5.9 | / 10 |
Users | 4.2 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A seemingly rehabilitated Norman Bates is drawn to a late night radio show where the host encourages him to share his views on the topic of matricide - the murder of a mother by her own child. Reliving his childhood, Norman recounts his trials as a young boy living with his widowed schizophrenic mother. These haunting memories are more than just disturbing visions of the past; they threaten to rekindle his killing urge in this spine-tingling thriller.
Starring: Anthony Perkins, Henry Thomas, Olivia Hussey, CCH Pounder, Warren FrostHorror | 100% |
Psychological thriller | 8% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.33:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
BDInfo verified
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
You might be feeling a tad schizophrenic yourself if your life story had been offered in as many varying ways as Norman Bates’ has been in Psycho, Psycho II and Psycho III, not to mention Psycho, Bates Motel and the now little remembered “other” Bates Motel. As fans of this “franchise” (if it can even truly be called that) will probably agree, trying to keep everything straight in terms of how various incidents have been variously depicted in the many versions of Norman’s tale might be enough to drive even the most apparently sane person completely and irrevocably mad. As I discussed in our Psycho II Blu-ray review, I was actually rather fond of the “revisions” that accrued in the first sequel, though there’s a rather vocal aggregation who found some of screenwriter Tom Holland’s changes troubling. There was at least an attempt to provide continuity between Alfred Hitchcock’s epochal film and Psycho II, a tendency which became increasingly diaphanous in Psycho III. Psycho IV pretty much abandons any pretense of linking itself to its two previous sequels, something that’s kind of interesting given the fact that Psycho IV was written by Psycho’s original scenarist Joseph Stefano. What may intrigue fans of Bates Motel is how Psycho IV, a kind of combo sequel-prequel, presents vignettes from Norman’s early life which are (again) completely different from those shown in the A&E television series. It’s probably best therefore to view Psycho IV as a kind of “standalone” entry, albeit one that simply can’t avoid the looming shadows of Hitchcock’s original film. Psycho IV is rather stylish at times, in a florid manner that is completely removed from Hitchcock’s odd blend of rationality and frenzy (no pun intended, given the master’s late film of that name), but it can’t completely overcome some deficits in the writing. Completists will no doubt want to see the film, but in a way it’s the bastard stepchild of the Psycho offerings.
Psycho IV: The Beginning is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Scream Factory, an imprint of Shout! Factory, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This is a solid looking presentation for the most part, though there are some variances in sharpness and clarity as well as grain structure and overall compression competence. The film has long darkish sequences that take place in the radio station, where the studio basks in a deep bluish color, and when cigarette smoke is added to the picture, things can look a bit hazy at times as can be seen in some of the screenshots accompanying this review. When the film ventures out of doors into the bright sunlight, the palette perks up appreciably and detail levels also improve. There are some noticeable upticks in softness during several montages, as should be expected, especially segues between flashbacks and contemporary moments. A couple of process shots also look pretty rough, with a much coarser grain structure and a somewhat blanched looking palette. Per my comments above, some videophiles may question the 1.78:1 aspect ratio since this probably aired on Showtime in Academy ratio (though I have not been able to find any authoritative source stating so), but to my eyes no framing issues were obvious. The fact that Garris mentions theatrical exhibitions would suggest this was filmed with "safeties" in mind.
Psycho IV: The Beginning features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 that provides considerable force for the utilization of Bernard Herrmann's iconic string score, as well as Graeme Revell's new music, while also providing capable support for this pretty talky film. Aside from a couple of murder scenes and a final conflagration, a lot of the soundtrack actually doesn't provide much more than dialogue, and this track offers excellent fidelity and decent dynamic range.
I read Robert Bloch's original novel of Psycho when I found it on the shelf of a house I was staying at during summer vacation one year when I was a rather young boy (like maybe eight or nine). It was obviously not exactly a book for a child of that age to be reading, but it shocked and scared me and I couldn't wait until I was finally able to see the original Hitchcock film (not to state the obvious, but this was long before the advent of home video, and one had to wait for movies to either play your hometown or be broadcast on television). That started a lifelong fascination with the character of Norman Bates, and I happily trotted off to the movie house when both Psycho II and Psycho III came along. All of that said, there's probably no denying that the law of diminishing returns catches up to Psycho IV and in many ways this is the least effective visit with Norman in terms of the feature films (whether or not they were first broadcast on cable in the United States). That said, there are still a number of very effective moments in Psycho IV, albeit probably in a smaller scale way than in the previous installments. Technical merits are generally very good to excellent, and with caveats noted, Psycho IV comes Recommended.
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