47
Metascore
23 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75San Francisco ChronicleEdward GuthmannSan Francisco ChronicleEdward GuthmannNorman Bates is alive and well, and just a tad kinkier than you remember him.
- 75San Francisco ExaminerWalter AddiegoSan Francisco ExaminerWalter AddiegoWilliam H. Macy is fine as the detective Arbogast, wearing a hat he could have borrowed from Martin Balsam in the original role.
- 63New York Daily NewsNew York Daily NewsCold, dull, lifeless. [5 December 1998, p.3]
- 63USA TodayMike ClarkUSA TodayMike ClarkUntantalizingly reverent remake. [7 December 1998, p.4D]
- 50Film ThreatRon WellsFilm ThreatRon WellsThe movie doesn't stink. The performances are good, potentially great, especially Vince Vaughn as Norman Bates.
- 50The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenIn the shock department, the ante has been upped, way up, and a mere kitchen knife through a shower curtain just doesn't cut it any more.
- 50TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghTV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghVan Sant's film feels as dated as Hitchcock's, and Hitchcock's has the better excuse.
- 38Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertThe movie is an invaluable experiment in the theory of cinema, because it demonstrates that a shot-by-shot remake is pointless; genius apparently resides between or beneath the shots, or in chemistry that cannot be timed or counted.
- 38ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliRedundant and unnecessary.