Psycho III
Tags: insanity, violence, murder, flashback

Plot synopsis:
The film begins with Maureen Coyle (Diana Scarwid), a mentally unstable young nun, on top of a bell tower about to commit suicide. When another nun tries to get her to come down, Maureen accidentally pushes her over the railing to her death. Another nun tells Maureen that she will burn in hell for what she did. She is forced to leave the convent after this ordeal.She walks through the desert for a while, and finally reaches a highway. A beat-up car approaches and passes her, but backs up upon seeing her. The driver, Duane Duke (Jeff Fahey) offers her a ride. She puts her suitcase in the backseat and in doing so, bumps his guitar. He tells her to be careful with it, because it is his "bread and butter"--he is on his way to Los Angeles to make it big as a rock-n'-roll singer. She says that she's having car problems, and that the problem is that there is no car.They continue driving into the night during a heavy rainstorm. Duane can barely see ahead of him but keeps on driving aggressively, and the car begins to weave between the lanes. The car is having engine problems, and a loud popping sound causes Duane to swerve the car to the other side of the road. Duane pulls the car off the road, and tells Maureen that they aren't going any further, due to the storm. He advises her to try to get some sleep. During the middle of the night, it is still raining, and Duane makes a pass at her. She struggles to fight him off, and slaps his face. She gets out of the car, and he angrily tosses her suitcase out into a muddy puddle. Duane drives off, leaving Maureen sobbing.The next morning at the Bates Motel, Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) collects some dead birds in a paper sack from the ground, thanks to some poisoned birdseed he kept in a birdfeeder, and stuffs them in the kitchen using his taxidermy supplies. On the table is a newspaper opened up to an article entitled, "Spool Still Missing." Norman has a flashback of him killing Emma Spool (Claudia Bryar, from the end of Psycho II), and when he looks down at the bird he is stitching up, he instead sees a hand and arm being stitched together! He is startled when the paper sack moves along the tabletop by itself, and is relieved to see a healthy bird pop out. Norman carefully grasps the bird in his hands and releases it outside. He hears a car horn blaring, and comes down to meet Duane. Duane is interested in the "help wanted" sign posted on the office window. Norman offers him a job as an assistant manager for the motel, and Duane accepts, mentioning that he only wants to stay long enough to earn money to fix his car to go to L.A.Norman goes off to the diner (Statlers) where he used to work to get some food. At the diner, Ralph Statler (Robert Alan Browne)--the owner--is having a conversation with Sheriff John Hunt (Hugh Gillin) about Emma Spool. He is confused as to why she would suddenly not show up for work a month ago and disappear, after normally being a stellar employee since he took over the diner from the previous owner, Harvey Leach (Hugo L. Stanger) seven years earlier. --Sheriff Hunt says that her apartment has been searched and nothing seems out of the ordinary. Ralph hopes that nothing serious has happened to her, displaying a worried look on his face. Tracy Veneble (Roberta Maxwell), a nosy magazine reporter, chimes in and suggests that Norman may have had something to do with her disappearance. She came from L.A. to interview Norman about the subject of the insanity defense and the rehabilitation of mentally ill murderers.Sheriff Hunt and Ralph argue with her and tell her to leave him alone in peace. Just then, Norman walks in and sits down in a booth. He orders a meal and gets an order of burgers to go. Tracy sits down across from him and starts to ask him some questions. He opens up to her and explains that what happened to him in the past stays with him and he can't escape the reality of what he did. As they are talking, Maureen gets out of a semi truck and comes into the diner. Norman is horrified to see her initials on her suitcase--"M.C." Norman has a flashback to the murder of Marion Crane from 22 years earlier-he notices that Maureen is almost an exact look-alike to Marion. He pays for the food and quickly leaves while Tracy keeps droning on and on.Back at the motel, Duane sees an exhausted Maureen walking toward the highway. He apologizes to her for his behavior the night before (he says he was road-weary) and offers her a motel room that she can rest in. She pays him $25 for the room, and he gives her the key to cabin #1. As she leaves, Duane keeps the $5 bill she gave him, folds over the edge of one corner, and puts it in his pocket. Norman walks by and sees her going into the room. He freaks out and goes back to the house. Norman has a conversation with "Mother (Virginia Gregg's voice)," the stuffed corpse of Mrs. Spool. He tells "her" about Maureen resembling