I have some complaints about this movie.

1. Either this movie should have followed the original script to a T, or deviated entirely. It did neither. Some scenes are to a T, while others don't follow the 1960 version at all.

2. I am convinced that Vince Vaughn (1998 Norman Bates) has never seen the original Psycho. He was nothing like what we know Norman Bates is like. He tipped off to the audience in the first scene that HE was the one killing, not mother. Anthony Perkins had enough sense to create that sense of doubt. He seemed innocent and likeable. Vince Vaughn created a character that was obviously a mentally distrubed person from the start.

3. The old house is no longer scary. Its just an old house.

4. The acting was wooden and the dialog was delivered as though it were read from a book. Not convincing AT ALL.

There were some good things about this movie, though.

1. The millionaire character fit the bill perfectly. He was the only actor that outdid his counterpart of 1960.

2. The shower scene murder was a lot more convincing than the original. It was truly horrifying. You will be convinced that he is actually stabbing her.

3. Mother is more scary.

This movie had the potential to be a great movie. I didn't give it a chance going in. But with the negatives throughout, its just not worth the price of admission. A rental is worth it to see the parts that were done well.

**1/2 out of *****

First of all....I didn't like it. Now I don't listen to other people's reviews, but I have heard that people say that this film is a carbon copy of the original. If that is the case...then they should have just colorized the original or sent it back out to the theaters as an anniversary film....kind of like Alfred Hitchcock doing a re-release of "Wizard of Oz".

This film was about a psycho (not like the title didn't give that one away) who killed a variety of guests at his motel. I can only remember the original Psycho film in name only, but always viewed it as the ultimate scary film...and if this was an exact remake, then I missed something over the years.

I jumped more at "Scream", but heard this film was going to take us deeper than that and get us "into the mind of a psycho", but it didn't. It was just there.
I will make one final comment....this film is definitely not going to be a promotional film for any mom & pop motels along the highway. Bottom line...there are too many psychos in the world and I don't see how they chose this one to make a film about.

I think the movie should have been rated NC-17 for the killing and scarness.

My comments about this movie: This movie should have been written as a comic cartoon! The actors for this movie must have come from a cast of Gilligan's Island rejects and were way too animated. Vince Vaughn reminded me as the stupid guy from Drew Cary, while Anne Heche could pass as Pee-Wee Herman any day of the week. Rent the old "Psyco" and don't waste your time!

Ooooh, I loved this movie! Now, I went to this movie to be scared, and I was scared! I had to wear my hooded sweatshirt with the hood up the whole time, my hands always ready to pull it down over my eyes.

Now, I am a bit of a youngster at a mere 18 years of age, and I haven't seen the Hitchcock original, but I was a little disappointed that I knew so much of the storyline. Now I don't want to get off on a rant here, but I think that they are doing a disservice to the "younger generation" who has probably not seen the original by just assuming that everyone in the world knows everything about Psycho.

Like I already knew the big "secret" of the movie, which I'm not going to say here in this review. I mean thats all well and good for the old folks who already know all about the movie and are only going to go and see it to be nostalgic, but what about us kids who are going to the movie for the purpose of being scared?

But I digress. Back to Psycho. Since I haven't seen the original, I can only speak for the Van Sant version, so I can say that this is a good MOVIE, and not just a good remake.

We start the movie in a hotel room, Marian Crane (Anne Heche) and Sam Loomis (Viggo Mortensen) lying in bed. Marian dresses and returns to work, where her boss gives her $400,000 in cash to deposit. Instead of depositing the money, Marian leaves town with it. She ends up at the Bates Motel, with its creepy owner, Norman Bates, played by the delectable Vince Vaughn. (Okay, so I hate to digress again, but it is impossible to mention the name "Vince Vaughn" without doing so! See, I have a teensy weensy obsession with Mr. Vaughn. The fact that someone so incredibly handsome can make you scared of him merely proves my point that not only is Vince Vaughn the sexiest actor in Hollywood, he is also the most talented! Digression complete.)

Norman lives in the house on the hill with his possessive mother. He seems to have a crazy and abnormal obsession with his mother, a bit of a "psycho," if you will. The rest of the movie is filled with suspense, including the famous shower scene which you undoubtedly know about. Okay, I cannot say much more without giving away some major revelations, which a few of you out there may have been spared.

