Forget Halloween H20: Psycho II is the First True Legacy Sequel

For better or worse, we are living in the era of the so-called Legacy sequel, or, as some have called it, the “re-quel.” A legacy sequel is when iconic stars reprise their most iconic roles years—maybe even decades—after audiences last saw them in those parts. Probably the biggest legacy sequel of all time is Top Gun: Maverick, where Tom Cruise reprised his role thirty-six years after the original, to the tune of $1.5 billion worldwide.

Yet, the genre legacy sequels have been the most popular in is definitely the horror genre. There was David Gordon Green’s Halloween trilogy, which brought back Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode, to initially boffo box office (although the third film proved to be controversial among fans). Then there was Scream 5, which was another smash and initially was more of a “re-quel” in that it served as both a legacy sequel and a soft reboot for the series, paving the way for Scream 6, only for Scream 7, which is coming out next year, to go the full legacy sequel route. And there there was The Exorcist: Believer, the recent I Know What You Did Last Summer redux, and so on.

But, where did legacy sequels actually start? Many would point to Halloween H20 as the first real legacy sequel, with it a direct sequel to 1978’s Halloween, with Curtin reprising Laurie Strode seventeen years after last playing the role in Halloween II. Some have also pointed to Wes Craven’s New Nightmare as an early legacy sequel, although it’s more of a meta examination of the series (which was very ahead of its time and worth checking out in 4K in the new Nightmare on Elm Street box set). 

In my opinion though, Legacy sequels go back way further – and for my money the first true legacy sequel was Psycho II. Released in 1983, Psycho II featured Anthony Perkins reprising his role as Norman Bates twenty-three years after Alfred Hitchcock’s original. The general consensus at the time was that Universal, the studio that made Psycho II, was nuts for trying to make a sequel to Hitchcock’s classic, as who could ever measure up to the “Master of Suspense.” Yet, Psycho II, against all odds, got pretty good reviews and was a big enough hit that three years later, Perkins himself directed Psycho III, which went all in on the eighties horror vibe, being an ultra-violent slasher.

Psycho II is a bit classier, with it striking a nice balance between Hitch’s original and the more carnage-focused eighties. It was directed by a stunningly underrated Australian director named Richard Franklin, who made one of the best thrillers of the eighties – Road Games – which was like Rear Window with trucks. Psycho II is a true legacy sequel, with not only Perkins returning, but also Vera Miles as Lila Crane, who is obsessed with avenging the death of her sister, Marion, who was infamously killed in the shower by Norman (channelling his mother) in the original.

What’s so great about Psycho II is how sympathetic Bates is. In the movie, Norman has been released from the mental hospital he was committed to in the original, and is trying hard to start his life over. People can’t forgive or forget his actions, with Lila sending her daughter, Meg Tilly’s Mary, undercover to infiltrate Norman’s world and drive him insane again. However, Mary (and the audience) eventually warms to Norman, and when murders happen again, you don’t want Norman to be the killer. Perkins gives the role major pathos and deepens his iconic role, although sadly the sequels seem to have been more or less lost to time as nowadays they are dismissed as rip-offs. They shouldn’t be, as Psycho II is a terrific film.

And what’s extra interesting about it is how it totally predicted the wave of legacy sequels we’d get many years later. Now, it should be noted that public opinion towards them has changed over the years. In ’83, it was considered somewhat sad that Perkins reprised the part, as he’d been shackled by typecasting in the years since the original. Nowadays, legacy sequels are championed, and are often considered a kind of crowning glory for an actor later in their career to reprise their classic roles. While not all of them work out (I know a lot of folks wish Mark Hamill’s Luke had been given a better send off in The Last Jedi), people still flock to see them. But, Psycho II’s place in the pantheon shouldn’t be ignored. 

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