Marion, and "she" tells him to get rid of her if her presence upsets him. He refuses, and Mother says that maybe she will do it instead.Maureen unpacks her suitcase in cabin 1. She sees a copy of the Bible on the nightstand, and she has a traumatic memory of her actions at the convent. She starts to cry. In Fairvale, Duane goes into a bar and sees Tracy Veneble. He introduces himself to her and lights her cigarette for her. She initially is turned off by him, but when she sees his Bates Motel matchbook, she decides to have a talk with him.In the motel office parlor, Norman takes a picture off the wall, and looks through a peephole into cabin 1. He sees Maureen stripping and going into the bathroom nude. Norman goes back up to the house and puts on his "Mother" costume and goes back to cabin 1 to kill her. Maureen is in the shower, and "Mother" pulls back the shower curtain. Maureen is sitting in a tub of rising bloody water. A razor blade sits nearby. She lifts up her hands to reveal that her wrists were slit, with blood gushing out of the wounds. Due to her blood loss, Maureen hallucinates that "Mother" is the Virgin Mary coming to save her.Meanwhile, Duane and Tracy continue talking about Norman. Tracy says she will pay Duane for any information he gives her. Unexpectedly, she gets up and leaves. Duane notices a red-haired girl (Juliette Cummins) staring at him.At St. Matthew's Hospital, Maureen is in a room recovering from her suicide attempt. Father Brian (Gary Bayer), a psychiatrist, is sitting by her bedside and introduces himself to her. Outside her room, Norman and Sheriff Hunt are waiting. Tracy shows up and claims that she happened to be passing by the motel and saw the ambulance leaving and decided to follow it. She asks how Norman found out about Maureen. Sheriff Hunt chimes in and says he was bringing fresh towels to Maureen's motel room when he found her in the bathtub after she cut her wrists and he used her room phone to call for an ambulance, repeating what Norman had told him. Father Brian comes out and tells Norman that Maureen wants to see him.Maureen thanks Norman for finding her and calling for help. He is just glad that he was looking out for someone else. He tells her that she can stay at the motel for free as long as she wants until she gets better and can sort her life out. He leaves her room to let her rest, and goes back home. He accuses Mother of hurting Maureen, and says that he is glad that Maureen didn't die. Mother replies, "She will!"Duane brings the red-haired girl back to the motel. They overhear Norman yelling at Mother. They just assume the noise is due to a loud TV. Red tries to open the ice chest next to the office to get some ice, but it is locked. She bumps into Norman and falls to the ground. He opens the chest for her and she gets some ice and asks him to join her and Duane; he politely declines.Red and Duane make love, and later she comes out of the shower. She goes over to Duane to kiss some more and he isn't interested anymore. She is upset because she wants this relationship to be more than just a one-night fling, and he tells her to leave and gives her $5 for cab fare, the same $5 that Maureen used to help pay for cabin #1. He tosses her and her clothes out the door. She puts her clothes on and goes into to a phone booth nearby to call for a cab. She realizes she put her shirt on backward and takes it off to put it back on correctly. Suddenly, Mother's hand bursts through the glass door, opens it, and stabs her over and over again. Red struggles to fight off Mother's attack, and she severely cuts the bottoms of her bare feet from stumbling on the glass shards on the floor, blood squishing out. Red crumples to the ground and Mother turns around and leaves. Back at the house, Norman cries, "Mother! Oh God, Mother! Blood! Blood!"The next morning, Duane comes out of his cabin and sees Norman scrubbing the glass walls of the phone booth with soapy water. Duane goes into the office and sees that the $5 bill he gave Red for cab fare is in the cash drawer.At the hospital, Maureen is having a counseling session with Father Brian. She tells him that it was her idea to become a nun, but that as the time grew close to take her final vows of celibacy, she became scared and was dwelling on lustful thoughts. Father Brian asks her why she didn't just leave the novitiate, rather than be tormented by those thoughts.Duane talks to Tracy at the motel about the $5 bill he discovered in the drawer. She tells him it may have helped solve the mystery if he knew the girl's name. The motel is bustling with activity because Fairvale's homecoming football game is later in the day, and several guests have checked into rooms. Norman and Maureen arrive in a cab, and he sees Tracy going up to the house. She wants to continue her interview with him, but he stops her and tells her to leave and never come back. Norman goes into cabin 1, and Maureen is pleased to find that Norman had her wet clothes sent to the dry-cleaner's. He tells her that she'll look good in her pink dress on their dinner date later on.At Mrs. Spool's apartment, Tracy talks with the landlord. He says that other than coming and going for work, Mrs. Spool stayed home. The landlord leaves, and Tracy decides to stay and snoop for a while. She glances at some magazines on a coffee table and a single phone number is written on the covers several times. She dials the number on the phone, and she discovers that it connects her to the Bates Motel.That evening, Norman takes Maureen out to eat at a fancy restaurant in Fairview. After eating, they get up to dance. At first, Maureen doesn't feel comfortable, but Norman teaches her the basic "box" step movements.Back at the motel, a cab drops Maureen and Norman off. Maureen goes into her room, and Norman follows soon after. He sees her staring toward the house. He asks her what is wrong, and she says that she must have had too much to drink--she thought she saw a woman up in the window at the house. Uncomfortable, Norman goes to tell Duane that he can take off for the night, and then goes back to Maureen. She tells him she enjoyed her time with him earlier. They lay down on the bed and kiss. Norman stops kissing her, and he says he doesn't feel right about this. Maureen eases his discomfort by suggesting they just lie on the bed and hold each other.Later that night, Maureen is asleep and Norman is gone. Patsy Boyle (Katt Shea Reuben), a guest from another cabin, comes in to wake her and warns her about the door being left wide open. She tells Maureen that she'll close it for her, in case one of her drunk friends might happen to wander inside.Up at the house, Mother scolds Norman for letting Maureen come between them. She starts whispering something to him, and he is about to put on the dress and wig. Maureen comes up to the front door and calls out his name. Mother tells him to bring her the knife. He is shocked to see her dead body sit up in bed. Norman takes the knife in his hand, wraps his fingers around the blade, and slams his hand down on a table. He yelps in pain. Concerned, Maureen asks what is wrong. He feigns ill, and tells her to go back to her cabin and lock her door. Soon after, Norman leaves, dressed to kill.Meanwhile, Patsy Boyle is looking for a bathroom to use. She sees the one in the parlor, and sits down on the toilet to relieve herself. Suddenly, she looks up in surprise and sees Mother standing directly in front of her. She tells Mother that the bathroom is "occupied," and Mother thrusts the knife, slitting her throat, and stabbing her in the stomach. Patsy keels over and falls to the floor. Later, Norman goes into the parlor looking for Duane, and he recoils in shock from seeing the bloody mess. Norman takes her body out of the bathroom and tosses it out the window behind the motel. Some partiers are chasing each other around the building, and Norman hides himself and the body momentarily. The guests all get into their cars and leave, burning rubber on their way out to the highway.The next morning, Maureen comes out of her cabin to see the sheriff's car outside. Worried, she asks about Norman. Tracy is there too, and she decides it's time to tell Maureen the truth about Norman. Sheriff Hunt and Deputy Leo (Steve Guevara) are investigating the disappearance of Patsy Boyle. She didn't ride home with the other revelers, and they go up to the house where they question Norman about it. Norman figures that Tracy assumed he was involved. Deputy Leo searches the first floor level, and then goes to search upstairs. Terrified that they'll discover Mrs. Spool's corpse, Norman runs up after him, with Sheriff Hunt in pursuit. Norman sees that there is no body in Mother's room. Bewildered by Norman's antics, Hunt and Leo leave.Shortly after, Norman is sitting by the ice machine by the motel. Sheriff Hunt apologizes to Norman for their intrusion, and he opens the ice chest to grab a couple of ice cubes to suck on. There are human fingers sticking up out of the ice, but he doesn't see them. He puts bloody ice cubes in his mouth (he doesn't notice this-he grabs them without looking at them) and vehemently ignores Tracy's pleas to take Norman in for questioning about the disappearances of Mrs. Spool and Patsy, because there is no proof that he did anything. Maureen lies to Hunt, and claims that she was with Norman until 6:00 that morning, so he couldn't have done anything wrong. Hunt and Leo leave, and Tracy waits for Maureen to get in her car--she told her everything about Norman, and Maureen tells a disappointed Norman that she'll stay with Father Brian for a while. They drive off.Norman looks around the house looking for Mother. She is nowhere to be found. In the kitchen, he sees a note from Mother: "Norman--I'm in cabin 12. Come see me." Norman walks along the front of the motel and approaches cabin 12, which is Duane's cabin. On the TV is a Woody Woodpecker cartoon. Mother is sitting in front of the TV. On the bed, Duane--high on drugs and alcohol--plays his guitar."What are you doing with my mother?" Norman asks him.Duane replies, "Don't you mean, Mummy?" in a mocking tone. Norman asks him why he took her and left the note for him to find."I'm just looking out for you Norman," says Duane."And yourself," Norman says.Duane continues, "I have ambitions--dreams, but dreams don't come cheap these days. I could've turned 'mom' over to the cops this afternoon, but all I would've gotten was a pat on the back for doing my civic duty." He tells her that Tracy would've payed him a big sum of money, but figures that she would lie and take all the credit and earn a big salary and earn a news position somewhere.Duane blackmails Norman into selling the house and motel in order to give Mother over to Norman. Norman tells him that he wants Mother back. Duane tells him he can take her--Duane says, "You know what I want, and you know what I'll do if I don't get it."Norman hits Duane in the head with an ashtray. A violent fight breaks out with Norman hitting Duane with a lamp, and ultimately, hitting Duane with his own guitar. "Watch the guitar," Duane mumbles. Norman hits him with the guitar repeatedly, until the guitar is broken into several pieces. Duane crumples to the floor, unconscious.At the diner, Ralph, Myrna (Lee Garlington)--a waitress, and Tracy are discussing Mrs. Spool. Ralph tells Tracy that Mrs. Spool was a good employee, and was already working there when Ralph bought the place. Tracy asks about the diner's former owner, Harvey Leach, in the hopes that she can find out more about Mrs. Spool from him. Myrna says that Harvey is in a nursing home outside of town. Tracy visits Harvey, and she asks him about Mrs. Spool. He tells her that Emma had been put in an asylum for killing someone.At Father Brian's office, Maureen has decided to forgive Norman and wants to be back with him. She has failed other people before, but she won't fail him.At a library, Tracy looks through old archived newspaper articles, and is shocked to see a headline reading: "Sister arrested in Bates Murder-Kidnapping." Below it is a sub-heading: "Child Unharmed in Love Triangle Tragedy."In Duane's motel room, Norman removes his belongings and wraps his body in the shower curtain. "I'll be back for you mother," Norman says. Norman opens the ice chest and tries to remove Patsy's body from it. One of her arms is wedged against the top of the chest and won't move, and Norman tries with all his strength to pull it loose, but the arm snaps off. He finally gets the body out of the ice chest, and he kisses her on the lips before putting her in the trunk of Duane's car. Norman puts Duane's body in the back seat of the car and drives it over to the swamp. On the way, Duane wakes up and wraps a cord around Norman's neck. Startled, Norman slams his foot down on the brake pedal and the momentum causes Duane to lurch forward into the front passenger seat.Norman pins Duane down on the floor of the car with his foot, and the other foot accidentally presses down on the gas pedal, sending the car into the swamp. As the car fills with water, Norman sees Duane drowning. Norman manages to escape the flooding car and swims away from it. He struggles to see in the murky water, navigating through underwater weeds. He lets out a scream when he sees Red's body--her pale, expressionless face staring back at him. He surfaces, and crawls his way out of the swamp.Meanwhile, Tracy shows copies of the newspaper articles to Father Brian, hoping that if Maureen would see them, she could change her story to the police. He tells her Maureen already left and went back to the motel.In her room, Maureen has showered and put on a nightgown. She hears Norman running up the steps to the house, and she calls out to him. He ignores her and runs into the house. She walks up to the house and enters it. As she walks up the staircase, she calls out to Norman again and explains that she has returned. She says that she never should have left and she forgives him for what happened to him in the past, and emphasizes that he saved her life. Norman appears at the top of the stairs. She asks him what happened. He lies and says that he slipped in the mud.She says that she regrets hurting him by leaving, and asks for his forgiveness. They hold each other's hands and have a brief tender moment. Suddenly, Mother yells, "Norman!" Surprised by this, Norman lets go of Maureen's hands, sending her falling backward down the stairs, arms flailing. At the bottom of the stairs, her skull is pierced by the arrow of the cupid statue against the wall. She crumples to the floor... dead. Norman, in shock, runs down the stairs and sees that blood is pooling around her head. He angrily yells "Mother!!" at the top of his lungs.Tracy drives up to the motel, and, carrying a tire iron, checks Maureen's cabin. She overhears Mother saying to Norman, "You get that whore out of my house. Throw it out in the muck and filth where she belongs!" Norman says, "I'll get you for this, Mother." Mother replies back, "You haven't got the guts, boy!"Tracy goes up to the house and tries to open the front door, but it's locked. She goes around the back and enters the kitchen. She slowly walks through the hallway into the foyer, and sees the living room lit up with dozens of candles. She sees Maureen's body laying on the couch, with a lit candle positioned in her grasped hands. With pity, she says, "You dumb, stupid naive girl." She turns around and is shocked to see Norman dressed up as Mother, his mouth fixed in a wide, skeletal smile. "Why can't you leave my poor son, my Norman, alone?" says Mother. Tracy drops the tire iron and tries to escape from him. She begins to go up the stairs, with Norman slowly in pursuit."What set you off again, Norman? Was it Mrs. Spool? You killed her, didn't you? What did she do--come to you and tell you she was your mother? She was crazy, Norman--she wasn't your mother, and neither are you!" She reaches the tops of the stairs, Norman still following her. "Mrs. Spool was your aunt, Norman. She was in love with your father, but your mother stole him away from her! Emma Spool killed your father in a jealous rage and kidnapped you when you were just a baby!" In Mother's room, she turns around and lets out a horrified shriek when she sees Mrs. Spool's corpse sitting in a chair. "She killed your father because she thought you were her child--the child she should have had with him! She was crazy--they locked her away!"Mother says, "It's lies! It's all lies! She's a lying whore. She's a slut! Don't let her talk about me like that!" Norman, seemingly free of Mother's spell, takes off the wig and dress. "Get her boy, get her! Just like all the others!" continues Mother. Norman raises the knife, and it looks as though he is going to attack Tracy, but instead, Norman stabs Mrs. Spool's body at the neck. "Norman! Can't you do anything right?" says Mother. Norman continues hacking at the neck, with sawdust spraying out. "How dare you treat your mother that way!" The corpse slides out of the chair and onto the floor. Norman hacks with the knife until the head is completely severed and rolls to the side. "So I don't have the guts, huh?" taunts Norman. Exhausted, Norman rests his head on the chair.The next morning, Sheriff Hunt leads Norman away from the house in handcuffs. A TV news crew is there filming. Tracy and Father Brian are both in shock. Hunt is in total disbelief with Norman, telling him that he believed in him and had faith in him and now that Norman, as "Mother" killed more people. He puts Norman in the back of the squad car, and tells him, "You'll never get out again! They'll lock you up forever!" In response, Norman replies, "But I'll be free. I'll finally be free."As the squad car drives along the highway, Norman reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a victory trophy: the severed rotting hand of Mrs. Spool. He gently caresses it as he smiles as the image fades to black.

Review: What the vast majority have seemed to miss is the subtlety and richness of a beautifully lensed film which provides one of the most chilling atmospheres to a mainstream horror movie.Anthony Perkins showcases just how adept he is both in front of and behind the camera in his directorial debut, and it is a crying shame that we didn't get to enjoy any further nightmarish visions.
The bell tower scene at the beginning inspired from Vertigo, when Norman's 'girlfriend' Maureen fell down the stairs of the home, done exactly the same way Detective Arbogast fell in the original film; 'floaty' like.
PSYCHO III (1986)directed by: Anthony Perkinsstarring: Anthony Perkins, Diana Scarwid, Jeff Fahey, and Roberta Maxwellplot: One month after the events of PSYCHO II, Norman (Anthony Perkins) is still running the Bates Motel along with "Mother".
Things are going fine until Norman falls in love with a fallen nun (Diana Scarwid), takes in a greedy drifter (Jeff Fahey), a nosy reporter (Roberta Maxwell) sticks her nose where it doesn't belong and a series of murders begins once again.my thoughts: Although not as great a sequel as PSYCHO II, this is still a good sequel.
With Anthony Perkins directing himself, you can expect a good addition to the PSYCHO series.Now, Norman Bates is dealing with a lot.
More sex and violence have been added.We have gorier kills and even Juliette Cummins (FRIDAY THE 13TH PART V: A NEW BEGINNING, SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE II) playing a slut who is picked up at a bar by Duke (Jeff Fahey), kicked out of his room, and then murdered in the actually pretty cool payphone scene.These 80's elements do not add much to the film, but certainly do not take away.Perkins also does a fine job directing, and adds a lot of dark humor to the film.Definitely check this sequel out, it's not as good as the first two but certainly better than the fourth installment and the remake..
