The Big Bad Bates

The Bates Motel was back in business in 1986's Psycho III, with Norman Bates and his imaginary mother back in charge. After the second film recast Norman as a protagonist struggling with deceptive people and his own mind, the third film places Norman squarely in the villain role, returning affairs somewhat to how they were in Hitchcock's film. As a result, it's far less interesting than the first or second film but it has a few points of interest.

Anthony Perkins returns as Norman Bates and he also directs this one. He's not incompetent as a director but he's nowhere close to Richard Franklin, who directed the second, and of course he's no Hitchcock. He pays more homage to Hitchcock than Franklin did, recreating several shots and the opening scene even has an extended reference to Vertigo.

One of the more sadly underdeveloped aspects of the film is the female lead, Maureen, played by Diana Scarwid. Scarwid's performance isn't as good as Meg Tilly in the second or Janet Leigh in the first but she has an interesting premise. She's a nun but, after accidentally causing a woman's death, Maureen leaves her convent and winds up at the Bates Motel. We finally get a shot of Norman actually perving out, watching her through the peephole as she undresses before switching to killer mother mode. Then events take an unexpected turn.

It turns out there's a chance for romance between Norman and Maureen. One of the more tantalising questions in the series is, "What if Norman actually consummates a relationship with a woman?" Of course, the closer he gets to the threshold, the more liable the madness is to take over, which comes off as quite psychologically credible, and Perkins' performance is still very good, though not as magnetic as it is in the second film. It's unfortunate that Maureen is not a very complex character, and the movie cuts her off before she has much time to develop. I would have preferred an exploration of a relationship between Norman and Mary from the second film. It would be a difficult thing, I guess, and I can see where screenwriters are coming from, not wanting to spoil Norman's mental illness as it is. But he and Mary together could've been a fascinatingly twisted path.

Psycho III has Jeff Fahey playing a scumbag to rile Norman up, basically taking over from Dennis Franz in the second film. Fahey's character differs in that he's actually able to charm women, leading to some understated pulp comedy here and there. He's fun in a cheesy way not typical of the series but would later make him perfect for his roles in Robert Rodriguez films.