Roger Ebert gave the film three out of five stars, saying: "Any movie named "Psycho III" is going to be compared to the Hitchcock original, but Perkins isn't an imitator. He has his own agenda. He has lived with Norman Bates all these years, and he has some ideas about him, and although the movie doesn't apologize for Norman, it does pity him. For the first time, I was able to see that the true horror in the "Psycho" movies isn't what Norman does - but the fact that he is compelled to do it." Vincent Canby of "The New York Times" said: "It has a cast of talented, self-effacing actors, who don't upstage the material, and an efficient screenplay by Charles Edward Pogue, who doesn't beat you over the head to prove that he has a sense of humor." Ken Hanke of Mountain Xpress called the film a "superior horror sequel stylishly made by star Anthony Perkins". Dave Kehr of "The Chicago Reader" said: "Perkins tries to imitate Hitchcock's visual style, but most of the film is made without concern for style of any kind, unless it's the bludgeoning nonstyle of Friday the 13th." "Variety" called the film "dependent almost entirely upon self-referential incidents and attitudes for its effect, and it eventually becomes wearying."