Of course, Norman Bates is back to the way he was in the first film, which sets up Psycho 3 in a very good way.
Psycho 3 also adds plenty of teenage slasher aspects and a very large amount of gore, which also added to the movie in a very good way.Psycho 3 is directed by Anthony Perkins, who also played as Norman Bates in all 4 original Psycho films (not counting the remake directed by Gus Van Zant).
This resembles a pure Hitchcock trait, which I really liked to see in a sequel to the master's masterpiece.I also felt that the performances from the entire cast did an excellent job, especially for the period and genre of the film.
Leave it to Anthony Perkins, probably the only person who knows Norman Bates better than creator Robert Bloch or director Alfred Hitchcock, to create and have a hand in Norman's descent into madness and subsequent struggle for normalcy.
At least there is more TITillation, and even a hint of necrophilia.Anthony Perkins not only stars again, but this time he directs, and he gives us a film that keeps us interested.Diana Scarwid, despite the fact that she has an Oscar and Emmy nomination to her credit, was not very interesting.
Anthony Perkins gives his best performance as Norman Bates yet and he directs just as well as Alfred Hitchcock in his directorial day-view.
It is almost kind of a tribute in some of the shots and lines from the original, I think that is thanks to Anothony Perkins, it was interesting to see him direct the film, not the worst I've seen for a horror sequel, but the story itself is alright.Norman is back in business, running the Bates Motel, he needs a helping hand, so Duane Duke, musician bum, is his new assistant manager.
Duane is also bringing problems back into Norman's killing spree of bar fly's and a homecoming party.Psycho 3 is worth the look, believe me, when you've seen so many horror sequels that were just beyond horrible, this was a breathe of fresh air.
Psycho 3 is A worthy sequel to it's first two predecessors, Anthony Perkins Stars and Directs in the role that made him famous.Psycho 3 introduces Maureen (Diana Scarwid)a suicidal nun who flees the convent after a failed attempt which in a clever homage to Hitchcock's 'Vertigo' we see a nun fall from to her death from a bell tower.
Scarwid is picked along the highway by the sleazy drifter Jeff Fahey where the two end up at 'Bates Motel' Perkins is seemingly up to his old tricks again and has the Miss matched couple to contend with and also a nosy reporter who is eager to get a scoop on Norman, Psycho III has some genuinely great moments which make this a well worthy sequel to it's predecessors witness the scenes which we see Perkins is up to his old tricks again most notably his poisoning of the birds, and some of the murder scenes which are clever and inventive in it's dispatches of some of the victims.
He goes to Bates Motel, where the original psycho Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) is the manager.
There are a lot more killings and more nudity than the second one and Anthony Perkins does a pretty good job as star and director..
Norman becomes unhinged at the sight of her and his murderous rampage continues leading up to a satisfying ending.Psycho III adds a lot more gore and a lot more nudity, appropriate with the times I assume.
It's fun and interesting to watch Norman lose his cool, and Anthony Perkins played it brilliantly as always.Psycho III was directed by Perkins, and overall was a pretty good horror flick.
Norman Bates (The late Anthony Perkins) tries to live an normal life and trying to run his motel.
But when an obnoxious noisy reporter (Robert Maxwell) is bothering Norman and she is trying to find out, what happen to Emma Spool, who claimed to be Norman's mother.Directed by the late Anthony Perkins (Lucky Stiff) made an enjoyable dark comedy with some slasher 80's moments but it's lacks mystery and suspense of "Psycho" and "Psycho 2".
I recommend it to Psycho fans who want to see the entire series, but be advised that the film has a lot of ridiculous scenes, and the twist almost makes the very bad twist of Psycho II seem like the best twist since the twist of the original Psycho.
4 years after "Psycho II", Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) has "mother" back in his mind again and still hasn't feel like he has been cured.
A young lady ( Diana Scarwid) is a former nun and needs a place to stay for a bit at the Bates motel and Norman gets a new assistant ( Jeff Fahey)to help him run the motel, the lady reminds Norman of the first female victim he killed but soon killings start happening all over again.Entertaining and violent second sequel to the all time great horror classic "Psycho" is also directed by Perkins himself.
There is some decent acting and some good kills like Norman usually does, it's basically the weakest of the sequels but is very enjoyable and better then the 1998 "Psycho" remake in my opinion..
Anthony Perkins again puts on a terrific performance as the nervous, stuttering Norman trying to cover up the murders his "mother" commits.The plot picks up about one month after "Psycho II" left off.
