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+--- Thread: Psycho II, Robert Bloch, etc. (/thread-1147.html)
Psycho II, Robert Bloch, etc. - Blake - 08-21-2005
I'll put this in TV and Film Discussion since there's some reference to the movies, but for now this is more about the book version of Psycho II.
Also, consider this a Psycho-related SPOILER WARNING! I want to be able to talk about everything here.
Now... has anyone else read Robert Bloch's Psycho II? I picked it up on a whim at the used bookstore. I'm now around 120 pages into it or so, and I'm wondering if it's worth bothering to finish it. I'm really, really disappointed. I've never read a Bloch book in my life, but I can't yet honestly see why I should bother with another one.
First off, I notice that the film version of Psycho II is a completely different story. It's not based on the book at all. The strange part is that, for me, the movie is much, much better, and I can see why they didn't base it on the book. The film has Norman as a sympathetic character who is "cured", set free, then essentially pushed over the edge by someone who knows all the right buttons to hit. The movie's not great, but I do find the premise interesting (the psychotic killer is not the bad guy).
The book, on the other hand, doesn't seem to have anywhere near the promise of the movie's plot. It also has Norman "cured" (in the sense that he no longer suffers from being taken over by "Mother"), but he escapes from the mental hospital and goes on a killing spree anyway. He's not even remotely sympathetic or even interesting. He's just a murderous nut job. His line of thinking essentially breaks down to "I'm not crazy anymore, but I'm going to kill people left and right anyway!" And it's boring the crap out of me.
Is anyone here a fan of Bloch? Does anyone want to point out the merits of this book? Should this be one I add to our thread about unfinished books?
Oh, and feel free to spoil everything in the book even though I haven't finished it. At this point, I'm far past caring.
Blake