Psycho III

United States

1986

93 Min

Color

1.85:1

English

Currently 2.2/5 Stars.
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CAST Anthony Perkins, Diana Scarwid, Jeff Fahey, Roberta Maxwell, Hugh Gillin, Lee Garlington, Robert Alan Browne

MUSIC Carter Burwell, Stephen Bray, D. Stanton Miranda, David Sanborn

Director

Perkins made his film debut in The Actress (1953). He received the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actor and an Academy Award nomination for his second film, Friendly Persuasion (1956). The tall (6’2") Perkins also portrayed the troubled former Boston Red Sox baseball player Jimmy Piersall in the 1957 true story
Fear Strikes Out.

Following this, he released three pop albums in 1957 and 1958 on Epic and RCA as “Tony Perkins”. His single “Moon-Light Swim” was a hit in the United States, peaking at #24 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1957. He starred with Shirley Booth and Shirley MacLaine in the film The Matchmaker (1958).

He also acted on the stage. In 1958, he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performance in Look Homeward, Angel on Broadway. During this time he also starred in Green Mansions (1959) with Audrey Hepburn and the college comedy Tall Story (1960) with… read more

Perkins was cast as Norman Bates in the Alfred Hitchcock-directed film Psycho (1960). The film was a critical and commercial success and gained Perkins international fame for his performance as the homicidal owner of the Bates Motel.

After that came a successful career in Europe, including the role of Joseph K. in Orson Welles’ 1962 adaptation of Franz Kafka’s The Trial. Upon returning to America, he took the role of a disturbed young murderer in Pretty Poison (1968). He also played Chaplain Tappman in Catch-22 (1970).

Perkins co-wrote, with composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim, the screenplay for the 1973 film The Last of Sheila, for which they received a 1974 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Motion Picture Screenplay.

In 1972, he starred in The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean with Paul Newman, Jacqueline Bisset and Victoria Principal. Perkins was one of the many stars featured in the 1974 hit Murder on the Orient Express, reuiniting him with Bisset and co-starring Albert Finney, Sean Connery, Ingrid Bergman and many more. Perkins also hosted television’s Saturday Night Live in 1976 and was featured in his only science fiction film, The Black Hole, in 1979.

Among his Broadway credits are the Frank Loesser musical Greenwillow (1960) and Bernard Slade’s 1979 play Romantic Comedy opposite Mia Farrow.

Perkins reprised the role of Norman Bates in three sequels to Psycho. The first, Psycho II, came more than 20 years after the original film. He starred in the sexually provocative Crimes of Passion (1984) opposite Kathleen Turner. He then starred in and directed Psycho III in 1986, followed by the made-for-cable Psycho IV: The Beginning in 1990.

Although he was fighting AIDS, the actor appeared in eight television productions between 1990 and 1992, including Daughter of Darkness (1990) with Mia Sara and The Naked Target (1992) with Roddy McDowall. He made his final appearance in In Deep Woods (1992) with Rosanna Arquette. —Wikipedia

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Electrus Amadeus Magnus

10May13

References Vertigo with opening & The Birds with two scenes that includes a murder.

Mr. Arkadin

1Jan13

On the one hand, it's a little ridiculous to even discuss the first, second, & third sequels to a film as accomplished, transgressive, and distincitve as the original; sequels seem immediately pointless and derivative. On the other hand, Perkins here draws liberally both from all of Hitchcock's mythology (the opening is a reworking of *Vertigo's* bell tower scenes/themes, e.g.) and, I'd have to guess,

HKFanatic likes this

Mr. Arkadin

1Jan13

Perkins' experience filming Russell's *Crimes of Passion* two years earlier. I do wish that this sequel included Perkins' *Psycho II* performance (and Vera Miles), but in all other ways it is a superior psychosexual slasher. (I'm always mystified by people who find Franklin's installment "taut" and "well-paced"—I've found it, each time I've watched it, much like Franklin's other thrillers: too long, too slow, poor in its pacing; also often uninspired in terms of direction.) Here we get scenes of Bava-esque lighting and kill scenes that recall the heyday of the slasher. It's not on the same planet as the original, but as a standalone 80s riff on slashers, it works better than a lot of the others I've seen.
Sheldon No

11Jan13

Did you catch the Argento references too?

Christopher Smith

29Apr10

While it's nowhere near the league of Hitchcock's masterpiece, this sequel is entertaining enough in a cheesy sort of way - even if it really is nothing more than a slightly above average slasher movie. Anthony Perkins turns out to be a fairly competent director, even if he is a bit past his prime as an actor.

Salem Kapsaski

29Apr10

This third installment of Psycho (directed by Perkins himself) is actually surprisingly good. Psycho 4 is also worth checking out (as long as you ignore the contradictions and minor potholes each sequel provides).

Mr. Arkadin likes this