Psycho II (1983) Review (Part Two)

In my previous post on Psycho II, I discussed some of my thoughts on the stylistic elements of the film. In this post, I plan on discussing my thoughts and interpretations on certain elements regarding the characters and the story along with conveying the overall impact the film had on me.

Psycho II takes place two decades after the events of the first film and follows Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) being released from the mental hospital and returning home to his house behind the Bates Motel. He earns a new job at a nearby diner where he meets a waitress named Mary (Meg Tilly). Despite having a second chance, a new friendship, and a new job, Norman falls under extreme pressure and goes through a whirlwind of circumstances that reawakens the madness inside of him. Psycho II not only has Anthony Perkins reprising the role of Norman Bates but also Vera Miles reprising the role of Lila Crane, who is referred to as Lila Loomis this time around. The film was written by Tom Holland and was directed by Richard Franklin. Notably, Richard Franklin was a student of Alfred Hitchcock and Tom Holland would later go on to direct Childs Play (1988).

In Psycho II, Anthony Perkins still portrays Norman as a disturbed socially awkward loner, but also taps into the characters more nervous and sympathetic side this time around. I really admire the moments where Anthony Perkins can convey what Norman is feeling or thinking by just utilizing different facial expressions. Perkins has a unique way of moving and contorting his face to match the characters emotions or anxiety. I noted Norman’s friendship with Mary in Psycho II parallels his brief exchanges with Marion from the original film. This is also ironic considering both Mary and Marion are related. I believe Norman and Mary’s interactions were included to demonstrate Norman’s previously mentioned tragic and sympathetic side to the audience. For example there is a scene where Mary is holding and comforting Norman not in a sexual way, but in a maternal way. This is also a moment where Norman is confiding in Mary and discussing the pain he feels due to the fact that he can’t remember any good things about his mother. To me, this moment symbolizes Mary is viewed by Norman as a maternal figure despite the fact she is much younger. This scene also demonstrated to me that Mary may be awakening the sickness from within Norman because whenever Norman is attracted to a woman or another woman is seen as a maternal figure to him, he blacks out and the mother part of his mind consumes him. What is interesting about Psycho II is it is not just Norman’s interest in Mary that makes him start to regress back into the sickness, but also the pressures and harassment he faces from the people in the community around him.

In Psycho II, it seems Norman is developing a genuine friendship with Mary and you can’t help but hope things work out for him this time. However, it is later revealed Mary is actually the daughter of Lila Loomis. Lila plans to use her own daughter to try too have Norman recommitted. Mary even used the alias, Mary Samuels, which is the same alias her aunt, Marion Crane, used in the original. Lila and Mary Loomis have been staging notes and phone calls to Norman that appear to be from his deceased mother. They even went to the extent of dressing up as Norman’s mother. To make this twist even more complex, an additional mysterious person is also supposedly phoning Norman claiming to be his real mother and also claiming that Mrs. Bates was not his mother. The reason this is unclear is because the audience can’t comprehend if this is true or just in Norman’s head. Norman’s psychiatrist from the institution, Doctor Raymond (Robert Loggia), tries unsuccessfully to reassure Norman it is just Mary and Lila Loomis staging these calls. The circumstances of the film almost makes the audience feel as if they are being driven to insanity with Norman. One thing is certain, these circumstances alone are probably enough to drive Norman mad again. However, there are other people in the community who are out to get Norman as well.

Early on in the film when Norman returns to the motel with Mary, we meet Toomey (Dennis Franz) who managed the motel while Norman was in the institution. Norman is unhappy with how Toomey has managed the motel and so he decides to fire him. This leads to Toomey harassing Norman at his new diner job which leads to Toomey eventually being murdered by someone wearing clothes Norman’s mother wore. Additional harassment Norman faced from the community came from its youth as later in the film two teenagers break into Norman’s basement to smoke weed but are caught by a mysterious feminine figure that kills one of them. All of these aspects which include: Mary and Lila staging calls, Toomey’s harassment and the teens causing problems demonstrate Norman can never truly be at peace and live a normal life as he is consistently confronted by pressure and torment. It was almost as if things were destined not to work out for Norman. I believe all of the previously mentioned characters and aspects acted as a combined perfect storm contributing to Norman’s eventual reintegration into insanity. I also believe the problems Norman deals with in the film reflect the problems a mentally ill person reintegrating into society would have, which gives the film some cultural significance. Since we are on the topic of cultural significance, it is interesting to note Norman was declared not guilty by reason of insanity for the murders in the first film and was released in the beginning of Psycho II. According to behind the scenes interviews, the insanity plea was incorporated into the story because this was a very controversial topic in society at this point in the early 1980’s.

By the end of the film, following the wild events that lead to Mary’s death, the audience is still left wondering if there was an additional caller and who the killer of the film was. The killer of the film is revealed shortly after Norman returns home following Mary’s death and the killer in question is revealed to be Ms. Spool who worked at the same diner as Norman in the film. She visits his home to inform him she is his true mother (at least according to her). Ms. Spool reveals she had Norman when she was very young and that she gave him to her sister, Mrs. Bates, when she was institutionalized. Ms. Spool took it upon herself to violently murder anyone she felt was bothering Norman when he was released. Following this reveal, Norman offers her tea, which he poisoned, once she drinks it he proceeds to hit her over the head with a shovel, killing her. Norman then brings her corpse up the stairs in a shot similar to the original (This shot was also later recreated in the Bates Motel tv series). As soon as Ms. Spool’s corpse is in mother’s bedroom and the motel sign begins to flicker, it seems Norman has succumbed to the sickness once again following the tragic events of the film. During this ending I get a strange sense Norman is comfortable reuniting with his former madness, almost as if this is a happy ending for Norman. Norman would probably rather deal with his former psychotic ways, than deal with the harassment and attacks from other people. Society could not accept Norman Bates as anything, but a monster or a psycho.

Upon revisiting the film and evaluating what the story truly means to me, I have come to interpret meaning out of the film. I believe Psycho II is a film that is meant to make us wonder what it would be like for someone who is vilified or mentally ill to reintegrate into society. Psycho II is a horror sequel I cannot recommend enough and I consider it to be one of the best sequels to any movie ever. If you are a collector like me, I recommend getting your hands on the Shout Factory Blu-Ray as it is loaded with special features for the film.

Fun Fact: Jamie Lee Curtis, who at the time was already known for Halloween (1978), was offered the role of Mary but passed on the role. Her mother, Janet Leigh, played Marion Crane in the original which would have meant if Jamie took the role, the characters they played would have been mother and daughter just like they are in real life.