We all go a little mad sometimes, so from Nov. 27-Dec. 11 we’re dragging the swamp behind the Bates Motel for insight into the films of the “Psycho” franchise. Next up is “Psycho III” (1986):
Inching back to basics
After “Psycho II” (1983) has some fun playing with expectations – indeed, Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) might not even be the main killer in that film – “Psycho III” inches back to basics.
Perkins ably takes up the directing reins and gives us things we haven’t seen up to this point, notably a closer look at Norman’s interactions with his mother’s corpse, wherein Norman does his “mother’s” voice. (Perkins covers his mouth and Virginia Gregg, back from the first two films, does the voice.)
This is a case of a sequel doing “more” in superficial and stylistic ways, but not giving us many story beats we haven’t seen before.
Perkins and writer Charles Edward Pogue are a little too enamored with callbacks, such as someone falling down the stairs in the style of the detective from Hitchcock’s film and Norman slipping “We all go a little mad sometimes” into a conversation.
A romance for Norman
Still, “Psycho III” held my attention, in part because of a decent supporting cast. Pogue finds a way to give Norman a girl who’s a good match for him in Diana Scarwid’s Maureen Coyle, a would-be-nun who gets kicked out of a convent for her religious doubts and suicidal tendencies.
Maureen has the triple bad luck of stumbling upon the Bates Motel, wearing her hair short like Marion Crane and having the initials M.C. But another twist of fate finds Norman sparing her as “Psycho III” dodges our shower-scene expectations.
Jeff Fahey (“Lost”) also owns his scenes as shifty drifter Duane Duke, who dreams of being a rock star. Duke takes the manager job at the Bates Motel, which is surprisingly hopping in this entry that takes place immediately after “Psycho II.”
Traveling reporter Tracy Venable (Roberta Maxwell) wants to share Norman’s story with her readers, Sheriff Hunt (Hugh Gillin) believes in Norman’s rehabilitation but is getting suspicious, and high school football fans use the hotel for revelry. It’s almost enough to drive a stable person nuts, let alone someone who values peace and quiet like Norman does.
Pleasures in the small moments
The pleasures of “Psycho III” are not to be found in the plot so much as in the little moments. The Norman-Maureen date night is believably staged, with Norman being triggered by the prospect of things going further back at her hotel room. Norman flat-out drives a car into the swamp, fighting a victim all the way.
In a wonderful horror-comedy moment, which I remembered from my previous viewing, the sheriff grabs ice out of the ice machine, not looking down to see the corpse there.
In rushed fashion, Pogue irons out the oddity of another woman – Miss Spool, whose disappearance sparks the reporter’s suspicion of Norman — claiming to be Norman’s mother at the end of “Psycho II.”
It turns out she was his literally crazy aunt, who briefly kidnapped him from Norma. (This information is readily available in newspaper archives, but since this film takes place immediately after the previous one, Pogue is allowed to drag out the pseudo-mystery.)
Nurtured into evil?
So as it turns out, Norman is nuts more because of “nurture” than “nature,” which feels like the right choice. But the diversion into the idea of Spool being his mother, and therefore a genetic link to insanity, isn’t explored in an interesting way. Spool’s main purpose is to provide another corpse for Norman to use as a prop.
Still, if it is “nurture,” there is more of Norman’s backstory to get into. These sequels are getting a little tired, and the people in charge of the franchise wisely stop before this turns into a classier answer to the “Friday the 13th” series.
In future projects – “Psycho IV: The Beginning” (1990) and the recent TV prequel/reboot “Bates Motel” – we’ll learn about Norman’s coming-of-age, fertile ground for genuine revelations.
Schedule of “Psycho” reviews:
Friday, Nov. 27: “Psycho” (1960)
Wednesday, Dec. 2: “Psycho II” (1983)
Friday, Dec. 4: “Psycho III” (1986)
Wednesday, Dec. 9: “Psycho IV: The Beginning” (1990)
Friday, Dec. 11: “Psycho” (1998)