THE PSYCHO LEGACY

THE PSYCHO LEGACY Written, produced and directed by Victor Galluzo.

This is a fair-to-middling rather superficial documentary focusing on Psycho, its three sequels [the last of which was made-for-cable], and the amazing influence of Hitchcock's masterpiece. There are file interviews with the late Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh, but most of the actors interviewed appeared in Psycho 2 and the later films and not in the original. Now it's one thing to interview Robert Loggia, Olivia Hussey, Henry Thomas, Tom Holland, etc. but quite another to include quotes from individuals whose sole connection to Psycho is that they have horror oriented web sites or directed some direct-to-video slasher features! One silly guy in a backwards baseball cap, who is presumably a friend of the documentary's producer, remarks how Norman Bates [in the later films] attracts women half his age and he therefore sometimes wishes he was Norman -- yeah, right. [This kind of nonsense only cheapens the whole tone of the project.] Also too much is made of this business about how people feel "sorry" for Norman. An unintentionally comical moment occurs when Tom Holland, who wrote the screenplay for Psycho 2, says "I thought it was a terrific script!" Nothing like blowing your own horn! Mick Garris, who directed Psycho:The Beginning, probably comes off best.

Verdict: Okay overview, but Hitch deserves better. **.