I would say run, don't walk, to Psycho! Even if you aren't into the horror movie scene, Vince Vaughn will always be a hottie!

Vince Vaughn showed his great acting ablity. I truly belivie Vince portayed Norman Bates very well. I admire the directors leaving the majority of the stuff the same. But great 1998 settings. Must see in the theater in my opinion.

This movie had a good story line, but it was too dragged out. It started out slow and took too long to get to the first action scene. The action scenes were okay, but only there were only a few in those long two hours.

The clothing that the characters wore made me wonder what decade the movie was supposed to be made for because everything else including the cars were modern.
The background music and directing is not what is used in modern movies and may not be what most people like to experience in the nineties.

This movie is a blast, if you expect Jason, Freddy, Chucky and some other retards this movie is not for you, however if your a fan of Pyscho or Alfred Hitchcock this is a movie worth checking out.

With Vince Vaughn as Stormin Norman Bates he is truly worth the price of admission. Gus Van Sant does this movie total justice, with his innovative remake updated 90's version. William Macy from "Fargo" fame plays his role to the T as the private investigator. Ann Heche also delivers a top shelf performance.

In closing if your a fan of a good movie and your I.Q. is higher than a winter tempature in Wisconsin, check this flick out.

Film history was made by this amazing replica, a shot for shot remake of the classic horror film the started Halloween, Psycho. I saw the remake first then the original, maybe it is because i am only 16 that i liked the remake better. It was much more colorful, better acted and much more graphic, don't get me wrong Anthony Perkins role was simply astonishing, but Vince Vaughn just was a little more convincing as a nice naive guy that had the temper of a psycho, he mesmorized me into believing that he was not capable of commiting murder. This is my generation so i am familiar with these actors and actresses, i know their previous work and am much more appreciate of their roles here, but you do have to give respect to the original for starting it all. Ok it starts like this.

Sam Loomis and Marion Craine (Viggo Mortensein and Anne Heche) are lovers struck by poverty, they live in Pheonix Arizona and rent cheap little motels in which they can commit the act of love. Marion wants a change to live respectfully, to have dinner with her sister cooking a steak for three, Sam is willing to do anything for her. She is a secretary for a real estates agency, and Sam works in a repair shop, he lives in the back of the shop.

The two are deeply in love and will do anything for each other, so when Marion's boss brings in a client who wants to pay for a house in cash (in order to buy unhappiness he says), the boss wants her to take it to the bank and bring back the check on Monday, for that day is a friday and Marion has an enormous headache. As she packs to go to a her boyfriends she decides to steal the money, so she goes to detain herself from society and accidentely gets of the main highway, she stumbles along the Bates Motel. She is warmfully greeted by Norman Bates (Vince Vaughn), whom replies to her question of if he has any rooms, " We have twelve in fact, twelve rooms tweleve vacancy's".

Norman is basically cut off from scoiety, deprived from all the good in life, until he sees marion, he really like her and wants her, Vaughn is so effectionate and his performance here is so underrated. He offers Marion Dinner, because the nearest diner is 15 miles away, once he goes to the house we first hear his mother yelling at him not allowing him to invite her over, so he brings the food to her and she eats it in the office.

From the conversation that engages at the dinner we see that Norman is really conspicuos, a little strange, for one he takes all this abuse from his mother and gets offended when Marion offers him some advice to put her in an institution, and his hobbie is taxidermy. For Norman it is'nt a hobbie, it's like a job. After dinner Marion says she needs her rest, that's when the psycho effect kicks in and Norman takes off a picture to reveal a peep hole in which he masterbates to Marion getting undressed.

You all know the famous showeer scene in which i jumped up from my seat like a baby, screaming as Mother kills Moarion with a really big knife. Lila Craine (Juliane Moore, Marion's sister) comes looking for her at Sam's office only to find she is not there and missing, A private detective Milton Arbogast is sent to find her. I can't say anymore i will reveal the secret that some of you may not know, it showed me the true meaning of a psycho and scared the hell out of me at the same time. A timeless masterpiece is what i say.

GRADE: A

OK, I admit I never saw the first Psyco so I didn't know what was going to happen in this one. The problem with this movie is that its just not real scary.
Everyone (especialy my mom) always talks about how scary the shower part was. It didnt scare me at all. I think Psyco may have been scary for the 50s, but definitely not for the 90s. If you want a really scary movie, see Scream, I Still Know, or Urban Legand.