My Review of Psycho (1998)

Written by Joseph Stefano

Directed by Gus Van Sant

Norman (to Marion): "A boy's best friend is his mother."

I was always going to have to circle back to this one. Earlier in the year, I sat through the Anthony Perkins starring sequels and even ventured into a TV movie that felt somewhat disconnected. Then there was this remake and um, yeah. I know why I held off with this one.

Usually remakes try to spice it up a bit and be somewhat different to the original in order to justify their existence. This one on the other decided to be as close to the original as it could be that I really do question it's existence.

Anyways, you've got your false protagonist with Marion Crane (Anne Heche). Again, she decided to steal $400,000 from her boss to help her separated lover, Sam Loomis (Viggo Mortensen), even to the point of making a stop at a certain motel. You know the one I'm talking about.

The motel being the Bates Motel where proprietor Norman (Vince Vaughn) made an unsettling impression on Marion before his other self took over and killed her. Yeah, that scene played out as it did in the original and nowhere near as effectively. It's staged very badly if I'm being honest.

Then there was the other characters at play. You had Marion's sister, Lila (Julianne Moore) and private detective Arbogast (William H. Macy) all working together to find Marion. This of course led to them circling in on Norman.

Everything after that just felt like a race to the conclusion. Arbogast died in a very cartoonish way, Norman dressed like his mother whom he poisoned over a decade ago and Lila and Sam barely survived him. At least Mrs Bates (Rose Marie) wouldn't hurt a fly though.

- Some differences would be the fact there was more blood and Norman clearly masturbating before killing Marion.

- Nicole Kidman was originally considered for Marion but turned down due to scheduling conflicts. 

- Standout music: Rob Zombie's Living Dead Girl.

- Chronology: It came out in 1998 and we go from a Phoenix motel to California for the main events.

I think this version of Psycho did prove that you can't do a shot for shot remake and expect the same results. It's an inferior product in every way possible and despite everyone trying their best (I've somewhat softened a bit to Vince Vaughn in this), it ultimately feels like a waste of time all round.

Rating: 5 out of 10