Psycho (1998)

Directed by Gus Van Sant
Written by Joseph Stefano, based on the novel by Robert Bloch
Starring Vince Vaughn, Anne Heche, Julianne Moore, Viggo Mortensen, William H. Macy

My Advice: Wait for MST3K.

Why should I synopsize this thing for you?  You've seen this film before.  I mean this exact frigging film.  No, really, I mean it's shot-for-shot, blow-by-blow essentially the same.  But ah--Let me tell you what they changed.  Norman Bates (Vaughn) giggles now, which is the extent of Vaughn's vaunted "making the character my own."  He's about as terrifying as a tranquilized dachshund.  I can't tell you they had a decent cast, because that's just like the old one.  I can tell you that Lila Crane is a lesbian, according to Julianne Moore.  I can also tell you that it's still good to see her and Macy, even in a farce like this.  I can tell you that you should definitely go rent the original and not even bother with this.

I can also tell you, thankfully, that even the younger generation that this was supposedly geared to left the theater as disgusted as I.  One teenage girl said, "That was wrong."  Exactly.