News

Mick Garris’ Psycho IV: The Beginning Celebrates Its 30th Anniversary

Published

4 years ago

November 5, 2020

The blood that Norman Bates cried out to his mother about has long since dried. Psycho and The Bates Motel have long been at rest. Alfred Hitchcock’s tremendous stark black-and-white nightmare started a franchise that lead to three subsequent films, a shot-for-shot remake, and a television series. But, in careful and recent rediscovery, I’ve found that Mick Garris’ Psycho IV: The Beginning was easily the best of the lot, next to Hitchcock’s perfect original.

Speaking recently in an episode of Post Mortem with Mick Garris, the director answers several questions about Psycho IV. Those questions range from its early production to actually working with Anthony Perkins. The entire episode is to celebrate the film’s 30th anniversary and is worth a listen if you haven’t already.

Psycho IV was always a genuinely terrifying and disturbing ride. But not for the reasons that Hitchcock’s original was.

Psycho

Garris’ direction combined with Joseph Stefano script allowed us to be a fly on the wall during Norman’s childhood and the events that lead to Bates becoming Bates as we know him. The terror smartly doesn’t try to repeat itself resting on previous entries; i doesn’t creep out at you from any of the familiar places. Instead, the terror is delivered via memory. A stained memory that in itself drove Norman mad. It dares you to experience that very memory in its runtime. It dares you to not go mad.

Garris and Stefano do this by sharing a traumatic sexual awakening that Norman has while growing up as an isolated, only-child around his mother. Each scene that features loving mother and lonely son, becomes more and more uncomfortable as the film moves. We ultimately have, strange scenes buried under an shaky unease and misguided love, compounded by Mrs. Bates’ bi-polar nature. The combination makes for a powder-keg of emotions and creeping cringe.

All of Norman’s childhood is shared via a late night radio show exploring young men who have killed their mothers. It’s a smart wraparound. It gives a nice canvas to paint on and at no time does any of it feel like a retread of any of the prior Psycho films. It smartly carves its own trail. Most importantly, it doesn’t show how the sausage is made, sure, we are seeing Norman’s upbringing but Psycho IV never sets out to say “here is why Norman went crazy.” Instead, Garris plays with color and setups to reveal the radius of madness but doesn’t ruin Norman by over explaining or pointing a bloody finger to any sort of explanation overkill.

I also, found it really great to go back and watch a very overlooked Henry Thomas role. Thomas, who plays young Bates, does so with a real vulnerability and a retcon exploration of Anthony Perkins and his approach to Norman Bates. It’s great to have just finished Mike Flanagan’s The Haunting of Bly Manor and to now watch Henry Thomas explore his British Gent of a character and then watch him in his youth as he embodies precocious Bates.

Psycho IV is smart, and worth a revisit and re-exploration. Garris shoots the hell out of this thing and manages to do things with it that I don’t think would have been touched if placed in other hands.

Psycho IV: The Beginning celebrates its 30th anniversary on Nov. 10.

Psycho

Mick Garris confirms cameo in upcoming The Stand remake.

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Editorial

Yay or Nay: What’s Good and Bad in Horror This Week

Published

2 days ago

May 4, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Welcome to Yay or Nay a weekly mini post about what I think is good and bad news in the horror community written in bite-sized chunks.

Yay:

Mike Flanagan talking about directing the next chapter in the Exorcist trilogy. That might mean he saw the last one and realized there were two left and if he does anything well it’s draw out a story.

Yay:

To the announcement of a new IP-based film Mickey Vs Winnie. It’s fun to read comical hot takes from people who haven’t even seen the movie yet.

Nay:

The new Faces of Death reboot gets an R rating. It’s not really fair — Gen-Z should get an unrated version like past generations so they can question their mortality the same as the rest of us did.

Yay:

Russell Crowe is doing another possession movie. He’s quickly becoming another Nic Cage by saying yes to every script, bringing the magic back to B-movies, and more money into VOD.

