Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990)

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General		Extras
Category	Horror	None
Rating
Year Of Production	1990
Running Time	92:11
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Language Select Then Menu
Region Coding	2,4,5	Directed By	Mick Garris
Studio Distributor	Universal Pictures Home Video	Starring	Anthony Perkins Henry Thomas Olivia Hussey CCH Pounder Warren Frost Donna Mitchell Thomas Schuster Sharen Camille Bobbi Evors John Landis Kurt Paul Louis Crume Cynthia Garris
Case	?
RPI	Box	Music	Graeme Revell

    To be honest I never knew that there was a Psycho IV: The Beginning until it arrived on my doorstep to be reviewed. This made-for-television movie attempts to breathe new life into the redundant franchise by providing a prequel.

    "A boy's best friend is his mother".

    It seems that no matter how many people Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) kills, the authorities are determined to keep him out on the streets. In Psycho IV, Norman is once again out on parole, but this time he is married, and expecting his first child.

    While cooking dinner, Norman is listening to a radio talk show on matricide (killing one's mother), and decides to phone in and participate. Being interviewed by the show's host (CCH Pounder), provides the weak structure for the plot, as Norman delves back in time and tells of the events that led up to Psycho.

    What we get is a collection of flash-backs of Norman at various ages (usually played by Henry Thomas), that explain the sexual confusion and frustration caused by his strange mother (Olivia Hussey).

    Written by the original Psycho screen-writer, Joseph Stephano, the story ignores the awful television series Bates Motel and also contradicts information presented in the other three Psycho movies. Overall, it remains a sad ending to both the Psycho franchise and to Perkins' career, as Perkins sadly died from an AIDS-related illness two years later.

    While Perkins did appear in other films, it will be as Norman Bates that he will always be fondly remembered.

Video

    The transfer is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1, full-frame.

    The sharpness is acceptable, but the shadow detail is poor, for example, consider the lack of detail in the room at 15:14. The colour often appears a little dark or yellowish.

    There are no problems with MPEG artefacts, but film-to-video artefacts appear as a slight shimmer on objects throughout. Small film artefacts also appear throughout, and there is some edge enhancement at times.

    There are sixteen sets of subtitles present, and the English ones are simplified but accurate. This is a single-layered disc.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There are five audio options on this DVD: English Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s), French Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s), German Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s), Italian Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s), and Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s).

    The dialogue quality and audio sync are acceptable.

    The original musical score is credited to Graeme Revell, but the film relies heavily on Bernard Herrmann's classic work for Psycho.

    Of all the Psycho movies, this one has the best sound quality. The surround mix is reasonable, and both the score and effects are piped through the rears. Indeed, the score often features prominently in the rears, such as at 85:32. There is also a reasonable LFE track which can be noticed in places such as during the fireworks at 8:04.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    There are no extras.

Menu

    A very simple menu, it is static and silent.

    While Psycho IV has been released on VHS in Region 1, I can find no reliable information about a Region 1 DVD release. I will update this section when/if more news comes to hand.

    .Psycho IV: The Beginning is really the end; and it is a sad and undignified end. This is a boring and tedious made-for-television movie, with an amateur plot. When watching it, even the actors seem to realise that the parade has already passed, and all that's left are faded streamers and garbage in the gutters.

    The video quality is acceptable.

    The audio quality is reasonable.

    There are no extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall