Hello, hello, hello Halloween friends! Well, it’s that time. We’ve reached the 1998 remake of Psycho starring Vince Vaughn, Anne Heche, Julianne Moore, Viggo Mortensen and William H. Macey. The project was directed by Gus Van Sant who is a big time admirer of Alfred Hitchcock. There are spoilers for this movie below but if you have seen the original Psycho, that whole thing spoils this one, so enough said. Let’s get into the review.

What was that?

This film is practically a shot by shot remake of the first one. It’s in color, it has different actors, it’s slightly more explicit, and there’s some dreamy imagery here and there. Otherwise, this is the same film as the one Hitchcock made.

I have no idea why anyone thought this was a good idea at all. I guess putting it in color, it might be argued, allows some people who can’t stand black and white films to see the story. Here’s the thing though, no one can out Hitchcock Alfred Hitchcock. Gus Van Sant is a competent enough director but he didn’t make the original so this can practically be called plagiarism.

I’ll be honest here, I am probably biased. I’m a long time fan of the original Psycho so I already think a remake is a bad idea. But, I get the urge to want to modernize a classic. Still, if you have to do this, I don’t think Vince Vaughn is the guy to play Norman Bates.

Should You watch this?

If you’ve seen the original, there is no need to watch the remake. It’s… fine. But you’d be better off just watching the original again. If you’re dying to know what Psycho looks like in color this is your best option. But the modern color and the fact the setting is 1998 instead of 1960 makes some of the story feel really dated. In 1998 it’s really not such a big deal that two people are having an affair as it was in 1960. Also, the amount of money taken is increased for inflation.

Every time I watch this I simply can’t wrap my head around why in the world it was made at all. What is the point here?

My opinion, don’t waste your time with this and just go with the original. But hey, if you just gotta watch this, you do you, I’m not here to judge.

In Conclusion

I find this film to be the most pointless of all the Psycho films. The acting and directing is fine and all, but it’s no Hitchcock classic. And it’s obviously something we’ve seen before considering how close it is to the original. While I really think the only essential film in all of the Psycho franchise is the original, the remake is absolutely the most skippable.

Horrifically yours,

Slick Dungeon