SHE DIED WITH HER CUBES ON

Tony Perkins, starring in and directing “Psycho III” (due this summer), wanted a deadly bathroom scene to be largely bloodless, like Hitchcock’s famous shower sequence in the original.

But “it didn’t work for the Universal executives,” said actress Katt Shea Ruben, who plays the victim, “so they decided to shoot it again.” This time, makeup artist Mike Westmore rigged up a neck device that gushed red under Norman Bates’ murderous knife, giving Universal brass their plasma quota.

For the rest of the movie Ruben had to play dead. Never mind that she’s claustrophobic--Norman stuffs her in an ice machine (at the Bates Motel, of course) and covers her with ice cubes to keep her fresh. “You have this shot of frozen terror on my face,” said Ruben, “because I was frozen.”

Then Norman carries her around, trying to figure out what to do with her, at one point kissing her to avoid being detected (and falling for her just a little). Ruben even gets shoved into a car trunk in a rainstorm--with her mouth wide open.

“I wasn’t allowed to choke, just gurgle a little,” said Ruben. “Being dead is a real challenge.”