Psycho (1998)

A young female embezzler arrives at the Bates Motel, which has terrible secrets of its own.

Director:

Gus Van Sant

Writers:

Robert Bloch (novel), Joseph Stefano (screenplay)

Stars:

Vince Vaughn, Anne Heche, Julianne Moore

4 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Vince Vaughn	...	Norman Bates
Anne Heche	...	Marion Crane
Julianne Moore	...	Lila Crane
Viggo Mortensen	...	Sam Loomis
William H. Macy	...	Milton Arbogast
Robert Forster	...	Dr. Simon
Philip Baker Hall	...	Sheriff Chambers
Anne Haney	...	Mrs. Chambers
Chad Everett	...	Tom Cassidy
Rance Howard	...	Mr. Lowery
Rita Wilson	...	Caroline
James Remar	...	Patrolman
James Le Gros	...	Car Dealer (as James LeGros)
Steven Clark Pachosa	...	Police Guard
O.B. Babbs	...	Mechanic

Storyline

Marion Crane steals a lot of cash from a man whom her boss is in business with. On the way to see her boyfriend, she stops off by an old motel, run by the odd Norman Bates. She is murdered in the shower. Her sister, boyfriend, and a private investigator try to find out where she is, while we learn more about Norman Bates.

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Plot Keywords:

remake | murdered in a shower | color remake of black and white film | shot for shot remake | norman bates | 

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Taglines:

The classic story of a boy and his mother.

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and sexuality/nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

In Mr. Lowery's office the following exchange is heard: CASSIDY (to Marion): You should take a vacation in Las Vegas, playground of the world! MARION: Thank you, but I think I'll spend this weekend in bed. CASSIDY: Only playground to beat Las Vegas. The last sentence was in the original script used by Sir Alfred Hitchcock for Psycho (1960), but he had to delete this due to the censors. Gus Van Sant put this into Psycho (1998) as Hitchcock originally intended.

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Goofs

The bundles of money Marion Crane has are of $1,000 bills (as clearly seen in one shot) when in actuality circulation of bills larger than $100 were halted by President Richard Nixon in 1969.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Samuel 'Sam' Loomis: You never did eat your lunch, did you?
Marion Crane: I better get back to the office. These extended lunch hours give my boss excess acid.
Samuel 'Sam' Loomis: Why don't you call your boss and tell him you're taking the rest of the afternoon off? Its Friday, anyway - and hot.
Marion Crane: What do I do with my free afternoon? Walk you to the airport?

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Crazy Credits

Thanks to John Woo for use of his kitchen knife.

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Connections

Spoofed in Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the Thirteenth (2000)

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Soundtracks

Living Dead Girl
Written by Rob Zombie and Scott Humphrey
Performed by Rob Zombie

User Reviews

How did Van Sant get financing for this? That's the real question.

"Psycho" isn't the worst movie I've ever seen, but it . . . aw, it's terrible. An utterly soulless exercise in mimicry with an awful cast. what I really missed was Anthony Perkins; the guy had a clean- cut look that subverted his madness. But Vince Vaughn just screams serial killer. That's why none of this works. The stylistic choices are all ham-fisted, and there's no suspense because we're too busy comparing it to the original. And because it's "shot-for-shot", that's a hundred times worse than your average remake - most of which , by the way, usually bring something new to the table. Not here.

Avoid at all costs. This is not worth it.

2/10

One question, if I may . . . While we're on the subject of shot duplication, why the hell would you throw in an image of Heche hanging over the side of the tub? It deviates from the original, doesn't do your actress any favors (as Kevin Smith and Ralph Garman will certainly attest), and it's just asking for future Internet meme infamy.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 December 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Psycho

Filming Locations:

Hotel Westward Ho, Phoenix, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,031,850, 6 December 1998

Gross USA:

$21,485,655

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$37,170,655

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1