''The Psycho Legacy'' is a 2010 American

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strat ...

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

that examines the history of the '' Psycho'' film franchise and the continuing legacy of the original '' Psycho''. It also pays a tribute to actor Anthony Perkins for his portrayal of character

Norman Bates Norman Bates is a fictional character created by American author Robert Bloch as the main protagonist in his 1959 horror novel '' Psycho''. He has an alter, Mother, who takes the form of his abusive mother, and later victim, Norma, who in hi ...

. It is written and directed by Robert Galluzzo. It includes interviews with the cast and crew who were involved in the productions of '' Psycho'', '' Psycho II'', '' Psycho III'' and '' Psycho IV: The Beginning''. It also features interviews with current horror filmmakers who are fans of the ''Psycho'' series. The documentary was in production for three years and was released on DVD on October 19, 2010, in the United States and Canada.

Cast

Development

The documentary was originally developed in late 2006. Robert Galluzzo said that he got the idea for the documentary when the '' Psycho II'' and '' Psycho III'' DVDs were re-released back in 2005. He was disappointed that the DVDs contained no special features and that there was little existent information about the ''Psycho'' sequels and decided to make the documentary. Galluzzo originally went to

Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...

with the idea of the studio financing the documentary and releasing it in a box set along with '' Psycho'', '' Psycho II'', '' Psycho III'' and '' Psycho IV: The Beginning'', but Universal wasn't interested in these ideas. John Murdy, the creative director of Universal's Halloween Horror Nights, did allow Galluzzo to shoot an interview at the Bates Motel and Psycho house sets on the backlot. Pictures and footage from all the films had to be licensed from Universal, which accounted for the majority of the documentary's budget.

Production

Filming began in January 2007. Galluzzo shot interviews with ''Psycho'' cast and crew members over the next three years. Galluzzo personally financed the production as he described it as a "labour of love project". Different types of digital video cameras were used to film the interviews over the three-year-long production, thus giving the documentary an

aspect ratio The aspect ratio of a geometry, geometric shape is the ratio of its sizes in different dimensions. For example, the aspect ratio of a rectangle is the ratio of its longer side to its shorter side—the ratio of width to height, when the rectangl ...

of both fullscreen and widescreen. Galluzzo and editor Jon Maus used school equipment to edit the footage together first into a 12-minute promotional video and then the full documentary. Galluzzo stated in an interview with Retro Slashers.com: "The shoot itself was just my dear friend John Torrani, who had a Panasonic DVX-100 camera and myself. He was crazy enough to follow me on this journey and for that, I'm eternally grateful to him! Essentially, I made a ton of phone calls, sent out a ton of emails and did my best to contact as many '' Psycho'' alumni as possible to arrange interviews. Most of them are based out of California, so I'd work at my dayjob for 3 months straight, then take 2 weeks off to go shoot some interviews. And then come back and do it all over again. That's the main reason it's taken so long is because I had to go back to work and save up the money to continue shooting. This was always a labor of love, so I did anything I could to make it work and get just a tiny bit further along".

Promotion

In April 2008, at the Fangoria horror convention, a ''Psycho'' reunion panel was held to promote the documentary. Many cast members attended, including Hilton A. Green, Mick Garris, Tom Holland, Kurt Paul, Juliette Cummins, Katt Shea, Cynthia Garris, Chris Hendrie and more. It was also promoted at

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...

in 2010

Release

The documentary premiered at the 2010 Screamfest Horror Film Festival on October 16, 2010, followed by a Q&A with Mick Garris, Cynthia Garris and Katt Shea. The documentary was released on DVD in the U.S. by

Shout! Factory Shout! Factory, LLC, doing business as Shout! Studios (formerly doing business as Shout! Factory, its current legal name), is an American home video and music distributor founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases, issued i ...

on October 19. Special features include a rare 41 minute panel discussion with Anthony Perkins, extended interviews, deleted scenes and multiple featurettes. The documentary was released on DVD and Blu-ray in France on October 18, 2011, and on Blu-ray in Germany on February 14, 2012.

Critical reception

Staci Layne Wilson of Horror.com wrote: "Overall, I think this doc is a great way for Shout! Factory and Masi Media LLC to help us all celebrate the 50th birthday of Alfred Hitchcock's beloved ''Psycho''". Mike Gencarelli of Movie Mikes wrote: "If you add the amazing feature film to these special features you have the ultimate collection for all ''Psycho'' fans". Jason Allentoff of The Psycho Movies.com wrote: "RobG's look at this film series is incredible. It's a shame Universal hasn't taken notice". Matt Fini of Dread Central.com wrote: "As far as ''Psycho'' is now concerned, we've thankfully got this documentary so that we won't forget". Tyler Foster of DVD Talk.com wrote: "There are things to like, about both the feature and the extras, but I can only recommend a rental – spend your money on the new Blu-ray Disc of ''Psycho'' instead". William David Lee of DVD Town.com wrote: "The retrospective may not be as in-depth as some would like, there is enough to sate the appetites of the most die-hard ''Psycho'' followers". Horror Talk.com claims "director Galluzzo does his best with a lot of fine material and keeps things moving at a decent clip, but repeat viewings will reveal the limitations that keep this from being the ultimate experience that it should be". Joe Shearer of Film Yap.com wrote: "If you're a fan of the ''Psycho'' franchise, I'd wholeheartedly recommend this DVD. If you're a classicist looking for insights on Hitchcock, I'd say you might come away from this disappointed". Some critics noted the fact that the

Robert Bloch Robert Albert Bloch (; April 5, 1917September 23, 1994) was an American fiction writer, primarily of crime fiction, crime, psychological horror fiction, horror and Fantasy Fiction, fantasy, much of which has been dramatized for radio, cinema and ...

novels were barely discussed in the documentary, and that both the failed TV pilot '' Bates Motel'' and the 1998 film remake were not mentioned, although segments covering the latter were initially slated for inclusion in the bonus features. Some critics also criticized the low-budget production values of the film, citing issues with the sound and

of the documentary. The documentary received a 7.0 out of 10 rating from

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Psycho Legacy, The 2010 documentary films 2010 direct-to-video films 2010 films American documentary films American independent films American direct-to-video films Psycho (franchise) Films shot in Los Angeles Films shot in New York City Documentary films about films Direct-to-video documentary films Documentary films about Alfred Hitchcock Documentary films about horror 2010 independent films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films English-language independent films