After Psycho II and III played with the mythology a bit, the original film's screenwriter, Joseph Stefano, threw both of those out and started from scratch. In his vision, Norman Bates has only recently been released from the asylum where he was sent after the events of the original Psycho and he's gotten married to a nurse.
One night, he calls into a radio show about men who murder their mothers and gives them his entire backstory about how life with his mother was pre-Psycho and what drove him to murder...and what might drive him to murder again.
Anthony Perkins gets to reprise his role as Norman Bates one last time and he's as great as ever. The flashbacks feature Henry Thomas from E.T. as Norman and Olivia Hussey as Norma, his abusive mother. Hussey is an odd choice for this role - a woman we've usually thought of as being old and confined to a chair, but she puts her own stamp on her and makes her a real, living and breathing woman with her own issues. Thomas is also wonderful channeling Perkins as Norman and gives him just the right amount of awkwardness.
One night, he calls into a radio show about men who murder their mothers and gives them his entire backstory about how life with his mother was pre-Psycho and what drove him to murder...and what might drive him to murder again.
Anthony Perkins gets to reprise his role as Norman Bates one last time and he's as great as ever. The flashbacks feature Henry Thomas from E.T. as Norman and Olivia Hussey as Norma, his abusive mother. Hussey is an odd choice for this role - a woman we've usually thought of as being old and confined to a chair, but she puts her own stamp on her and makes her a real, living and breathing woman with her own issues. Thomas is also wonderful channeling Perkins as Norman and gives him just the right amount of awkwardness.