PSYCHO (1998 REMAKE) REVIEW!!!!
- Matt Palmer
- Nov 8, 2023
- 3 min read
Initial release date: December 4, 1998
Studios: Universal Pictures/Imagine Entertainment
Tagline: A new vision of the classic nightmare
A recreation of the nightmare that started it all ...
Plot: Hoping for a fresh start with her broke boyfriend, Marion steals a huge sum from her boss and skips town, eventually stopping at a remote motel. There, she's served by the intensely awkward yet docile Norman Bates, whom she often hears arguing with his dominating mother. But that night, Marion is brutally slain, and Norman finds and hides the body. When a detective and Marion's sister visit the motel to investigate, they uncover shocking truths.
Cast
Vince Vaughn - Norman Bates
Anne Heche - Marion Crane
Julianne Moore - Lila Crane
Viggo Mortensen - Sam Loomis
William H. Macy - Milton Abrogast
Robert Forster - Dr. Simon
Philip Baker Hall - Sheriff Chambers
Anne Haney - Mrs. Chambers
Chad Everett - Tom Cassidy
Rance Howard - Mr. Lowery
Rita Wilson - Caroline
Writer: Joseph Stefano (from the original screenplay)
Robert Boch (novel)
Director: Gus Van Sant
Rated R for violence and sexuality/nudity (105 minutes)
The other night I took a look at the 1960 classic Psycho that the theater was screening. If you haven't had the chance to see this amazing chilling classic, it should be one of those films that you have to see at least once! So, since I checked this film out again, I decided to give the 1998 remake another shot (which I haven't seen in years).
This will be a really quick take of the remake. I really think remaking the Hitchcock classic was definitely a bad idea. Unlike the original, which had lots of tension and suspense, the make is just not really exciting and is boring. Also, Vince Vaughn as Norman Bates was definitely a big miscast for sure. I'm sure an updated adaptation of the Psycho novel could work eventually (if done well), but a literal shot for shot remake isn't the way to go. So, the original Psycho is the version to see for sure!!
Here are some tidbits for the 1998 remake!
When asked why he did a shot for shot, full color remake of Psycho, Van Sant replied "So no one else would have to."
Laura Linney was offered the role of Marion Crane, which she turned down in favor of the Truman Show.
Aside from a few modern additions, the remake follows the original's story and camera set-ups almost identically.
The new house and motel sets were constructed directly in front of the original sets.
Tobey Maguire, Christian Bale, Robert Sean Leonard, Jeremy Davies, Henry Thomas and Joaquin Phoenix were considered for the role of Norman Bates. Thomas had previously played Bates as a teenager in Psycho IV: The Beginning.
The second time in 1998 that Mortensen appeared in a remake of a Hitchcock classic. The first was A Perfect Murder, a remake of Dial M For Murder. *** A Perfect Murder is a good flick to check out***
Van Sant was a longtime admirer of Psycho, and, while a film student, shot a parody commercial for a fictional "Psycho Shampoo" brand, which featured a recreation of the 1970 film's shower murder sequence.
After the release of Van Sant's financially successful Good Will Hunting, Universal agreed to option his proposed remake of the film.
Psycho was released theatrically in the US on December 4, 1998 in 2,477 theaters at No. 2 at the domestic box office below A Bug's Life with a weekend gross of $10 million. The remake grossed $21.4 million domestically and $37.1 million worldwide.
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