norman Bates again, and his performance in this movie is not his best work. He overacts in some scenes, and in others he seems to be just reading his lines with no emotions. CCH Pounder is fine as Fran, but I do think that character isn’t really needed in the movie.

Donna Mitchell is just in a few scenes as Connie. Her performance didn’t impress me. She does her share of over acting, especially near the end of the movie. Henry Thomas is actually fairly good as the young Norman Bates. Olivia Hussey was ok most of the time, but she slips into overacting at times too. The overacting that is done in this movie may be because of the script.

CHARACTERS

Norman Bates - He is now living in a nice house with his wife Connie. It has been years since he killed anyone. He and his wife have plans for a special dinner. They are having a disagreement about something. Norman still has issues related to his past. He is still messed up.

Connie Bates - She is Norman’s wife. She met him when he was a patient in a mental hospital. Connie knows all about his past. She is still working as a nurse. She seems to really love her husband.

Fran Ambrose - She is the host of a radio talk show. She tries to keep Norman talking. She says she wants to try to talk him out of killing again, but she thinks Norman’s story is good for her ratings.

Psycho 4: The Beginning isn’t that good of a movie, but people who are familiar with the character of Norman Bates may find some of the information about his past and about Norma interesting. I don’t think people who are unfamiliar with Psycho will like this movie at all. I don’t think I would have sat through it if I hadn’t seen the original Psycho. I have no plans to ever watch this movie. Once was enough.

Psycho Movies
Psycho ~ Psycho 2 ~ Psycho 3 ~ Psycho 4: The Beginning ~


Recommended: No

Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age