A snoopy reporter named Tracy Venable (Roberta Maxwell) is also around, trying to prove that Norman had something to do with the disappearance of Mrs. Spool, from "Psycho II".There are so many scenes in this film that remind me of the original "Psycho" that it's not hard to figure out that Perkins was owing tribute to the master of suspense.
blood!", scenes of Janet Leigh getting hacked up in the shower, a woman who looks like Marion Crane, whom Norman falls in love with, scene with Norman looking through the peephole, a take on the shower scene but this time in a phone booth, the shouting matches with Mother, a take on the falling down the stairs death, and plenty of other ones I can't think of right now.
Psycho III (1986) *** (out of 4) A month after the events from the previous film, Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) is back at his motel when a reporter starts snooping around trying to find out some information on his past.
At the same time Norman hires a wannabe rock star (Jeff Fahey) to help out around the motel and he also strikes up a relationship with a young woman (Diana Scarwid) who seems to be just as troubled as he is.PSYCHO III certainly breaks away from the first two movies in the series.
Anthony Perkins gives a terrific performance as Norman Bates again, but that's about the only good thing in this movie.
Anthony Perkins is back as Norman Bates in "Psycho III".
Part III, directed by the series' star Anthony Perkins, sees Norman struggling to stay his stabbing hand when pretty ex-nun Maureen (Diana Scarwid) arrives at his motel, reminding the schizo killer of Marion Crane, his first victim.
But 'mother' isn't about to let her son fraternise with a no good slutPerkins' directorial debut, Psycho III is an assured piece of work, with lots of neat nods to the original movie, some terrific moments of black humour, and plenty of stylish visual touches, with particularly great use of colour throughout.
Second sequel to Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" from 1960, a somewhat belated follow-up to 1983's "Psycho II", has Anthony Perkins back as motel owner Norman Bates, here involved with a troubled postulant who has renounced her vows and a drifter/musician who soon learns of Bates' bloody past.
A month after the events of "Psycho II" (1983), a grief-stricken former nun (Diana Scarwid), a wannabe rock star (Jeff Fahey), a meddling reporter (Roberta Maxwell) and a bunch of football fans converge on the Bates Motel and the crazy world of Norman Bates (Anthony Hopkins).Like the previous installment, "Psycho III" (1986) is a quality continuation of the iconic 1960 film, but more of a retread, which is why some call it a spiritual remake.
The previous two films are superior from personal opinion but there are sequels out there that disgrace their originals far more than this does.'Psycho III' could have been better certainly.
Carter Burwell's score is very haunting and in its best parts sends chills down the spine.The film, as mentioned, is directed by none other by Norman Bates himself Anthony Perkins.
He stops at the desolate motel run by Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) and gets a job.
The third in the series, meanwhile, is utterly charmless, a simple retread of what's come before with little in the way of new material to distinguish it.The story goes that Norman is back on duty at the Bates Motel, this time dealing with a bunch of newcomers, including a nosy reporter, a suicidal nun, and a sleazy wannabe musician.
What follows will surprise no-one, with a few mildly gory murders mixed in with lots of mock-crazy psycho-babble.Anthony Perkins is inevitably the best thing about this movie, as his performance as the disturbed Norman is head and shoulders above the rest of the cast.
One month after the events of Psycho II, Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) is still running the Bates Motel, and, he has kept the dressed skeleton that belonged to "Mother." While things appeared normal, mishaps start to happen again when Norman falls in love with fallen nun Maureen (Diana Scarwid) and takes in greedy drifter Duane (Jeff Fahey), all while nosy reporter Tracy (Roberta Maxwell) tries to do an article on Norman.It is an OK sequel, slightly better than Psycho II, where it plays your mind with its twisted plot and surprising story elements and with a story that moves quickly with more horror and gore scenes than in the previous movie, though I do think they over did it on the gore and sensual stuff (making it look like some typical 80s horror/slasher flick).
In addition, since this is the final Psycho movie in terms of continuity of events, I think this film gave a satisfactory explanation and close to the Norman Bates saga.Overall, another scary sequel, but the original remains tops in entertainment.Grade C.
Anthony Perkins both returns as star and first-time director of this continuation of the story, which begins with a beautiful former nun named Maureen(played by Diana Scarwid) who flees from her convent, and hits the road, only to find her way to the Bates motel, still run by Norman, who takes her in.
