Psycho IV: The Beginning
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| Psycho IV: The Beginning | |
 VHS cover art for Psycho IV: The Beginning |
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| Directed by | Mick Garris |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Hilton A. Green Les Mayfield George Zaloom |
| Written by | Joseph Stefano |
| Starring | Henry Thomas Olivia Hussey CCH Pounder Bobbi Evors and Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates |
| Music by | Graeme Revell Bernard Herrmann |
| Cinematography | Rodney Charters |
| Editing by | Charles Bornstein |
| Distributed by | Universal Television |
| Release date(s) | November 10, 1990 |
| Running time | 96 min. |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Preceded by | Psycho III |
| Followed by | Remake |
Psycho IV: The Beginning is a 1990 made-for-television prequel to Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film Psycho which was broadcast on the Showtime cable network on November 10, 1990. The film stars Anthony Perkins, Henry Thomas, Olivia Hussey and CCH Pounder.
The film was written by Joseph Stefano, who also wrote the screenplay of the original film. The original musical score was composed by Graeme Revell. The film is a Showtime Original Movie.
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[edit] Plot summary
Fran Ambrose is a radio talk show host who is talking on the topic of "matricide", when children kill there mothers with guest Dr Richmond, who was Norman Bates' former psychologist. The radio recieves a call from Norman Bates, who has been re-entered into society and married another of his former psychiatrists, Connie. Under the alias of "Ed", Norman tells his story with the audience been told it in flashbacks. Some flashbacks are slightly out of order. The chronological story is: Norman's mother, Norma had schicoprehnzia(see Psycho II )and was smothering towards Norman, she would have violent mood swings, due to Norman's sexual repression at the hands of her, when she was frolicing with him, he had an incestous erection, causing her to dress him in woman's clothing and taunt him by calling him "Norman". She then married a man named Chet Rudolph who would beat up Norman. Eventually Norman got fed up with her allowance of Chet to be in there lives and poisoned them both reluctantly. He then developed his infamous Multiple Personality Disorder and stole her corpse to create the illusion that she was alive and whenever her corpse spoke to him, the "Norma" personality would take over. This caused Norman as "Norma" to kill two woman who wanted to have sex with him. Throughout the spaces in the flashbacks, Dr Richmond realizes "Ed" is Norman and tries to convince Fran to trace the calls, Richmond is dismissed because they cannot trace and they believe they can talk Norman out of the reason he called, he fears he will kill again. He tells Fran it is because Connie got pregnant against his wishes and that he does not want another "monster". He then tells Fran he does believe his mother is dead, but will kill Connie "with my own hands, just like the first time". He then takes Connie to his mother's house and attempts to stab Connie, but due to her ensurement that there child will not be a monster. Norman drops his knife in shame and Connie forgives him. He then burns the house where all his unhappiness is reminded. As he tries to escape the flames, he hallucinates his victems, Chet, his mother and eventually himself preserving her corpse. He and Connie leave the scene with Norman stating, "I'm free".
[edit] Taglines
Tagline 1: You've meet Norman. Now meet Mother Tagline 2: Everything has a beginning. Even a psychopath Tagline 3: Like mother. Like son. Anthony Perkins is Norman Bates
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Anthony Perkins | Norman Bates |
| Henry Thomas | Young Norman Bates |
| Olivia Hussey | Norma Bates |
| CCH Pounder | Fran Ambrose |
| Warren Frost | Dr. Leo Richmond |
| Donna Mitchell | Connie Bates |
| Thomas Schuster | Chet Rudolph |
| Sharen Camille | Holly |
| Bobbi Evors | Gloria |
| John Landis | Mike Calvecchio |
[edit] Production
Psycho IV: The Beginning was filmed in June 1990 at Universal Studios Florida in Orlando, Florida. The facade of the Bates Motel and the Bates mansion were re-created at the theme park. After filming, the Bates Motel facade was utilized for a haunted maze during 1993's Halloween Horror Nights titled "The Psycho Path Maze". The sets were demolished in 1998 for the construction of the "Curious George Goes to Town" Playground and Woody Woodpecker's Nuthouse Coaster.
[edit] DVD releases
Psycho IV: The Beginning was released on DVD in Region 1 as part of a triple feature package with Psycho II and Psycho III on August 14, 2007 by Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Universal has also released several four-title Region 2 packages that include the 1960 original (e.g., a 2003 U.K. release and a 2007 German set). A single-disc Region 2 version of Psycho IV (titled Psychose: L'origine) was relased in France in 2007 by Aventi Distribution.
[edit] Soundtrack
There are two unreleased soundtracks of Psycho IV.
[edit] CD Promo
This 47 track promo is all of the music from the prequel. It featured Graeme Revells score and remixed versions of Bernard Herrmann's. This was an official disc, but since it only aired on cable, the CD was never released.
[edit] LaserDisc Promo
The other unreleased soundtrack on Laserdisc was again promo and unreleased. This and the CD of the film are rare.
[edit] See also
- Psycho (1960 film), directed by Alfred Hitchcock
- Psycho (1998 film), a remake directed by Gus Van Sant
- Psycho II (film), a 1983 sequel to the first film (unrelated to the novel Psycho II)
- Psycho III, a 1986 sequel to the first film
- Bates Motel, 1987 television movie
[edit] External links
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Psycho IV: The Beginning |
- Psycho IV: The Beginning at the Internet Movie Database
- Psycho IV: The Beginning at Allmovie
- Psycho IV: The Beginning at Allmovie
- Psycho IV: The Beginning at Rotten Tomatoes
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