This semester I decided to stop making all of the random crafts. As much fun as it was, it was not exactly in the price range that I was comfortable with. And with that I’ve decided to turn my passion blog into something that I’m really interested in. I LOVE movies of all types: rom-com, comedy, action, thriller, anything! I thought over break of a way of incorporating this into a passion blog and finally realized that I can very easily compare original movies/TV shows to their remakes. Nowadays you go to the theatre and it is very hard to find an original movie. (PS I will have spoilers, sorry :D)
For the first week I’ve decided to compare one of Alfred Hitchcock’s best works “Psycho” to Gus Van Sant’s remake of the same title. This original is obviously my favorite. Growing up I was always afraid to watch it because of the title. I mean, really who wants to watch a movie about a “psycho” when they’re young? Not this kid. I accidentally ended up watching it with my mom and my mind was blown at the end. It was not what I was expecting. I really thought that Norman Bates’ mother was the killer of Detective Arbogast and Marian Crane. It’s the perfect movie. Although it’s considered a scary movie, it’s really not. It plays with your head more than anything. Norman Bates seems like an innocent hotel owner who must take care of her mother. But when you find out that she died years ago, you have no idea what to think. And in the end when it’s revealed that Norman had taken over his mother and her thoughts, it just paints this crazy picture in your head. Enough about the plot.
After watching the original from 1960, I eventually went on to watch the remake from 1999. I was not as satisfied. Quite frankly, I didn’t see Vince Vaughn as some “mommy’s boy” who kills people. I saw “Dodgeball” before this, so that image of him was stuck in my head. Also it is near impossible to match the performance of Anthony Perkins. Probably the fact that I first saw him in the role was what did Vince Vaughn in. Quite frankly, Vince Vaughn is not a scary movie actor, in my opinion. Another thing that I didn’t agree with was some of the things that were added to the movie. The 1960 version received a simple rating of TV 14, which basically translates to like PG 13. And then the 1999 movie received a R. The reason for this was for the inclusion of something’s that simply could have been left out.
I apologize for being harsh on Van Sant’s version, but no one can beat Alfred Hitchcock in my eyes. Basically the actor choice for the more modern one was poor, and the screenplay differed from the original in ways that could have been avoided. So I advise anyone if they have not seen the movie to watch the Hitchcock version first. And if you’re not satisfied I suppose you can move on to the 1999 version. Either way it is an extremely interesting plot line and a movie that everyone should see during their lifetime!
Final Decision: Alfred Hitchcock wins, but the other isn’t horrible. Everyone must see it!