On June 16, Psycho, a film by Alfred Hitchcock, turned 60. So let’s take a look at the film that gave rise to a distinct and enjoyable horror franchise. In order to properly appreciate Hitchcock’s Psycho, we’re going back and re-watching each film in the series to assess how they hold up over time. So let’s order all Psycho movies from greatest to worst, per Collider.
1. Psycho II (1983)
Director- Richard Franklin
22 years have passed. Norman Bates is also returning home. Norman Bates is discharged from a mental facility against the objections of Lila Loomis, Marion Crane’s sister, after being found to be “legally sane” in a court of law. When Norman gets back to his house and the nearby motel, they become friends. Mary works as a waitress at a neighbourhood cafe. The murders near the Bates Motel’s location happen while he tries to return to normal.
2. Psycho III (1986)
Director- Anthony Perkins
The dressed skeleton of the murderer from Psycho II is still kept by Norman Bates, who still manages the Bates Motel by himself. He meets three new people who check into the motel. Tracy Venable, a nosy reporter, Maureen, a gorgeous young woman who recently left the convent, and Duke, a guitarist in need of money. Tracy Venable is writing a piece on serial killers being let back on the streets. Someone posing as Mother starts murdering guests at the motel one by one while Norman and Maureen start dating.
3. Psycho (1960)
Director- Alfred Hitchcock
Marion Crane, an administrative assistant in Phoenix, is tired of the way life has treated her. They must meet during lunch breaks because Sam must pay the majority of his wealth in alimony, preventing them from getting married. Marion’s boss gives her permission to deposit $40,000 one Friday. Marion leaves town and makes her way to Sam’s store in California after realising she can take the money and start a new life. She exits the main highway and enters the Bates Motel after a long, exhausting drive while being caught in a storm. A quiet young guy named Norman runs the motel, and it seems as though his mother has a lot of control over him.
4. Psycho (1998)
Director- Gus Van Sant
Marion steals a significant amount from her job in order to leave town and start over with her broke boyfriend. She eventually checks into a secluded motel. She receives service from the incredibly uncomfortable yet submissive Norman Bates there, who she frequently overhears battling with his controlling mother. Later that evening, though, Marion is brutally murdered, and Norman discovers and conceals the body. In their investigation into the motel, a detective and Marion’s sister learn startling information.
5. Psycho IV: The Beginning (TV Movie, 1999)
Director- Mick Garris
Norman Bates comes in to tell a radio DJ about his life after being released from a mental facility once more. The jealous rage that led to his mother’s murder comes back to Norman as a young kid living with his psychotic mother. As of right now, Norman and his wife Connie are expecting a child. He worries that if his child has dual personalities, “Mother” may reappear and start killing once more.
6. Bates Motel (TV Movie, 1987)
Director- Richard Rothstein
At the state mental hospital, Alex West and Norman Bates shared a room for over 20 years. After Bates passes away, Alex discovers that he is name in Norman’s will as the inheritor of the Bates Motel, which has been empty since since Norman’s incarceration. In Fairville, California, Alex strives to reopen the motel for business with a little assistance from Willie, a young runaway, only to experience odd occurrences.
