2. The Familiar Psycho House is Back
There have been few exterior sets in film and television that have captured the imagination and fascination of audiences as much as the Psycho house and Bates Motel. Built on the back lot at Universal studios for Alfred Hitchcocks 1960 production of Psycho, the original house only had two sides. The house was moved and an additional side and rear were added for Psycho II. Since then, the Psycho house façade has been altered a number of times in its history, but has appeared in every version of Psycho set to film. While Gus Van Sant, in the 1998 remake of Psycho, built a heavily altered façade (over the old one, we might add), the producers were wise to return the house to its original state for Bates Motel. Although it has been seen in a number of other productions shot on the Universal lot (Emergency, Night Gallery) its become a mainstay in the realm of public imagination. Bates Motel would not work as well with wholly redesigned exterior sets. The Gothic house is a cultural icon, and its presence in Bates Motel makes it that much more appealing.