Psycho (franchise)

Psycho
Main title logos of Psycho (1960), Psycho II (1983), Psycho III (1986) and Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990).
Directed by	Alfred Hitchcock Richard Franklin Anthony Perkins Richard Rothstein Mick Garris Gus Van Sant Robert V. Galluzzo
Produced by	Alfred Hitchcock Bernard Schwartz Hilton A. Green George Linder Ken Topolsky Les Mayfield George Zaloom Gus Van Sant Brian Grazer Tom Thayer Allan Barnette Stephen Rebello Robert V. Galluzzo
Starring	Anthony Perkins Bud Cort Janet Leigh Vera Miles
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures Universal Pictures Media Rights Capital
Release date	1960−1990
Running time	607 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Psycho is an American horror franchise consisting of six films loosely based on the Psycho novels by Robert Bloch, namely Psycho, Psycho II, Psycho III, Bates Motel, Psycho IV: The Beginning, the 1998 remake of the original film, and additional merchandise spanning various media. The first film, Psycho, was directed by filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock. Subsequently, another film related to the series was made: an Alfred Hitchcock biopic. Also, an independent documentary called The Psycho Legacy was released on October 19, 2010. It mostly focused on Psycho II, Psycho III and Psycho IV: The Beginning, but did cover the impact and legacy of the original film. A TV series, Bates Motel, premiered on A&E on March 18, 2013, being a prequel to the first film but in a modern-day setting. It stars Freddie Highmore as a teenaged Norman Bates and Vera Farmiga as his mother Norma Bates.

The films focus on the life of the main antagonist, Norman Bates, a deeply disturbed young man who operates the Bates Motel. He has a mental instability that he ended up with a psychotic twisted personality and, as a result, occasionally kills people.

In need of money to marry her boyfriend Sam Loomis, Marion Crane steals $40,000 from her employer and flees Phoenix, Arizona by car. While en route to Sam's California home, she parks along the road to sleep. A highway patrol officer awakens her and, suspicious of her agitation, follows her. When she trades her car for another at a dealership, he notes the new vehicle's details. Marion returns to the road but, rather than drive in a heavy storm, decides to spend the night at the Bates Motel.