# Psycho (1998)

### reviewed by
Ryan Kohler

                                                  "Psycho"
    by Ryan Kohler

Look! The new version of "Psycho" came out and the world didn't end! I guess Gus Van Sant really ISN'T the bringer of the Apocalypse! Unfortunately, though, that "Psycho" didn't end the world as we know is the best thing that can be said for it. Van Sant's controversial "re-telling" of Alfred Hitchcock's classic 1960 film has polarized filmgoers everywhere (even before it premiered.) Without benefit of an actual viewing, many have said that the film will, at best, suck. Being an (almost) good critic, I waited until I actually saw it to decide that the film, at best, sucked (and that concludes the use of the word "suck" and, hopefully, the thoughts that I am a brain-dead orangutan.) Director Gus Van Sant took the original Hitchcock film and refilmed it, shot-for-shot, using the same, exact script (with a few minor alterations.) The inherent challenge was in making the film suspenseful and scary, even though a large group of the audience will know EXACTLY what will happen at the EXACT time. Suspense probably could have been attained if the actors had been able to create something new or different than the original. Sadly, that did not occur. It is hard to be overshadowed by Vera Miles and John Gavin (from the original "Psycho), but that is what exactly happened to Julianne Moore and Viggo Mortensen. In Moore's case, the film would have been helped if "The X- Files" Gillian Anderson had been cast instead; especially since Moore goes through the entire film DOING a Scully impression! From the cold demeanor and expressions to her rigid way of forming a sentence, Moore IS Scully! Mortensen (who I liked in "G.I. Jane") opts to play Sam Loomis as a cowboy/hick, which would have been nice if he had gone PAST that starting point. Sam has a twang and a cowboy hat, but that's about it. Mortensen turns in one of the most uptight performance in recent memory. Anne Heche, in the Janet Leigh role, does a few good things in her brief time on screen. At least her Marion Crane has a LITTLE life in her, which can't be said for most of the rest of the cast. The best work, though, comes from Vince Vaughn, as the demented Mama's boy, Norman Bates. He's not going to make anyone forget Anthony Perkins, but he is effective both in being naughty and nice. The best part of the film is the dinner scene Heche and Vaughn, where they simply talk. There is some solid acting there, something that is not carried through the rest of the film. Van Sant has made a BORING film. All the camera tricks that Hitchcock so eloquently used in 1960 aren't as eye-catching now. What passed for brilliance then has been copied so many times by so many directors that they don't impress or excite. Van Sant, in what I assume is a grasp at originality, decided to put some stream-of-consciousness images into a few famous scenes (was that a lamb in the middle of the road?) These images, included with some questionable editing choices, took away from the scenes themselves and caused, at first, bewilderment and, later, laughter. Definitely NOT Hitchcock's intention! At least Danny Elfman had the good sense to not mess with Bernard Herrmann's original famous and terrific score. If a film like "Psycho" does not frighten, then what's the point. Aside from Norman, the characters are thinly drawn people who leave no connection with the audience. There are things Van Sant and Company could have done to at least make their recreation interesting. In the end, however, the new "Psycho" is a noble attempt, but, alas, a dismal failure.

    Rating: D

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    4 November 1998

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