Location ! Location ! Location !

In movies things aren't as they appear. I know...I know. Take for example the filming location for "Psycho II". To the casual observer it would seem it was filmed in the same location 22 years after the first film. In fact your a mile or so away from where the original was shot. Here's a map I made of using Google Maps satellite imagery.

It's of the Universal Studios Hollywood backlot illustrating the locations of the motel and house from Psycho I, II and III. "Psycho III" was the last film in the franchise to star Anthony Perkins to be shot at Universal Studios Hollywood. The house from "Psycho III" still remains in the same location to this day. The original set stood on the backlot from 1959 until December 1980. The house looks a bit different as it was used in various t.v. shows and movies after the filming of "Psycho". The picture below shows the house being dismantled.

Copyright Mark Brindle and Ann Cook

The next photo is from 1982.Here we see the house removed from it's original location getting ready to be refurbished and used in "Psycho II".

Copyright Douglas Hill

A screenshot from "Psycho II" illustrating a mix of reality and movie magic

The above photo is the house moved into place and the motel fully rebuilt in 1985 for the filming of "Psycho III". Although the house and motel have remained in place since 1985 it has been slighty altered over the years. The exterior of the motel was altered for the miserable remake of the original. The stairs have also changed. All of the locations had a path at the top of the stairs that ran along the left side of the house as seen in the photo below of the reconstruted house at Universal Studios in Orlando where "Psycho IV: The Beginning" was filmed. Sadly that house or the motel no longer exist.