Where Psycho remains a monumental classic, and Psycho II remains an absolutely brilliant sequel, Psycho III is, perhaps inevitably, a bit of simple slasher movie fare. Norman Bates is back, he's still portrayed by Anthony Perkins, and circumstances are once again about to start testing his sanity.
Cleared of any wrongdoing after the events of the previous movie, Norman is trying to live a fairly normal life, running the motel while keeping himself to himself. Unfortunately, some other people won’t let that happen. There’s an opportunistic drifter, Duane (Jeff Fahey), a troubled fallen nun named Maureen (Diana Scarwid), and a reporter, Tracy (Roberta Maxwell), who is curious about whether or not Norman should be viewed as fully rehabilitated and ready to participate in society after his violent past.
As well as returning to his most famous movie role, Perkins also takes on the directing duties for this instalment. He doesn’t do a bad job, helped by his knowledge of the character and the setting, but there’s a feeling throughout that viewers are in the hands of someone not entirely confident in their own abilities.
That might also stem from the script, written by Charles Edward Pogue. Most fun when it leans fully into the sleazier moments and the slasher movie set-pieces, it keeps stumbling when weighed down by the legacy of the movies it is following. The moments most obviously reworking scenes from the first film are the weakest, it’s always a bold move to play around with such iconic imagery, but kudos to both Pogue and Perkins for taking on the assignment.
As for the cast, Perkins is once again wonderful in the main role. Norman has always been a mesmerising mix of vulnerability and danger, and the biggest strength of this film is the way it manages to maintain that mix for most of the runtime. Scarwid and Maxwell both do fine, although the former is much more passive than the latter, but the other highlight is Fahey, portrayed as a con-man who uses his gorgeous good looks to make up for his clumsy attempts at charm. Fahey steals the movie once or twice (one particular moment, featuring his naked form and a pair of lamps, shows both actor and director at their very best), but the script manages to avoid letting him become the focus for too long.
While not as good as the previous two movies in this franchise, Psycho III is worth watching, especially if you like the character of Norman and want to see him in another pickle (to put it mildly). Perkins tries hard to mix more modern sensibilities with the classic suspense that Hitchcock would have supplied, and the macabre humour running throughout is another big plus, but he falls a bit short of delivering something completely satisfying.
6/10
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