Popenoe

A very atmospheric ghost tale with moody music, excellent acting, and a suspenseful, well-thought out plot. The musical score in this flick is as good as any, including Carpenter's previous flick, Halloween. Jamie Lee Curtis, Adrienne Barbeau, Tom Atkins, and Janet Leigh make for a very well rounded, solid cast. If you liked Halloween, I think you'll enjoy this one as well.

Most people will be surprised to find that this movie actually isn't half-bad. Anthony Perkins is simply outstanding as Norman Bates. The suspenseful and entertaining plot will keep you watching all the way through. Of course, there are a few loose ends. I thought the constant rehash of ideas from the original Psycho got a little old after awhile. Meg Tilly's performance was less than stellar. I miss the original's musical score. Other than that, a surprisingly solid sequel.

I watched this entire movie on the edge of my seat. That's how good it was. I enjoyed this movie more so than Jaws. While Steven Spielberg didn't direct this movie (he wrote and produced it), he had an obvious impact. I would have called this movie perfect had it ended after the Freelings had recovered Carol Anne, and were moving out. That was the climax, and it should have ended then. After delivering their final lines, the camera should have moved from the actors to the house, and then panned out in a spectacular view of the entire community while rolling the credits. Instead however, the story continued. And while the scenes after the climax were the most frightful and disturbing, I found them to be tedious and pointless putting an unsatisfying end to an otherwise incredible movie.