Psycho Makers, Pyscho Santa, Psycho Dolls

Alfred Hitchcock’s studied horror classic Psycho, with its infamous shower scene that became ground zero for splatter movies, was released in 1960 and remains the most commercially successful film of his career. (Fun fact: Hitchcock personally earned in excess of $15 million from Psycho. He then swapped his rights to Psycho and his TV anthology for 150,000 shares of MCA™, making him the third largest shareholder in MCA Inc.™, and his own boss at Universal™.) So inevitably, as Hollywood has always done, if it’s successful, then milk that cow twice as hard for a sequel.

Hence, Psycho II, which came out in 1983, has a bare bones, but intriguing plot: “After 22 years of psychiatric care, Norman Bates attempts to return to a life of solitude, but the specters of his crimes — and his mother — continue to haunt him.” The film grossed $34.7 million at the box office on a budget of $5 million, and received mixed-to-positive reviews from film critics. While The Washington Post and The New York Times wiped their asinine opinions on it, Christopher John, in Ares Magazine (#15), wrote that “The real importance of Psycho II rests in its originality. Refusing to be just a blood-letting free-for-all, the picture goes to great lengths to create an entirely new story”. Now, 40 years later, there’s more to Psycho II that remains to be word barfed.

Screenwriter/director and now author, Tom Holland (Fright Night, Child’s Play, The Langoliers, Thinner) has put together his own recollections of writing and directing Psycho II. From the book’s press release: “Step behind the iconic Bates Motel’s eerie facade and delve into the mesmerizing world of film-making with the fascinating behind-the-scenes story of the making of Psycho II. From conception to release, unearth the untold story of the making of ‘the sequel that should never be made’, with recollections from director Richard Franklin, screenwriter Tom Holland and editor Andrew London. Oh Mother, What Have You Done? unveils the memories of casting, set design, and the evolution of the movie from script to screen.”

So while we all take a stab (heh) at reading Oh Mother, What Have You Done? by clicking this, here are a few out now/upcoming horror/sci-fi movies that may or may not be favorable reviewed by The Washington Post and The New York Times…

MARY CHERRY CHUA / Out now (Philippines), Release pending US (VOD)

“A popular and rich high school student is carnally assaulted and murdered by a deranged school janitor. The next morning, her corpse was found on campus by some shocked fellow students. Karen has an obsession with horror stories and urban legends. She hears about the legend of Mary Cherry Chua and decides she wants to investigate what happened.”

They already told you what happened in the first sentence. Get a life.

SANTA ISN’T REAL / December 8, 2023 (VOD)

“After suffering a brutal attack on Christmas eve, Nikki, a young woman, struggles to convince her friends that the assailant was none other than Ol’ Kris Kringle. When Santa returns to terrorize the group in their remote cabin the next Christmas, Nikki and her friends must overcome disbelief as they fight to stay alive.”

Santa Claus, or “Kris Kringle” (that sounds like a heavily-salted snack treat), has been a criminal for thousands of years. Let’s start with home invasion and go from there.

YU YU HAKUSHO / December 14, 2023 (Netflix™)

Yusuke Urameshi, who spends his days getting into fights, dies in an accident while trying to protect a young child. As he grapples with the fact that he is looking down on his dead body, a woman named Botan who calls herself a guide to the spirit world relays to him the shocking truth: no one expected a delinquent like Yusuke to die performing an act of goodness, and there was no place for him in either Heaven or Hell. Thus, Yusuke is given a chance to be revived, and after passing his trial, he becomes an Underworld Detective. From there, Yusuke becomes entwined in a mystery that envelopes the human, demon and spirit worlds.”

I liked this better when it was called Constantine (2005).

BARBENHEIMER / Release pending 2024 (Amazon Prime Video™, FullMoonFeatures.com™)

“Dr. Bambi J Barbenheimer, is a brilliant scientist doll living in Dolltopia, a world of endless summers and beach parties, and her boyfriend Twink Dollman. Dr. Barbenheimer, incensed by the brutal treatment the dolls receive at the hands of human children, ventures into the real world, where she experiences humanity at its worst and, naturally, decides to build a giant nuclear bomb to take it all out. They got great looks and a super attitude! Oh, and now they’ve got the bomb.”

Building a giant nuclear bomb to take out the human world. I think they’re onto something.