Psycho

Year: 1998
Director: Gus Van Sant
Writer: Joseph Stefano
Genre: Horror: Mystery

Everyone and their mother knows Psycho. Being one of Alfred Hitchcock's seminal pieces is certainly no small matter. From what I know, when Psycho came out in 1960 everyone was stunned when the heroine was killed about halfway through the movie. That shower scene has gone on to be one of the most famous and recognizable moments in any film. With a movie as important to the genre as this it seems strange anyone would even dare to remake it.

However, the remake did happen and it follows the strict plot of the original. If you were to play the original alongside it most aspects would remain unchanged. Because of this, the movie is quite good. It's a testament to the original's story and method of storytelling that it still works well today. But then, if the original was such a good film then why waste the time remaking it?

There's a saying that if something isn't broke then don't fix it. Psycho wasn't broken and there was no need to go in and spice the film up with more current actors. Sure, they fulfilled their parts well but why watch this? The original is perfectly watchable today. Unless someone can't view the black and white version it is silly to need to watch this one. Even the shower and stair scenes are replicated as best as possible. They were made to look just as hokey as they did back then.

Basically I feel that there's no reason to watch this movie. If you're going to check out Psycho you should go with the original.