9 Films That Completely Ignored Their Source (And Sucked Because Of It)

6. Psycho II Had An Exciting Source Then Became A Traditional Slasher

Psycho II certainly isn't as godawful as the name suggests. Never shaking its cash-in tag to stand as a justified movie, it's still a lot more creative than other gore-filled sequels of the day (and that includes its own follow-ups). But while that's pretty amiable given how most horror classics get treated in their later years, it could have been much better. Ridiculing the slasher films Hitchcock's classic had accidentally heralded, Robert Bloch's sequel to his original novel had Norman Bates escape and attempt to stop a cynical movie version of his life. That concept was clearly cutting too close to home for Halloween distributor Universal €“ who owned the film rights to Norman Bates €“ leading to the film version opting for the much safer, reformed Bates. The first Psycho squared up to an industry, challenging idiotic rules (no flushing toilets) and pushing the limits of censorship (the shower scene is suggestive to the point censors thought they saw actual nudity), so for a second to cast an eye on the genre it spawned would have meta-ly fantastic.