CURTAINS/PSYCHO II - 1983 DOUBLE FEATURE!!!

PSYCHO II (1983) d. Richard Franklin (USA)
CURTAINS (1983) d. Richard Ciupka/Peter Simpson (Canada)

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Tonight we're jetting back to 1983 to discuss a couple of undersung gems from the heyday of the slasher boom, one a belated sequel to a groundbreaking masterpiece, the other a curious Canadian feature made all the more appealing by its troubled production, release, and subsequent obscurity.

PATRICK (1978) Blu-ray Review

Patrick (1978) d. Richard Franklin (Australia)

Freshly separated from her husband, Kathy Jacquard (Susan Penhaligon) re-enters the workforce as a nurse at a hospital catering to an exclusive clientele of severely disturbed and/or disabled patients. Almost immediately, she forms an attachment to the comatose Patrick (Robert Thompson), all blonde curly hair and blank unblinking stare, and he to her, communicating initially through sharp exhalations, but eventually revealing his true inner gifts. Seems our titular deadpan bedpan is a psychokinetic, with the power to tap out messages on typewriters, trash people’s rooms, possess minds, and who knows what else. And it turns out that he’s the jealous type....

PSYCHO II (1983) Blu-ray Review

 
Psycho II (1983) d. Franklin, Richard (USA)

Being a dead-icated young pup, I dutifully read Robert Bloch’s 1982 literary follow-up to Psycho before seeing its celluloid counterpart on cable during its HBO run, even going so far as to ask the local bookmarm to conjure it via interlibrary loan. I found it satisfying enough, including its key twist of leaving Norman Bates by the wayside early in the narrative. However, with Anthony Perkins returning to the role that had loomed large over his career for the past two decades, it was even money that screenwriter Tom Holland would not be following Bloch’s game plan – even as a lad I knew that Hollywood couldn’t squander an opportunity like that for the sake of a clever plot twist. (Then again, Hitchcock had done something mighty similar 22 years earlier, to memorable success, so who knew...?)