Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho is a landmark, for cinema in general, not just horror or slasher cinema. The oppresively tense 1960 thriller set largely at the mysterious, murderous Bates Motel was made on a modest budget, skirted now-defunct censorship codes, and it remains the most profitable black-and-white film of all time. The whole thing was a gamble that paid off; it inevitably led to a franchise. The original film's impact on pop culture is untouchable, but it's certainly worth noting the classic film jump-started an overall underrated and oft-overlooked horror film series.

The following is a ranking all four movies — Psycho, Psycho II, Psycho III, and Psycho IV: The Beginning, plus the 1987 Bates Motel TV special and the 1998 Gus Van Sant remake, from worst to best. This list does not include the well-received Bates Motel drama series starring Vera Farmiga and Freddie Highmore.

6 'Bates Motel (1987)

Directed by Richard Rothstein

There have been two efforts to get spinoff of the Psycho franchise on TV screens. The first attempt, 1987's Bates Motel, was intended to be the pilot of a TV series which ultimately ended up as a made-for-TV movie. Bud Cort (Harold and Maude) stars as Alex West, a young man who grew up in the same asylum as Norman Bates after Alex killed his father. Norman takes Alex under his wing during their stay. After his death, Norman leaves Bates Motel to Alex in his will. Alex gets help re-opening Bates Motel with help from teenage runaway Willie (Lori Petty). The rest of the special sees Alex attempting to get the motel up and running amidst rumors of the ghost of Norma Bates haunting the hotel and one Bates Motel guest seeing the ghost of her younger self gifting her with an important lesson.

Unfortunately, this 90-minute special is connected to the Psycho canon in name only, with the story so muddled and overwrought it feels like a dare to try and get through it. It's also pretty sweaty and problematic in the way it paints Alex and Norman's dynamic. As you might have guessed, the 1987 Bates Motel TV movie is very much a "for diehard fans only" kind of viewing experience.

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5 'Psycho IV: The Beginning'

Directed by Mick Garris

Psycho IV is a 1990 TV movie which sees Anthony Perkins reprise his role as Norman Bates for the fourth and final time (he would pass away two years after this movie was released). Over the course of an hour and half, we watch as Norman attempts to unpack all of his emotional and psychological baggage via a late-night call into a radio show hosted by Fran Ambrose (CCH Pounder). There are flashbacks to Norman's childhood and teenage years, with the subtext of these flashbacks getting uncomfortably Oedipal as young Norman (Henry Thomas) tries to please his mother, Norma (Olivia Hussey). We also discover Norman has married and is trying to do away with his demons for good, which, sure. Why not?

To have Psycho IV close out the end of what is actually a very fun horror franchise is simply very disappointing. This TV movie only seems interested in pathologizing Norman's behavior and it's equal parts sordid and boring. Thomas gives a solid supporting turn as a teenage Norman Bates grappling with his unsettling feelings for his mother and budding penchant for stabbing young women, so I guess that's something. But, ultimately, Psycho IV is neither well-done enough or confident enough in its execution to be anything more than just a whimper of a franchise finale. Hussey's strong and committed performance stands out from an otherwise forgettable, dull feature.

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4 'Psycho' (1998)

Directed by Gus Van Sant

Gus Van Sant's shot-for-shot 1998 Psycho is a fascinatingly flawed bit of filmmaking. This most recent Psycho movie is shot in color, with Anne Heche and Vince Vaughn stepping into the roles made famous by Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins, and Julianne Moore, Viggo Mortensen, William H. Macy, and Philip Baker Hall rounding out the main cast. Van Sant's remake uses most of Joseph Stefano's original script and Danny Elfman is on music duty, lightly sprucing up Bernard Herrmann's original score.

As an acting exercise, Psycho '98 is fun to watch. The cast put their own spin on their readings of the characters, with more room for fun to seemingly help keep things fresh. However, keeping most of Stefano's script intact means some lines just don't land or feel outright dated. World-class actors do what they can with the recycled material, but nothing could possibly change the fundamental flaw with this movie: it's aggressively pointless.

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3 'Psycho III'

Directed by Anthony Perkins

When it comes to '80s horror movies and late franchise installments, Psycho III is a hell of an entry. Perkins returns this time as both director and star. Additionally, Diana Scarwid (Mommie Dearest), Jeff Fahey (Lost), and Robert Maxwell (Popeye) round out the supporting cast. With a script from Charles Edward Pogue (The Fly, DragonHeart) in hand and lots of ominous synth music to go around, Psycho III is the peak of everything the Psycho franchise wants to be: an over-the-top, goofy, cheeky, bawdy, sweaty movie that will keep you hooked.

Psycho III is a movie which isn't so much plot-forward as it is pulp-forward. The general gist is: Norman has fully returned to his dual personality of Norman and Norma Bates and seems content in this new groove. He's the kind of guy who will taxidermy birds at the kitchen table and use the same spoon to put sawdust into a carcass and put peanut butter on crackers. So, super chill basically. Norman's very cool and normal home life gets shaken up with the arrival of wannabe rocker Duane Duke (Fahey), who Norman hires to help around the hotel, and Maureen Coyle (Scarwid), a runaway nun contemplating suicide who is saved by and ends up falling for Norman. Unlike Psycho II, a sequel which is bit more serious in tone and intention, Psycho III is just plain fun.

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2 'Psycho II'

Directed by Richard Franklin

There is so much to love about Psycho II. It is a rare sequel which manages to both expand on the lore at the heart of the canon while also going deeper into it. Following Hitchcock's passing in 1980, Universal Pictures revived the Psycho franchiser with this movie. This decision saw Perkins return to the role of Norman Bates after a 22-year hiatus along with original cast member Vera Miles. Joining Perkins and Miles was a great supporting cast, which included Meg Tilly, Robert Loggia, and Dennis Franz.

Psycho II follows Norman after he is cleared to return home to the Bates Motel after 22 years in an institution after pleading insanity in the Marion Crane murder. Norman works to put the pieces of his life back together while some locals seem unwilling to let his past go. Norman befriends a young woman, Mary (Tilly), at his job and soon takes her under his wing. Things take a turn as bodies begin popping up all around the Bates property and Norman's grip on reality begins to slip. Psycho II has a keen interest in examining Norman without turning him into some lab rat, as later sequels seem keen to do. Instead, this is a movie both sympathetic to Norman's headspace, interested in unpacking the layers of a lifetime of trauma, guilt, and fear baked into Norman's psyche. There is a redemptive arc to this story through Norman's relationship with Mary which also helps lends some keen pathos to the piece. This is an underrated, worthy sequel.

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1 'Psycho' (1960)

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

What else can be said about Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho at this point? The American Film Institute named it the most suspenseful film ever made. Variety recently named it the best movie in the history of all cinema. It's nearly 65 years old, and it holds up as hair-raising, gripping in the extreme when watched today. Its twists and turns are about as iconic as the shower scene, the Gothic house and staircase, the knife, the screeching Bernard Hermann score. And yet, somehow Psycho always works like gangbusters. It's tense. It's frightening.

There's a coda near the end of Psycho that sticks out like a sore thumb, the over-explanation of Norman Bates, his motives and his methods. Literally nobody needed that, and frankly it throws off the pacing a bit. But a few fleeting moments of hand-holding can't do anything to tarnish the whole enterprise, which just might be the greatest feat of film direction ever.

NEXT: Best Horror Screenplays of All Time, Ranked