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Film / Psycho (1998)

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Psycho is a 1998 Psychological Thriller / horror film directed by Gus Van Sant. It is a nearly Shot-for-Shot Remake of Alfred Hitchcock's classic 1960 film of the same name, starring Vince Vaughn as Norman Bates, Anne Heche as Marion Crane, Julianne Moore as Lila Crane, Viggo Mortensen as Sam Loomis, and William H. Macy as Arbogast.


This film provides examples of:

  • Adaptational Attractiveness: Like the original, Norman is more handsome than his book counterpart.
  • Adaptational Badass: In the 1960 film, Lila freezes in shock when seeing that Norman is the true killer. In the 1998 remake, Lila incapacitated Norman by delivering a kick to his head, while Sam Loomis stops him.
  • Bloodier and Gorier: The remake is a little more violent, due to looser restrictions.
  • Creator Cameo: Hitchcock was the trope maker, of course. In this version, Gus Van Sant can be seen outside Marion's bank, talking to a Hitchcock lookalike.
  • Creepy Crows: Norman hides Mother in the fruit cellar, which is also an aviary filled with creepy crows.
  • Dies Wide Open: Much like in the original, the female victim's lifeless eye takes up the whole screen for a few seconds. Then the screen transitions into her dead face, which is just staring into nothing.
  • Fan Disservice: We get a top down view of Marion Crane's body where her anus is shown. It's fan disservice because the scene takes place after she's already dead and her corpse is laying spreadeagled, with blood oozing passed it. The audience sees two deep and bloody knife wounds on her naked back.
  • Foot Focus: much like in the original, the camera pans over Marion Crane's dead bare feet for several seconds while her blood oozes down the plughole.
  • Hotter and Sexier: There is some more sexual content than in the original.
  • Masturbation Means Sexual Frustration: While this was slightly implied in the original (in the 1960 film, when Norman is staring at Marion through the peephole, 'something'' is causing his body to shake), it is explicit in the remake, with Norman glancing downward, and the sound of a closing zipper is plainly audible.
  • Never Trust a Trailer: Trailers implied the film would be an origin story for Norman, even though this film is a remake.
  • Setting Update: The film is set in the late 1990s instead of The '50s.
  • Shot-for-Shot Remake: It is a very identical remake.

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