REVIEWS

"PSYCHO"

Blasphemy. That's what I thought when I found out that there was a remake (or "recreation," as it was called) for "Psycho" in the works. I mean... WHY?!?! But little by little, it didn't seem so bad. Gus Van Sant was slated to direct, and I like his work ("Good Will Hunting," "To Die For," "My Own Private Idaho," and "Drugstore Cowboy"). Vince Vaughn (I thought he was great in "Swingers") was to be Norman Bates (which I figured wasn't bad), Anne Heche (she's making more headlines as Ellen DeGeneres' lover than from her movie roles... she was most recently in "Return to Paradise" with co-star Vince Vaughn, and she was also in "Donnie Brasco" and the underrated "Volcano") was to be "Marion Crane," and I like Anne Heche a lot. When the movie trailers came out, I was curious. Also, I decided to watch the original "Psycho" on video (letterboxed, of course) the day before I saw the modernized version.

Well, well, well... were there changes? Yep. Some were small, but unnecessary. Others were amusing, some I even think were improvements! But there was one thing that was thrown in that was COMPLETELY unnecessary. When I saw it, I was ready to walk out and hate the movie forever, but I toughed it out. I stuck around and decided that the notorious shower scene would be where I decide to stay or go. Then the shower scene came. Brilliant. Simply brilliant. There were very slight changes, but I think it helped. I knew exactly what was gonna happen, but Van Sant did something so that even those who saw the original get a bit of a shock, and it worked perfectly. I won't spoil anything, but I WILL say that it's not more violent, and there is a tiny bit of nudity, but nothing to create an uproar.

Though I may get some heat for saying it, I think that Anne Heche was better than Janet Leigh. Janet Leigh was a bit too cold, I think, while Anne Heche was very realistic as far as someone who gets into what she gets into. Vince Vaughn was fine, but Anthony Perkins was better. I think that Vince Vaughn simply got loopy a little too early, ya know? As far as the rest of the cast, all of whom were great, there was Julianne Moore (she was "Amber Waves" in "Boogie Nights," and was in "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" with Vince Vaughn) as "Lila Crane," William H. Macy (the fellow Miamian who was in "Boogie Nights" with Julianne Moore and got an Oscar nomination for his role in "Fargo") as "Private Detective Milton Arbogast," Viggo Mortensen (coincidentally, he was in the "A Perfect Murder," a remake of another Hitchcock film, "Dial M for Murder," and he was the Master Chief in "G.I. Jane") as "Sam Loomis," Philip Baker Hall (also in "Boogie Nights" along with Julianne Moore and William H. Macy) as "Sheriff Chambers," Chad Everett as "Tom Cassidy," Robert Forster as "Dr. Simon," James LeGros as the used car dealer, and James Remar (who owes his fans an apology for being in "Mortal Kombat: Annihilation").

Overall, I was pleased with this new version of "Psycho." I'm really curious about the opinions of those who never saw the original, as well as those like myself who consider the original to be a masterpiece. Aside from that one pathetic part that really pissed me off, this was a surprisingly good (and faithful) "recreation." Congratulations to all involved.

Scale of 1-10: 8