Psycho (1998) by Gus van Sant

Director: Gus van Sant

Year: 1998

Country: USA

Alternate Titles: N/A

Genre: Slasher

Plot:

Desperate to get away, a secretary goes away with stolen money and flees to the desert where she stops off at a roadside motel, but when she mysteriously disappears from the motel a day later, her sister and boyfriend go looking for her at the motel and struggle to believe what they find.

Review:

This is a severely underrated film. One of the best features here is the cinematography which is so gorgeous and so sparse that we see so little that the suspense is just dripping off the screen. The main examples of this, the shower scene and the death of the detective are just as great as before, keeping the same style as before but giving it an extra dose of modernity with some much-needed blood and gore in the shot that still packs a punch. This also adds several more stabs and more blood to the scene, making it just that much more violent than it was remembered, and sticks out just fine. Even the motel where they're staying is like that. The dark interiors, the weird stuffed animals along the walls, and the secrecy that surrounds it are remarkable that most of the time we are wondering the secrets behind it.

The relationship between the two at the heart of the film is somewhat enjoyable with the same creepiness as before where the way he's saying things and how he's saying them something is off and yet he keeps an air of respectability to his character. The ending revelation is a little more creepy and intense and does work just as well as before, especially as the decrepitness of it comes across a little more clearly as the figure emerging from the shadows offers up some more scares. The most radical changes made are to bring out something much more overtly sexual in the material, from seeing a stash of pornography in their room to showing far more nudity in their confrontations, yet the most radical change is having him clearly heard masturbating as he peeps at her undressing in the shower. This is nicely sleazy and sets up the scene even more than before. All in all, this isn't a useless film as has so often been criticized.

There isn't all that much in here that is actually wrong. The addition of color really works against the film. It bleeds out all of the stark, atmospheric effectiveness the original had. The depiction of the ordinary Arizona desert landscape here lacks any of the same alienating effectiveness that the black-and-white photography lent to the original. Another big stumbling block is its constant ability to take the viewer out of the film with obscure phrases and sayings. While it's set in the present, much of the dialog sounds out of place considering its antiquated vocabulary and delivery. As it is mostly left intact from the original, keeping many of that era's euphemisms and habits in the modern period is distracting, especially when it does manage to update the events a little. The other big problem is that the pacing is off, as there's no need for there to be untold minutes here worrying about cleaning up the dirty room or the distraction in the shack. They take a while to get going, and this really could've taken several scenes out without doing any harm to the film. Otherwise, this one wasn't as bad as it really could've been.

Overview: ***/5

Wrongfully maligned for a decent film, this one is much better than it’s supposed to be based on its reputation while still having some issues about it that do hold it back. Give it a shot if you’re a fan of the creative crew or are willing to try it out to test its reputation while those who are not turned into these factors should heed caution.