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Surgeons of Horror

~ Dissecting horror films

Surgeons of Horror

Tag Archives: richard franklin

Retrospective: Psycho II (1983)

03 Saturday Jun 2023

Posted by surgeons of horror in retrospective

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

anthony perkins, bates, dennis franz, Meg Tilly, norman bates, oz perkins, psycho, psycho 2, richard franklin, robert loggia, tom holland, vera miles

Where unrest lies around remakes and sequels, there also comes the age-old response of untouched gold concerning “classic’ features that come into effect. Among them is undoubtedly Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, based on Robert Bloch’s novel.  The feature is so embedded in masterly terrain that the very notion of going near such material would be scorned upon, even Gus Van Sant’s controversial shot-for-shot remake was lambasted for daring to go into the material. So, when Bloch himself ventured with a novelised sequel back in 1982, that lambasted slasher films, Hollywood decided to strike back and carve out their own Norman Bates return some 22 years after its predecessor was released. 

Psycho II would even struggle at first to entice its star Anthony Perkins to reprise the infamous role, but upon reading the script by Tom Holland, he agreed to do so. Holland himself had only been tied to screenwriting duties and would cameo as Deputy Norris here. It would only be another 3 years before Holland would capture horror enthusiasts further with his directorial role for Fright Night. 

Helming the directorial duties for Psycho II would be Hitchcock student and heavily influenced by the auteur, Richard Franklin, who had already made Patrick and Roadgames using similar styles and techniques that the Master of Suspense came synonymous for. It would seem then that Franklin was the perfect choice to steer the ship and blend this continuation for the Norman Bates storyline.

Part of the appeal for this narrative would be the magnificent Vera Miles also returning for her role of Lila Loomis, although the treatment of her character arc is brought to contention which sees her on a malicious vendetta to put Bates behind bars again. Whilst you can understand her views, it is her gruesome demise that gets fans fuming a little. Personally, I like this journey and the subject of nature vs nurture that is brought to the helm. Can a man really change or is he doomed to repeat himself when constantly subjected to forced opinions and spectacle?

Throw in the mix, some great supporting roles in Meg Tilly as Mary Loomis (slightly biased opinion on my count as I adored her when I was younger… and still do), Robert Loggia as Dr. Bill Raymond to cast the psychological scrutiny, and Dennis Franz as the drunk motel caretaker.

Eagle-eyed viewers will also note Perkins’ son, Oz (now a notable film director – The Blackcoat’s Daughter, I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives in the House, Gretel and Hansel) as a young Norman Bates too.

The question remains though, is Psycho II a worthy sequel?

Well let’s look at Surgeons of Horror’s own six step criteria to place the feature under the microscope.

1, Identify the ideas, themes & executional elements that make the first film great.  Or at least good.  Or at least worthy of being sequelised.

The original movie was the epitome of suspense, filled with certain twists and turns in storytelling technique. It also posed an intriguing antagonist in serial killer Norman Bates and his alter ego “Mother”, that would lead some to ponder what happened to him and did he remain in the confines of a psychiatric ward?

2. Pay homage and do not violate/ignore said ideas and themes and elements.

It helps to have a visionary such as Franklin at the helm to carry out the look and feel of the original Bringing back Perkins and Miles to resurrect their character also lends weight to carry the torch, but with the worthy depth to character also forces the direction into a different stance in order to establish the narrative. There is also a lot of set design and props taken from the original that features here to recapture the look and feel.

3. Introduce new/expanded themes, ideas and elements that will NATURALLY ALIGN to your first ideas, themes & elements.  (Ie: Don’t use your second movie to discredit & contradict your first).

Set 20 years later lays the grounds for further expansion by placing Bates in the position of rehabilitation. The subject matter of can a person be truly reformed when they were fundamentally unhinged is ripe to explore and Perkins does a magnificent job of placing Bates with the usual “innocent’ wonder combined with a slow descent into madness. Introducing a second generation of Loomis also explores shared trauma but under a new, more sympathetic outlook that contrasts her mother’s. Both Mary and Norman have a similarity in dominant mother’s and try to shirk their control to their own detriment. By placing the psyche under scrutiny, and twisting the perspectives of all throughout, the audience is kept guessing as to which way the knife will turn. In this respect it more than ticks the fourth rule.

