YMMV / Psycho (1998)

• Awesome Music: Danny Elfman and Steve Bartek's adaptation of Herrmann's original score.
• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment:
  • There were random, near-subliminal video clips (storm clouds in Marion's murder scene, a sheep in a road and a woman in bondage gear in Arbogast's murder scene) which pop up during the two murder scenes.
  • Norman Bates masturbating.
• He Really Can Act: William H. Macy was pretty much the only actor to make his performance faithful.
• It's the Same, Now It Sucks!: A common criticism of the film is that it is a Shot-for-Shot Remake that doesn't add anything new, and the few things that it actually adds don't actually contribute anything of note to the plot (ranging from a mention of a walkman to Norman Bates being shown masturbating).
• Nightmare Retardant: The climatic scene where Norman reveals himself in disguise. Unlike the original where Norman suddenly shows up at the basement dressed up as his mother with a Slasher Smile, Norman in the remake slowly creeps out of the shadow wearing a blonde wavy wig while holding a knife, which takes away a lot of the fear factor from the original, on top of the general consensus that Vince Vaughn doesn't fit a character like Norman Bates. As a result, the scene comes off more goofy than intended.
• Questionable Casting:
  • Vince Vaughn, known for his comedic roles, as Norman Bates. While it was probably meant to evoke a Playing Against Type example similar to the actor who played Norman in the original, Anthony Perkins (who before the original film was known for playing socially awkward but likable supporting roles), most reviews were still puzzled, and considered that unlike Perkins, Vaughn didn't quite measure up to what the role entailed.
  • Also, taking the part of Janet Leigh as the sexy, curvaceous woman who inadvertedly tempts Norman to the point of awakening "Mother" — skinny, spiky-haired Anne Heche. Some viewers wondered why she couldn't have switched up roles with Julianne Moore (who played Lila), who looked like a more better fit for the part.
  • Roger Ebert went so far to say that William H. Macy was the only actor who was appropriately cast.
• Special Effect Failure: Not only is Arbogast's death scene recreated with even worse back-projection effects than the original film had employed nearly four decades earlier, but they also add in CGI wounds on William H. Macy's face, which look more like they're floating just above his face instead of actually being on it.
• They Changed It, Now It Sucks!: While a common criticism of the film is that it is a Shot-for-Shot Remake, the few things that it did change were criticized for being unnecessary. It is also in full color.
• Unintentional Period Piece: Thanks to the only new line of dialogue Gus Van Sant put in the script. Lila is listening to a Sony Walkman when she's introduced, and she says "Let me get my Walkman" when she and Sam are leaving his hardware store.

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