Despite Lower Ratings, I Enjoyed It. One month after the events of "Psycho II", Norman (Anthony Perkins) is still running the Bates Motel along with Mother.
Things are going fine until Norman falls in love with a fallen nun, takes in a greedy drifter (Jeff Fahey), a nosy reporter sticks her nose where it does not belong and a series of murders begins once again.On the face of it, this film is a step down from part two (which was a large step down from part one).
But, if you are an Anthony Perkins fan, As i truly am(i like his movies other than his Horra films) than i recommend you see it to see good acting on Tony's part and one heck of a directing job..
Anthony Perkins reprises his role once again, as Norman Bates in a role, which he doesn't take too seriously to me, and he did do a good job of directing the film, but not good enough.
Movies like this are exactly why.For a basic plot summary, "Psycho III" sees Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) still running his hotel business and still harboring the embalmed corpse of Emma Spool, his supposed "real mother".
When a young nun (Diana Scarwid) who bears a striking resemblance to Marion Crane needs a place to stay, Norman takes her in and clashes with "mother" once again.The strange thing about this movie is that, storyline-wise, it really isn't all that bad.
Basically, it isn't just bad for bad's sake, and director Perkins does a great job of re-creating the continuity from "Psycho II" and making this film feel like part of the anthology.The problem, though, is that "Psycho III" doesn't know what kind of flick it is.
The only murder that Norman commits in the film that wasn't sanctioned by his embalmed mom was that of pot smoking guitarist, and assistant manager of the Bates Motel, Duane Duke, Jeff Fahey.
This time the story is Norman kills more people at his Bates Motel when he meets this beautiful girl, and he is falling in love with her, but mother doesn't approve.
And it's pretty cool that this one is directed by Anthony Perkins himself who also plays his main character in the movie.I only recommend it to the die hard Psycho fans.
The Bates Hotel looks as run-down and seedy as it ever did in B&W and ANTHONY PERKINS can still chill you with his mania and quirky expressions--but the story is pointless and most of the material feels like a re-run of previous films.JEFF FAHEY (with his wholesome bad boy looks) and DIANA SCARWID (a pretty blonde) are the latest victims to fall into the path of Norman Bates.
The swaggering Fahey is looking for a brief job as a helper at the motel and Scarwid is a woman who almost meets her fate in a bathtub, much the way heroine Janet Leigh did in the original until a twist in the plot saves her.The film does manage to maintain suspenseful moments in credible fashion, thanks to some astute directorial touches by Perkins, who directed himself in this reincarnation of Norman.
The much more creative PSYCHO IV: THE BEGINNING, is a much better piece of work with a finely crafted and clever storyline making it a worthy sequel to Hitch's classic.Summing up: The weakest point of the film is Perkins' own performance as Norman.
Nudity, as seen in this film, is not worthy of the "Psycho" name, and Perkins probably had a great time filming these scenes.
This is even more distressing when one realizes that this movie was directed by Anthony Perkins, a first-hand witness of the style Hitchcock used in the first "Psycho." The set-up of "Psycho III" is pretty good and original (though it may seem familiar), and Diana Scarwid is lovely and gorgeous as the runaway nun, but problems arise quickly.
While there isn't quite enough gore for PSYCHO 3 to be considered a true slasher film, Perkins, as director, makes a bold choice to bring Norman and his terrible habits into the 80's while maintaining the charming weirdness in character and setting of the original and even its first sequel.
Anthony Perkins puts on a great performance as Norman Bates, again.
Plot: Norman Bates(Anthony Perkins)is out from the asylum and has just opened the motel again.
A suicidal nun (Diana Scarwid) and a lecherous musician (Jeff Fahey) wind up stranded at the Bates Motel, where Norman (Anthony Perkins) is once again having delusions of "Mother".
Can Norman finally get out from under his mother's shadow and find love or will he slip into insanity once again?What I once considered merely a slasher film now ties with "Psycho II" as one of my favorite of the sequels.
It also does a great job of showing the inner conflict he has with himself (and Mother, if you will).It almost seems like Perkins was trying to take "Psycho III" where Hitchcock wanted to go with the original in regards of graphicness, but the censors at the time wouldn't allow him.
With Anthony Perkins directing a Psycho sequel and also serving as Norman Bates, I can't think of anything better.When Norman inevitably kills his new motel clerk Duane (a young Jeff Fahey), we finally see truly for the first time how Norma's scarred son has been compelled to kill by his dominant mother.