9 Movies That Were Better Remakes Than Official Remakes
5. Dressed To Kill Is A Better Psycho Remake Than Psycho (1998)
The idea of anyone remaking Hitchcock’s seminal classic Psycho should have been rejected outright, but Gus Van Sant gave it a go and the rest is rather tasteless history. It simply didn’t need to happen and not even a strong performance by a young Vince Vaughn could rescue it.
For his sins, Brian De Palma has always been known as the second Hitchcock (or at least a great pretender) and it’s largely thanks to Dressed To Kill and Vertigo rip-off Obsession.
And his Dressed To Kill - an overt “homage” to Psycho in the nicest terms - is definitely a conscious remake, but an excellent one at that. The lead actress dies in the first reel, there’s deception, lurid thrills, some gender-swapping, and of course, the staging is all extremely familiar.
[Simon Gallagher]