Review

An ex-nun with a few Roos loose in her top paddock and a wannabe musician book themselves into the Bates Motel. Norman hires the musician, and forms an attachment to the ex-nun, who reminds him of the girl "Mother" killed twenty-two years earlier.

Of course "Mother" might have something to say about this, and she does indeed disapprove of Norm's activities. To make matters more complex for Norman, the Musician and a pesky reporter are trying to dig up information on what's going down. Some deaths ensue, ready to listen to Mother?

It would probably be beneficial to this review if we talked about Psycho III out of context with the two preceding movies in the franchise, especially Hitch's original which pretty much slam-dunks this one. But since the movie isn't that good anyways I wont bother. What worked in the first two films was the thriller orientation; this one is an out and out slasher, and loses its appeal pretty quickly because of that. There are a couple of things that save the movie however, and we'll get to them in short order.

Naturally, this being a Psycho movie, we get a number of things reprised from the original. Big mistake right there, as the audience really don't need reminding of how deep this franchise is sinking into the swamp. We get a flashback to the infamous shower scene, cause that was some filmmaking by Hitchcock, and then we get a current shower scene. Director Perkins turns that one on its head and expect the unexpected there.

We also get a reprise of the scene where someone takes a tumble down the Bates' manse staircase. This is pretty much a shot for shot reproduction of the scene in the original movie. Modern audiences can forgive Hitch for his, at the time, revolutionary approach to filming the scene; it simply sucks when re-done in a 1986 movie. Bad decision to re-shoot Hitch's effect. It looked unreal, and once again reminded me of how much better the original movie was than the crap I was currently watching.

Always a mistake to reference a classic horror flick, specially if you are making a slasher dumb down

As you should get from the quote included at the top there, some of the choice lines from the original are recycled. They actually work, and tie in nicely with Perkin's themes in this movie.

Mother pops up unexpectedly again in a couple of scenes, but since we are now used to this following the same approach being used in the two previous movies, it kind of loses its impact. I was thinking a second-rate Michael Myers to be honest. Heck, chicks just can't do that sudden looming thing like Mikey can.

As stated, there are a couple of things working in the third movie. This time around we get far more focus on the tortured soul that is Norman Bates. That was working like a Trojan for me. Dug the fact that Norman was simply helping "Mother", with the Roos were really having a party in the top paddock. That theme is nailed in this film, and you can't help but feel some sympathy towards Norm. He's a good lad, and is doing the best he can in the face of "Mother's" unsocial activities down the motel.

Also quite dug the ex-Nun subplot that ran through the movie. Norman has found a fellow traveller on the road to madness, and there's a real feeling that the two just might hit it off in a sort of dysfunctional way. The ex-Nun is so off the planet that she thinks "Mother" is the Virgin Mary come to show her how to achieve redemption. Norman thinks he might be getting some, if he can keep "Mother" in her room. What really works is that "Mother" doesn't deal with the Nun, the first victim in the entire franchise that is due to an accident, and which can be placed squarely at the feet of Norman. Nice switch of roles there, and it certainly explains what goes down in the penultimate scene.

A few minor points and we'll have a look at our thespians. The resolution to this movie doesn't work. Watch it to see how Perkins tries to have his cake and eat it as well. Wasn't a happy camper over here with the development. There's also a lot of religious symbolism going down during the film, which actually doesn't go anywhere in the final analysis. Kept expecting something to pop up, but it never does. Perkins misses an opportunity to take the franchise in a new direction right there, friends and neighbours. And finally, Perkins nails the house in one scene, but fails to make it anything like a supporting character ala the first two movies. Was somewhat disappointed with the Director missing that angle in the franchise. If the house is going to feature prominently then make it work for ya, would be my call from the 22nd row.

Anthony Perkins (Norman Bates) is the glue that holds this plywood construction together like he did in the second outing in the franchise. Perkins really does present a believable, tortured Norman; I was digging his performance once again. No one else quite does psycho like Perkins. Diana Scarwid (Maureen Coyle, the ex-Nun) also nails her role, and manages to match Perkins for playing an out-there character. Scarwid had me on side and really adds another dimension to this movie. It needed it, to be honest.

Jeff Fahey (Duane Duke) does scum-sucker well. His character isn't likeable in any fashion, but I sure did groove to what Fahey put in here. At one-stage Duke looks more menacing than Norman; Fahey is simply superb with his facial expression, and sheer evil projection. Nice work dude, remind me never ever to meet you in a dark alley behind the Bates motel. Roberta Maxwell (Tracy Venable) does the hard-nosed chick reporter adequately. She doesn't get much chance to develop the role, it's kind of minor but crucial, but I was believing her performance as the end credits rolled.

All sorts of people handled the score, and as you would expect from myriad people inputting, it turns out to be worse than expected. Didn't note the trademark stalk-music this time round, but then wasn't exactly digging into the film in any great depth. One of those scores that disappear into the background rather than making you nod in approval at any enhancement of the onscreen visuals.

Our third outing in the Psycho franchise sees the series move from its traditional thriller orientation to an out and out slasher bargain price knock down. We even have a final girl going up against "Mother", though the resolution there isn't quite what we are expecting. The movie reprises many of the scenes from the first flick, but is bankrupt when it comes to further exploring the Bates mythos. You get the feeling that some additional kills were used because the makers of this one were out of ideas and didn't fully comprehend why audiences were dialling into the series for their Norman fix. Anthony Perkins takes the helm this time, but besides nailing a more in-depth world view from Norman's angle, misses a lot of opportunities to match Hitchcock's original outing.

A tardy attempt to cash in on the slasher craze, which leaves Psycho III in the position of being a fish out of water. More tension needed, less on the body count. There's even a hint of necrophilia that had me going wtf!!!

Worth a look if only to round out your Psycho viewing dancing card. If you haven't been digging into the whole Norman Bates thing then give it a miss. The resolution in this one is simply unbelievable and pretty much puts us back where Hitchcock's original finished. So over three movies we haven't advanced very far would be my call. The movie fails as a standalone, and pales in comparison to the early entries in the franchise. Okay, that's me done with this one, as I think I can hear Mother calling.