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A Review of “Psycho 3″
This is a review of the film “Psycho 3″ and what I think about it.
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“Psycho 3″ was the second sequel to the Alfred Hitchcock classic and was made in 1986. This film saw Anthony Perkins take up the director’s chair as well as return to the role of Norman Bates.
In the pre-credits sequence, a woman screams “There is no God” before the film fades in to see a nun named Maureen (Diana Scarwid) kneeling before a statue of the Virgin Mary asking for a sign. She then ascends to the top of the bell tower of her convent where she threatens to throw herself off. The Mother Superior attempts to talk her down but to no avail. When she then tries to grab Maureen to save her, she ends up falling through the wooden stair rail and to her death. Maureen is taunted by another nun telling her that “she’ll burn in hell for this”. As a result Maureen leaves and treks across the Californian desert as the credits roll.
Maureen is picked up by Dwayne Duke (Jeff Fahey), a sleazeball character with dreams to heading to Los Angeles to be a rock and roll star. He tries to find out more about Maureen, but she brushes him off and then quietly breaks down. That night a storm forces Duke to pull his car over to the side of the road. He then encourages her to get some sleep. Later Duke makes advances to her when she wakes up. She refuses him and rushes out of the car into the storm. When Maureen demands her suitcase, Duke throws it out into a puddle and leaves her stranded as she breaks down.
We then cut to the Bates Motel the very next day where we see Norman poisoning birds at his bird feeder for his hobby of taxidermy. As he is stuffing birds in his kitchen we see an article about the missing Mrs Spool (Clara Bryant). Norman’s mind then wanders back to the end of the second film where he killed her by poisoning her and then hitting her over the back of the head with a shovel. After releasing a bird which has survived Norman’s poisoning, he hears the sound of a car horn. This comes from Duke, who meets Norman and tells him that he’s interested in the help wanted sign in the office window. Norman offers him a free cabin and the pay of $5 per hour, then heads off to Statler’s diner for food. At the diner, Statler (Robert Alan Browne) and Sheriff Hunt (Hugh Gilliam) are discussing the disappearance of Mrs Spool. Their conversation is interrupted by Tracy Veneble (Roberta Maxwell), a reporter who has come to interview Norman Bates for an article about mentally ill murderers. Despite the Sheriff’s objections, she presses ahead when Norman comes in for some food. Although hesitant, Norman listens to Tracy talk about his incarceration and his persecution by Lila Loomis. Norman then sees a thin woman with short blond hair (actually Maureen) get off a bus outside the diner. As Maureen comes inside, she passes Norman and he sees the initials MC on her suitcase. Norman has a flashback to the shower murder of Marion Crane and the memory ends with Maureen’s face taking the place of Marion’s face on the bathroom floor. These events eventually lead to conflict for Norman as he makes a courageous attempt to finally get rid of the shackles of ‘Mother’ once and for all, as a result of his feelings for Maureen.
“Psycho 3″ was bound to happen following the success of “Psycho 2″ in 1983. Unfortunately this was not to be for “Psycho 3″ which was a box office flop. Which is a shame considering that this for me is the best of the “Psycho” sequels. As usual Anthony Perkins is on top form as Norman and is helped by a strong cast of supporting players. Perkins himself does a very good job as a first time director, insuring that we have a well constructed story that doesn’t slow down or get stuck at any point. Adding to this film is a wonderful score by Carter Burwell, which has become a classic among lovers of this film as well as film music lovers in general. What does impress me the most in this film is the idea that two lost souls find each other and attempt to find a measure of happiness, which can help them to heal their wounds. But that does not happen as the influence of ‘Mother’ on Norman gains the ultimate victory over him, that being the death of Maureen. Even in the final moment of the film as Norman has attempted to destroy the influence of ‘Mother’ once and for all resulting in his fall, do we see the influence live on as he is seen stroking the hand of the corpse of Mrs Spool/Mother and he fades into black, half of his face in light and the other half in dark with a smile on his face.
In all an underated film which has now been given a second chance over the years thanks to critics and film fans. And one to definately enjoy.
