Psycho III
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| Psycho III | |
|---|---|
| Image:Poster3.jpg original movie poster for Psycho III | |
| Directed by | Anthony Perkins |
| Produced by | Hilton A. Green |
| Written by | Charles Edward Pogue |
| Starring | Anthony Perkins Diana Scarwid Jeff Fahey Roberta Maxwell |
| Music by | Carter Burwell |
| Cinematography | Bruce Surtees |
| Editing by | David E. Blewitt |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | July 2, 1986 |
| Running time | 93 min. |
| Country | Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States |
| Language | English |
| Gross revenue | $14,482,000 (USA) |
| Preceded by | Psycho II |
| Followed by | Psycho IV: The Beginning |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Psycho III is a 1986 sequel to Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 classic Psycho. The film stars Anthony Perkins (who also directed the film), Diana Scarwid, Jeff Fahey and Roberta Maxwell. The screenplay is written by Charles Edward Pogue. The original music score is composed by Carter Burwell.
- Tagline: The most shocking of them all.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
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. She is forced to leave the convent after this ordeal.
Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) is still manning the desk at the Bates Motel, where he now has an assistant, Duane Duke (Jeff Fahey), a sleazy young musician desperate for money. Maureen, now the new long-term tenant, has some issues to resolve in her life. She gave up her vows as a nun only days before, and she isn't sure just how she feels about either spiritual or earthly matters.
Maureen finds herself at the diner where Norman worked briefly as the cook's assistant following his release from the institution. Norman takes an interest in Maureen because he feels she strongly resembles Marion Crane -- the girl he murdered in the shower 22 years earlier. Her initials, "M.C." on her suitcase are the same as those of Marion Crane. Meanwhile, Norman is still keeping the dressed corpse of Emma Spool in his old Victorian mansion behind the Bates Motel on the hill.
After a conversation, Maureen decides to take a bath. What the audience sees is Maureen's joyful cleansing in the shower, but the surrender of an acutely dispirited woman. When "Mother" opens the curtains, "she" sees not a hardy woman in a shower, but rather, a broken woman in a bathtub. She is attempting suicide by slitting her wrists with a razorblade.
Maureen looks up at "Mother" who is so weakened by what "she" sees, "she" lowers the knife. Maureen sees not a blade, but a shimmering crucifix. What Maureen was staring at was not Norman's mother coming to kill her, but Mother Mary coming to save her. Norman gets Maureen to the local hospital to save her life. After she is released, he invites her to stay back at the motel and they began a romantic relationship.
Tracy Venable (Roberta Maxwell), a pushy journalist, is writing an article about serial killers being put back on the streets. Venable is trying to prove that Norman is beginning a series of murders once again. She comes to seek Norman and ask questions about his past and "Mother". Norman becomes defensive with the reporter and tells her to leave, never to return.
[edit] Main cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Anthony Perkins | Norman Bates |
| Diana Scarwid | Maureen Coyle |
| Jeff Fahey | Duane Duke |
| Roberta Maxwell | Tracy Venable |
| Hugh Gillin | Sheriff John Hunt |
| Robert Alan Browne | Ralph Starler |
| Lee Garlington | Myrna |
| Janet Leigh | Marion Crane (flashback) |
[edit] Production notes
Director and star Anthony Perkins clearly made an effort to make Psycho III in a style reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock's original Psycho. Its style is rooted in the original film, not that of Psycho II. For instance, during a conversation between Maureen Coyle and Norman Bates in the motel's office, Maureen expresses her concern that she may have "gone a little mad" when she left the nunnery. Norman echoing himself from the original film replies: "We all go a little mad sometimes."
[edit] Music
There were many songs recorded for Psycho III, some of them were performed by Stanton Miranda. Carter Burwell did some songs that play on the jukebox in the diner and on the radios in cars. The soundtrack for Psycho III was originally released on MCA Records.
The song, Scream of Love was released as a single on vinyl only. The dance remixes by Arthur Baker was featured on the 12" vinyl. MCA commissioned a music video featuring Carter Burwell, Anthony Perkins and a Hitchcockian woman. Perkins presented the video on MTV as a guest VJ.
[edit] Reference in Popular Culture
In 2007 Icons of Fright.com co-creator Robert Galluzzo began production on The Psycho Legacy which will document the making of all the films in the Psycho franchise, with a heavy emphasis on the 1980's sequels.
[edit] External links
- Psycho III at the Internet Movie Database
- Psycho III at All Movie Guide
- Psycho III at Rotten Tomatoes
Psycho series | |
|---|---|
| Robert Bloch's novels | Psycho • Psycho II • Psycho House |
| Films | Psycho • Psycho II • Psycho III • Psycho IV: The Beginning • Psycho (1998 remake) |
| Other | Bates Motel • Robert Bloch's Psychos • Norman Bates |
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