Anthony Perkins

A young career woman is thrust into the bright light when police question her about the identity of a serial killer. ~ All Movie Guide

In this episode of the Anthony Perkins-hosted series, the family cat brings home an interesting gift: two human fingers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this entry in the Anthony Perkins-hosted series a vengeful man invents a clever way to get back at those who bilked him out of his inheritance. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Anthony Perkins, in one of his last roles, is the sole highlight of this mundane, German-made psychological thriller, based on a novel by Ruth Rendell. Perkins plays Arthur, an obsessive-compulsive English bachelor with a history of far more destructive habits -- the worst of which include his reign of terror as the "Kenbourne Killer," who is responsible for the strangulation murders of several prostitutes. Like a certain legendary Perkins character of yore, Arthur has some Oedipal issues that need working out and fixates his mother fixation on the department-store mannequin he keeps in the secluded boarding house where he spends his "retirement." When this decidedly one-sided relationship is disrupted by the sudden loss of the dummy, poor Arthur goes 'round the bend again... but the blame for the new string of murders falls on one of his neighbors instead. Bogged down by pedestrian direction and a romantic subplot that serves little purpose, this attempt at a detailed portrayal of madness is kept aloft (barely) on the basis of Perkins' brooding, restrained performance. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

A made-for-TV effort from horror director Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), this supernatural thriller is ostensibly based on the novella of the same name by Cornell Woolrich -- but the title is pretty much where the similarity ends. The plot involves a possessed Aztec ceremonial cloak (once used to line a sacred burial chamber) which poisons the soul of anyone who wears it. An improbable string of events sees the cloak turned into a little slip of a dress -- donned by several different women, but worn to evil perfection by Madchen Amick (Twin Peaks's Shelly). I'm Dangerous Tonight features colorful supporting performances from Anthony Perkins and R. Lee Ermey. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

This made-for-cable vampire potboiler is distinguished mainly by the presence of director Stuart Gordon (of Re-Animator fame) and a sadly pallid looking Anthony Perkins in one of his last roles. Radiant Mia Sara plays schoolteacher Catherine Thatcher, whose trip to Budapest in search of her father (whom she has never met) reveals the grim underbelly of Romanian society in the dark days of Ceausescu. In an interesting twist, the dictator's sadistic secret police have become a veritable den of vampires (a barb-tongued breed dating back to Medieval times). Plots within plots unfold to reveal the true identity of Catherine's father. Gordon makes good use of authentic locations and somber atmosphere, blending the standard gothic look with a feel of social and spiritual decay -- but the bland script fails to exploit the metaphorical possibilities of this setting, and the silly horror effects make it hard to take seriously. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

In this black comedy about cannibalism, an overweight man (Joe Alaskey) is thrilled when a beautiful woman (Donna Dixon) invites him to her family's home for Christmas dinner. Little does he know that he's slated to be the main course. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

Film clips and interviews with actors and colleagues provide the material for this laudatory view of the career of Alfred Hitchcock. Among those interviewed who provide a bit of humor in the bargain are Philippe Noiret and Joan Fontaine. The "master of suspense" is shown according to stereotypes already in vogue: he is alternately a melancholy man who wanted stardom in front of the cameras or someone who mistreated actors and actresses on a regular basis. This latter attribute is denied by those interviewed, while the more controversial aspects of Hitchcock's behavior are never mentioned.
~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Set in London, this three-part British miniseries was adapted by Gerald Seymour from his own novel. A visiting Israeli scientist was targeted for assassination by two different terrorist organizations: one Irish, one Arab. After working at cross-purposes for an extended length of time, the hired killers from both factions decided to join forces to carry out their murderous assignment. American actors Rod Steigerand Anthony Perkins headed the cast of The Glory Boys, which originally aired over Yorkshire Television from October 1-3, 1984. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A sequel to one of the most popular horror films of all time, this psychological thriller received a pleasantly surprised, positive critical reception. Anthony Perkins returns as Norman Bates, who has just been released from an insane asylum after 22 years, having been judged clinically sane by the State of California over the objections of Lila Crane Loomis (Vera Miles), sister to one of Norman's murder victims. Norman returns home to the hotel and hilltop mansion he once inhabited with his mother. As a parole condition, Norman is hired at a local diner, where he struggles to join mainstream society, despite the stares of patrons aware of his past. At the diner, Norman befriends Mary (Meg Tilly), a waitress, and it seems that he may be putting some semblance of a life back together. But then Norman begins to experience hallucinatory encounters with his long-dead mother, including a handwritten note, a phone call, and a sighting of her standing at her favorite window. Is Norman's psychosis manifesting itself again, or are old enemies attempting to drive him back into an institution? As the pressure mounts, bodies pile up, and Norman's fragile hold on normality becomes more and more tenuous. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

An exceedingly complex plot with a few gaps in logic characterizes this uneven thriller by George Bloomfield. Photographer Michael (Michael Sarrazin) is now in a mental institution because after he got back from a dangerous assignment in the Middle East he found his wife raped and murdered. His mistress Paula West (Susan Clark) manages to get him released and then asks a private detective to keep an eye on him in case he flips out again. Trouble brews when the dead wife's lover (Anthony Perkins), who knows the truth about how she died, wants some remuneration for his silence. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Based on a novel by the iconoclastic Richard Condon (of Manchurian Candidate and Prizzi's Honor fame), Winter Kills was one of the vanguard efforts in the "JFK conspiracy" school of literature. Jeff Bridges stars as Nick Kegan, the scion of a powerful Kennedyesque family, who has done his best to make himself obscure after the assassination of his older brother, the former president of the U.S. While working as an oil rigger, Nick is introduced to a terminally ill gentleman who claims to have been "the second assassin." His curiosity aroused, Nick begins digging into what was supposed to be a closed case -- and, predictably, what he finds out isn't pretty. This, however, is the only predictable element of this mesmerizingly mazelike yarn. A failure when first released, Winter Kills fared somewhat better when director William Richert arranged to rerelease the film through his own company and restore several scenes that had been cut by its previous backers. Elizabeth Taylor appears uncredited as one "Lola Comante." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide