Psycho III (1986)
Starring: Anthony Perkins, Diana Scarwid, Jeff Fahey
Writer: Charles Edward Pogue
Director: Anthony Perkins
Synopsis (from Scream Factory):
The Bates Motel is once again the site
of something evil as the rehabilitated Norman attempts to help a
disturbed young woman, Maureen Coyle, who has left the convent
because she can't find any proof that God exists. Maureen bears a
striking resemblance to one-time Bates Motel guest Marion Crane,
which puts Norman on edge. At the same time, a nosy reporter is
snooping around town looking into Norman's past.
Review:
Well, I'm going to go ahead and get
this out of the way; Psycho III is nowhere near on the level of
Psycho II. Anthony Perkins didn't have the direction skills of
Richard Franklin, and Charles Edward Pogue's writing lacks the punch of Tom Holland's. This movie is more or
less standard slasher fare, but guess what? For a third installment
in a franchise, going a more simpler route isn't such a bad thing.
I have a couple of gripes with the story. I
normally do not like when the mythology of a film is altered in a
later sequel. Continuity errors and things like that I can let slide
most of the time. But I'm talking major game changing. Scream 3 and
Terminator 3 throw the mythology of their predecessors out of the
window, and it's a major letdown on both accounts. However, with
Psycho II it wasn't bad at all. Quite the contrary. By changing the
mythology of what we believed in the first film, Tom Holland gave us great suspense, and landed us right smack in front of one of the best “holy crap” endings of a horror film ever. Unfortunately,
Charles Pogue wasn't a fan of this game changer, and he felt it best
to take the story back to what it once was. In doing so, he
created a jumbled mess in the third act. Maybe it could
have worked, had the reveal been given to us earlier on, but not in
the middle of an insanely intense finale. It's just too much all at
once.
One more thing, and small in
comparison to my main gripe- Psycho III is supposed to take place
mere weeks after the Part II, yet it's totally obvious that the film was made years later. Norman has aged and the state of the
Bates Motel and mansion look drastically worn. If you can't make it believable that it's not
taking place in the same time-frame of the last movie, why not just
set it in the present of when it was being filmed? Anyway, moving on.
As far as visual presentation goes,
Psycho III is basically what it needs to be. Perkins as a director
was not on the level of Richard Franklin or definitely not Alfred
Hitchcock. He himself had even mentioned in interviews that he felt
out of his element and that directing and acting in a film was a
painstaking process. With that being said, I do think he sold himself
a little short. Sure, Psycho III is much more basic, but there's
nothing wrong with that. It doesn't look bad, by any means. I
particularly love a couple of segue sequences (one with a television
as the primary focus, another with Norman leaving a hospital room and
when he turns around he's back at the house talking to Mother), and
there's a sex scene that freakishly staged (touching on that a little
bit, Psycho III is actually a bit more sleazy than the previous
films, and it's totally fitting for the time it was made). Lots of red
and green lighting here, a nifty spin cam shot over a bed, and some
overhead crane type work that almost put Hitchcock in mind. The movie
isn't badly shot by any means.
Characters aren't really fleshed out, but
given how Psycho III is more of a straightforward slasher, they don't need to be. The late Anthony Perkins is once again great as Norman Bates, but in this film there's really no question as to how unstable he is.
He has some fun moments with Diana Scarwid, who plays Maureen. Both characters have a sort of distance with reality, and it
helps them connect. They shine together quite a few times .
Roberta Maxwell's character, Tracy, is perhaps one of the most
annoying and unlikable people ever, especially considering that
she's more or less a protagonist. Her performance is fine, but in no
way did I once want her to succeed in her endeavors. The standout in
Psycho III is Jeff Fahey, as Duke. It's still his most
sleazy role to date, and there's not a single thing to like about
him, but Fahey pulls off the dirtiness with ease.
The film could have dared to have been
a bit more graphic in terms of kills, for sure. It actually takes a
step back from Psycho II, and it should have done the
exact opposite, given the film's overall atmosphere. Still, there are a few moments with good bloody special effects, especially one that
takes place in a bathroom with a victim taking a potty break.
Carter Burwell handles the score this
time around. The music of Psycho III is a solid element. I
prefer Jerry Goldsmith's work in part II above anything, but
Burwell's theme that plays over the title credits is haunting
and hard to forget. There's a bar scene in the movie that features a more bouncy jukebox version of the credits theme; it kind of reminded me
of the bar moment in Phantasm. There's also a bit of creepy,
choir-like chanting music that works well over the presented scenes.
Ultimately, I dig the score.
Final Word:
At the end of the day, Psycho III is a
fun slasher sequel. As a child, it was an absolute blast, and I'm
glad to a say a return to it didn't leave me cold. It's probably my
least favorite in the series (I'm actually a sucker for part IV), but
that's not bad, considering I feel the entire quadrilogy is pretty on
par. If Psycho II was a bit too different for die hard fans of the
first film, they may want to give this a go. A lot of the time, the third film in a series is a
final nail in the coffin... Psycho III is definitely not
that.
Blu-ray:
Scream Factory's Blu-ray of Psycho III
is presented in 1080p High-Definition Widescreen (1.85:1). I'd never
seen the movie on anything other than VHS or TV in the 80s, in full
frame, so this was a pretty awesome experience visually. For audio, we're
given a DTS Master in 5.1 and 2.0. As usual, the 5.1 sounds incredible.
Special Features
Watch the Guitar – with Jeff Fahey-
awesome interview with Fahey, where he reminisces about the starring
in the film, and how surreal it felt seeing the house, etc... seems
like an awesome guy.
Patsy's Last Night – with Katt Shea-
Katt goes through the audition process, and what it was like playing
her part and so on.
Mother's Maker – with Special Effects
Creator Michael Westmore- a breakdown of the special effects process
for Psycho III.
Body Double – with Brinke Stevens-
Brinke goes into how she landed a body double role for the film. I
had no idea before this that she had any affiliation with Psycho III
whatsoever, so I found this interview pretty interesting. Lovely
lady.
Trailers- 2 theatrical trailers. Pretty
cool, I like when trailers mislead you as to what the story is,
instead of giving you everything. This is what we get here.
Stills Gallery- movie stills, behind
the scenes, actor stills, lobby cards, etc...
Audio Commentary – with Michael
Felsher (Red Shirt Pirtures) and writer Charles Edward Pogue- I think
the Psycho II commentary spoiled me a bit. No issues with Felsher at
all, honestly thought he was awesome. But Pogue, I hate to say, kinda
comes off like a “me me me” type person. Going back to Psycho II,
Tom Holland was more than generous when complementing everyone
involved with the film; you don't really get that with Pogue on this
commentary. He does give off some nifty tidbits about the production,
so it's not a complete loss. I just didn't find it as charming
overall as the commentary on Psycho II.
Final Word:
Scream Factory's release of Psycho III
is loaded, and any fan shouldn't be without it. Available September
24th, 2013 on DVD and Blu-ray. Preorder HERE!
P.S.- So Scream Factory, how about
Psycho IV!?
- Eric (Brobocop)
- Eric (Brobocop)
