Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

Psycho IV: The Beginning Blu-ray Movie Review

Mother issues.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 22, 2016

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.

As the agreeable commentary included on this new Blu-ray gets into, Psycho IV was (as Psycho II initially was planned to be) released to cable (Showtime) as a straight to video offering, albeit with theatrical exhibitions globally (director Mick Garris explicitly mentions the theatrical exhibitions, which may help to put to rest any nascent debates over this release's aspect ratio). That might give a subliminal clue as to the overall approach of this film, for despite a couple of rather well done set pieces, it shies away from grand statements and instead tends to focus on more intimate interchanges between characters. The entire film is built around one of those call in shows where analysts try to diagnose callers’ tribulations and offer some kind of guidance. In this case it’s radio host Fran Ambrose (CCH Pounder) who is hosting a show about matricide (was it sweeps week?) which includes an expert named Dr. Leo Richmond (Warren Frost). Dr. Richmond just happens to be Norman’s former analyst (wouldn’t you know?) and (again, wouldn’t you know?) Norman himself just happens to call in to the show, albeit under the pseudonym Ed.

That leads to a series of intermittently compelling flashbacks which detail the childhood of Norman (played by Henry Thomas of E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial fame). Norma Bates (Olivia Hussey) is shown to be a beautiful but troubled woman who obviously has “issues” surrounding sexuality, which she passes off to her progeny with little if any clue as to how they’re warping his developing psyche. There are a couple of riveting moments in these flashback sequences, including an especially troubling one surrounding young Norman’s first experiences with his burgeoning pubescence, and it’s here that Psycho IV tends to find its most resonant impact.

There are other, perhaps more whimsical, moments in Psycho IV that are probably a bit too “cute” with their references to the iconic first film, including a brief shot of blood swirling a drain which (thankfully?) has nothing to do with a brutal attack in a shower. But even moments like this point up the fact that Psycho IV doesn’t quite know how to balance tonal elements. One of the things that Psycho III did rather well was flirt with both comedy and horror, but Psycho IV prefers to offer brief glints of humor interspersed with graphic attack scenes that provide at least shock if not anything deeper.

Anthony Perkins is kind of shunted off to the sidelines for large swaths of the film as the story delves into Norman’s childhood. Unfortunately, Thomas simply comes off as too “cute” to ever manifest much menace as the young and increasingly troubled Norman. Thomas is either blessed or cursed with the very definition of a baby face, and that might have offered a nicely sinister aspect to the character, but he might have needed a firmer directorial hand to really tap into the level of angst and dissociation that is needed to fully portray this iconic character.

Psycho IV: The Beginning Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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.

Psycho IV: The Beginning Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Making of Mother with Tony Gardner (1080p; 27:41) is an appealing interview with the makeup effects artist, and includes some fun behind the scenes footage.


• Behind the Scenes (1080p; 13:15) is culled from older video sources.


• A Look at the Scoring (of) Psycho IV (1080p; 6:12) is a really cool peek at an actual scoring session for the film, also culled from older video sources.


• Photo Gallery (1080p; 6:06)


• Audio Commentary features Director Mick Garris and Actors Olivia Hussey and Henry Thomas.

Psycho IV: The Beginning Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

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.