Pyscho
for violence and sexuality/nudity.
Reviewed by: Brian Nigro
CONTRIBUTOR
| Moral Rating: | Very Offensive |
| Moviemaking Quality: |
|
| Primary Audience: | Adults |
| Genre: | Psychological-Horror Mystery |
| Length: | 1 hr. 45 min. |
| Year of Release: | 1998 |
| USA Release: |
December 4, 1998 |
| Featuring |
Vince Vaughn Anne Heche Julianne Moore Viggo Mortensen William H. Macy Philip Baker Hall Rita Wilson |
| Director |
Gus Van Sant |
| Producer |
Brian Grazer Gus Van Sant Universal Pictures Imagine Entertainment |
| Distributor |
The new “Psycho” was not screened for critics ahead of time—not because Universal thought it was terrible and it would get terrible reviews, however, but because the original wasn’t screened for critics, either. Nonetheless, the new version came in at #2 at the box office, which indicates to at least this viewer a target audience of (a.) die-hard fans of Hitchcock films, (b.) renewed fans of the original, or (c.), the most likely scenario, teenagers who dislike black and white and couldn’t possibly like a horror movie with no blood and minimal violence. The new version is so calculated, so admittely scene-for-scene that there’s no room for audience curiosity and no room for director’s exploration.
The cast is problematic. Vince Vaughn is no Norman Bates (he already played a scarier psychotic in “Clay Pigeons”, earlier this year, and I’ll always remember that laugh from that movie). Anne Heche is no Janet Leigh, particularly when her hair is cut so short. Viggo Mortenson already ripped off a Hitchock character as Gwyneth Paltrow’s beau. And, the fine actress Julianne Moore is terribly underwritten as Marion’s sister, not to mention misplaced with her backpack and walkman headphones—I don’t remember the sister being so underwritten in the original.
The concept behind the new “Psycho” is a good one—remake a movie from the original script. There are plenty of movies that deserve such treatment that instead got a reworking with profanity and nudity or with revised character that bear little resemblence to their original counterparts.
A strong warning for Christian audiences: While the new “Psycho” is filmed scene for scene from the original screenplay, director Gus Van Sant incorporates nudity, some sexual content, and “red” blood (as opposed to the chocolate syrup of Hitchock’s black and white) that doesn’t really enhance the plot. The 1960 version has no profanity or conspicuous nudity and, as such, is less deserving of an “R” rating.
Bottom line: For Hitchcock fans only, not for casual moviegoers.
The use of color actually harms the claustrophobic atmosphere of the story, undercutting the shock value of several scenes—including the famous shower scene, and the retro-50’s production design makes the film seem less contemporary and real.
However, I do have to take exception to a few of your reviewer’s comments. There is no added profanity in the film, and the nudity, as almost non-existent as it is, is nothing more than what Hitchcock wanted in the first place (the final shot in the shower scene, for example). In addition, Marion Crane was played by Janet Leigh in the original 1960 version, not Vivian. Lastly, Julianne Moore’s part as Marion’s sister certainly wasn’t underwritten—it was the same amount of screen time as the original, save for one excised scene—but Moore’s take on the character was odd and unmemorable. Because of the intensity of the subject matter, I wouldn’t recommend this film to anyone too young to handle it, and certainly not this version. Hitchcock was the Master of Suspense for a reason, and this remake does nothing to dispel that notion.