4. To underline point 3 – DO NOT rehash the first film and just give people “more of the same”.

5. DO NOT-NOT rehash the first film by giving more of the same…. BUT “BIGGER”.

To support this choice of direction, the slow unravel of psychosis on our central characters and in doing so, grounding the narrative, the larger than life component that some sequels suffer under, is thankfully absent here.

And finally…

6. Be a good enough stand-alone film by itself.

Can this film truly stand alone without the impact of the first? In short, no, not without the same kind of delivery. The film does carry a narrative that is strong enough, and with the flashback placed in the prologue, enough is provided for an audience member to come in cold and still value the film by its own worth,

While it’s clear that one can’t merely replicate the quality and vision of a classic, the team behind Psycho II give a damn good crack at pushing into new terrain without scarring the original vision too greatly. For me, the film is a decent attempt at exploring Bates’ character and I am grateful that Perkins was given a fairly tight storyline and subject matter to expand and explore this character in more detail. Some forty years have passed now since its release, and looking back it’s well worth a revisit.

  • Saul Muerte

Retrospective: Patrick (1978)

05 Thursday Aug 2021

Posted by surgeons of horror in retrospective

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Aussie horror, everett de roche, ozploitation, richard franklin, robert helpmann, susan penhaligon, umbrella entertainment

Patrick, which was released back in 1978 sits firmly in the centre of the Ozploitation scene, a genre of Australian exploitation films that are filled with a mix of low-budget horror, comedy, sexploitation and action that wears its heart  on its sleeve.

Directed by Richard Franklin under the penmanship of Everett De Roche (Long Weekend), Patrick could easily be dismissed as farcical but it’s precisely the absurd nature of the storyline that is its appeal.

The film opens with the titular Patrick (Robert Thompson – an actor who should be applauded for his ability to keep his eyes open for an elongated period of time) kills his parents in an oedipal act, throwing an electric heater into a bathtub. 

Somehow Patrick ends up in a coma, something that is never fully explained, but is arguably irrelevant when it comes to the telling of the tale and to get said subject into the setting of choice, the Roget Clinic in Melbourne with all the hallmarks of the Bates house in Psycho. This is of no surprise as Franklin is a self-confessed fan of Hitchcock and would go onto direct Roadgames for his follow up feature, a film heavily inspired by the premise of Rear Window.

Surgeons of Horror podcast: Roadgames (1981)

Franklin would even go to direct the sequel to Psycho in 1983.

We follow the film through eyes of nurse Kathie Jacquard (Susan Penhaligon) who is appointed at the hospital to look after Patrick and soon encounters that there more to her patient than meets the eye and that in spite of being physically bound to his bed, has learnt to explore other sensory means through the power of psychokinesis. Her infatuation with this discovery fuels Patrick’s own lustful desires towards Kathie and thus throws those nearest to her into his wrathful rage.

There are some notable support performances on show here that warrant recognition, namely the larger than life Robert Helpmann who plays Dr. Roget and hams up his role, injecting some much-needed melodrama into the mix and moulding the tone of the film despite Franklin’s efforts to tone it down. Equally Julia Blake’s  Matron character is suitably insipid, casting a wonderfully dark light across the spectrum of the hospital; and Rod Mullinar who plays Kathie’s wayward husband in contrast to Bruce Barry’s egocentric and potential love interest Dr. Brian.

Perhaps one of the greatest things about this movie is Franklin’s depiction of male empowerment at the heart of the film. With Kathie seemingly trying to break down this impregnable barrier in her life, from her adulterous husband, the cocksure Dr. Brian, to the deranged Dr. Roget..Even Patrick himself who is incompacitated throughout the bulk of the film is trying to exert his will over Kathie, who must ultimately rise above this all.

Upon its release in Australia, Patrick did not receive the praise that it deserves but instead saw greater success abroad, but controversially was heavily dubbed Stateside, in spite of Franklin deliberately casting English actors to gain greater appeal abroad. The irony being that this very move is partly what isolated its homegrown audience.

Since then however it has reached a cult following and even gained a fan from acclaimed American director Quentin Tarantino.

For me, I went in expecting a certain kind of film, which it is, but was happily rewarded by the sheer enjoyment and direction. 

It would go on to inspire a sequel in Italy called Patrick Still Lives and then more recently in 2013 a remake would transpire, the latter of which would star Charles Dance and Sharni Vinson (You’re Next) and serves as a double feature alongside the original in a current release by Umbrella Entertainment.

  • Saul Muerte

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