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12.4.98 ▶
six.a ▶
Following the
PSYCHO-Path
story by jeremy m. doherty graphics by jason benavides
She steps into the bathtub and pulls the curtain shut behind her. She twists a knob, and water spurts from the shower head above. A moment later, a dark figure behind her yanks back the curtain and raises a knife... Violins howl as though a cat got too close to the blade of a running lawn mower.
running lawn mower.
12 rooms, 12 vacancies."
mother.
Audiences got a whole new appreciation for their bath takes 20 more hours when
tubes 50 years ago when Alfred Hitchcock unleashed Psycho on unsuspecting viewers. But audiences can experience a newer, bloodier Psycho when they visit theaters starting today.
"A boy's best friend is his mother."
Gus Van Sant, the Oscar-nominated director of Good Will Hunting and Drugstore Cowboy, today releases a remake of the slasher flick that stars Vince Vaughn, Anne Heche and Julianne Moore.
But this is not just a typical, run-of the mill Hollywood remake. Van Sant raised eyebrows and protests this year when he announced that his take on Psycho would be a shot for shot. Line-for line Xerox of the original albeit filmed in color.
Many film buffs and critics, including Roger Ebert in an Oct. 4 commentary in the Chicago Sun-Times, were quick to speak up about what they considered the raping of a classic horror flick.
"I have grave doubts." Ebert said when asked about his expectations for Van Sant's film.
Explanations from Van Sant have been few and far between. Not only is Psycho bypassing the usual critics' screenings it also is opening without a Hollywood premiere party or press junket.
The word from Universal Studios' Chicago office, which handles press screenings in the Midwest, is that Van Sant
wants to preserve the Hitchcock tradition. Hitchcock, who died in 1980 at the age of 80, never screened his thrillers for critics, and Van Sant is following suit.
The Kansan also was denied an opportunity to interview Van Sant, the actors or anyone involved with the production. The secrecy surrounding Psycho has given some pause to a few moviegoers. John Schneiderwind, Omaha, Neb., senior and a fan of horror flicks, said he smelled something fishy.
"It sounds like they're hiding something to me." Schneiderwind said. "When they don't pre-screen it, it usually means they're hiding something." That sentiment is not without justifi-
That sentence is not justification. The last movie Hollywood dumped onto screens without advance screenings was Knock Off, the Jean-Claude Van Damme turkey that came and went in September.
Ron Wilson, lecturer in film, said he does not buy the we are-honoring Hitchcock explanation offered by Universal. In his opinion, Hitchcock is one of the select group of auteurs — highly distinctive filmmakers — whose idiosyncratic, readily identifiable style renders the finished film imitable.
Although he does not consider Psycho to be the best of Hitchcock's films. Wilson said he found any attempt to remake the thriller pointless.
Other's, such as John Tibbetts, assis
"It's almost like doing a shot for shot remake of Citizen Kane." Wilson said. "When Hitchcock brought Psycho out, it was very different than what he did before."
ant professor of ibn said they were eager to see another filmmaker attack the tale of Norman Bates, the murder
Norman Bates
Mortgage
"She just goes a little mad sometimes. We all go a little mad sometimes. Haven't you?"
ous mama's boy played by Anthony Perkins in the original, and Vaughn (Swingers) in the remake.
"I'm not outraged at all." Tibbets said. "I'm eager to see it."
said. The eager to see it
If two directors — Hitcheock and Van Sant, in this case — work from the same script, they each will create a different product. Tibbetts said Van Sant's remake will be proof positive that the film-making process determines the look, sound and feel of the finished film, he said.
That argument does not fly with Charles Brancaccio. Arlington, Texas, senior, who said he had never seen the original Psycho.
"I think as a general rule that the sequels and remakes are never as good as the original," he said.
"A lot of people are jumping on the bandwagon to remake old movies, and I *swiho* is such a great movie in its own right," he said. "If it were Hitchcock remaking it, I'd be a different thing. But I wouldn't expect Clive Barker to remake *Hellraiser*."
Tibbetts said the Psycho remake could not be judged in terms of movies such as A Perfect Murder, the Michael Douglas thriller that also was a riff on Hitchcock's Dial Mfor Murder.
"Most (remakes) are a real departure from the original, creating an entirely different movie, but something like this slavishly depends on the original." Tibbett's said. "That's something new. What kind of impact that will have remains to be seen.
"If remakes are good, they're OK. If not, it's nothing new. You just accept it as part of the ongoing Hollywood tradition."
The question remains about whether Psycho still will frighten viewers who since have grown accustomed to wall-to-wall gore in horror movies.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock Norman Bates: Anthony Perkins Marion Crane: Janet Leigh Amount of money Marlon Crane stole: $40,000 Other cast members: Martin Balsam, Vera Miles
"I'm curious to see how graphic Gus Van Sant will allow it to be," Tibbetts said. "If it's shot for shot, there will be far less sex and violence than what we're used to. It could be that we'll find it far less appalling than audiences did in the '60s. Or it could be a welcome change to the slasher violence we're used to."
The lack of advance information has intrigued Brancaccio.
has intruded brainstorm. "I've gone to movies that've been hyped up and on ones that got terrible reviews that I really liked," he said. "I think people should be their own judge."
Alfred Hitchcock relaxes in the chair of Norman's mother. Gus Van Sant (Good Van Hunting) is the director of the emake.
Director: James Varney
Norman Rates: Arthur A. Appleton
Marion Crane: William J. Burdick
Amount of money Marion Crane store
Other cast members: William J. Burdick