Nay:

Putting The Crow back in theaters for its 30th anniversary. Re-releasing classic movies at the cinema to celebrate a milestone is perfectly fine, but doing so when the lead actor in that film was killed on set due to neglect is a cash grab of the worst kind.

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Lists

The Top-Searched Free Horror/Action Movies on Tubi This Week

Published

2 days ago

May 3, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The free streaming service Tubi is a great place to scroll when you’re unsure what to watch. They are not sponsored or affiliated with iHorror. Still, we really appreciate their library because it’s so robust and has many obscure horror movies so rare you can’t find them anywhere in the wild except, if you’re lucky, in a moist cardboard box at a yard sale. Other than Tubi, where else are you going to find Nightwish (1990), Spookies (1986), or The Power (1984)?

We take a look at the most searched horror titles on the platform this week, hopefully, to save you some time in your endeavor to find something free to watch on Tubi.

Interestingly at the top of the list is one of the most polarizing sequels ever made, the female-led Ghostbusters reboot from 2016. Perhaps viewers have seen the latest sequel Frozen Empire and are curious about this franchise anomaly. They will be happy to know it’s not as bad as some think and is genuinely funny in spots.

So take a look at the list below and tell us if you are interested in any of them this weekend.

1. Ghostbusters (2016)

Ghostbusters (2016)

An otherworldly invasion of New York City assembles a pair of proton-packed paranormal enthusiasts, a nuclear engineer and a subway worker for battle.An otherworldly invasion of New York City assembles a pair of proton-packed paranormal enthusiasts, a nuclear engineer and a subway worker for battle.

2. Rampage

When a group of animals becomes vicious after a genetic experiment goes awry, a primatologist must find an antidote to avert a global catastrophe.

3. The Conjuring The Devil Made Me Do It

Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren uncover an occult conspiracy as they help a defendant argue that a demon forced him to commit murder.

4. Terrifier 2

After being resurrected by a sinister entity, Art the Clown returns to Miles County, where his next victims, a teenage girl and her brother, await.

5. Don’t Breathe

A group of teens breaks into a blind man’s home, thinking they’ll get away with the perfect crime but get more than they bargained for once inside.

6. The Conjuring 2

In one of their most terrifying paranormal investigations, Lorraine and Ed Warren help a single mother of four in a house plagued by sinister spirits.

7. Child’s Play (1988)

A dying serial killer uses voodoo to transfer his soul into a Chucky doll which winds up in the hands of a boy who may be the doll’s next victim.

8. Jeepers Creepers 2

When their bus breaks down on a deserted road, a team of high school athletes discovers an opponent they cannot defeat and may not survive.

9. Jeepers Creepers

After making a horrific discovery in the basement of an old church, a pair of siblings find themselves the chosen prey of an indestructible force.

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News

Morticia & Wednesday Addams Join Monster High Skullector Series

Published

2 days ago

May 3, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Believe it or not, Mattel’s Monster High doll brand has an immense following with both young and not-so-young collectors.

In that same vein, the fan base for The Addams Family is also very large. Now, the two are collaborating to create a line of collectible dolls that celebrate both worlds and what they have created is a combination of fashion dolls and goth fantasy. Forget Barbie, these ladies know who they are.

The dolls are based on Morticia and Wednesday Addams from the 2019 Addams Family animated movie.

As with any niche collectibles these aren’t cheap they bring with them a $90 price tag, but it’s an investment as a lot of these toys become more valuable over time.

“There goes the neighborhood. Meet the Addams Family’s ghoulishly glamorous mother-daughter duo with a Monster High twist. Inspired by the animated movie and clad in spiderweb lace and skull prints, the Morticia and Wednesday Addams Skullector doll two-pack makes for a gift that’s so macabre, it’s downright pathological.”

If you want to pre-purchase this set check out The Monster High website.