Special Series · The Art of the Tease(rs)
Psycho (1998)
I have a serious problem with movie trailers lately. It seems like nearly every preview that’s released is about 2:30 minutes long and gives away almost every aspect of the movie, acting more like a CliffsNotes version of the movie being advertised rather than something to entice an audience into coming back and seeing the full product.
In this day and age where all aspects of a movie are fairly well known before an inch of footage is seen, the subtlety of a well-crafted “teaser” trailer is totally gone…and I miss it…I miss it a lot. So I decided to go back to some of the teaser trailers I fondly remember and, in a way, reintroduce them. Whether the actual movie was good or bad is neither here nor there…but pay attention to how each of these teasers work in their own special way to grab the attention of movie-goers.
The One-Sheet
Lobby Card
Plot: After stealing $400,000 from her employer, Phoenix secretary Marion Crane leaves town and stops for the night at the out-of-the-way Bates Motel, run by an awkward young man who lives with his domineering mother.
Released: December 4, 1998
Directed by: Gus Van Sant
Starring: Vince Vaughn, Anne Heche, Julianne Moore, Viggo Mortensen, William H. Macy
Studio: Universal Pictures
Box office: $21.5 million domestic, $37.2 million worldwide
Trivia:
- Universal’s campaign played off the original film’s famous shower scene with the tagline “Check in. Relax. Take a shower.”
- Van Sant reused Joseph Stefano’s 1960 screenplay and Bernard Herrmann’s score (adapted by Danny Elfman), but raised the money Marion steals from $40,000 to $400,000.
The Taglines
Check in. Relax. Take a shower.
Why It Works
Riding high off of a string of movies that were critical and box office successes, the (cinematic) world was director Gus Van Sant’s oyster. So on one hand it was easy to imagine why Universal Studios would allow Van Sant to take on what was essentially a shot-for-shot remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s legendary 1960 thriller. On the other hand, why would any director even want to go near the property to begin with? I remember being excited to see what Van Sant would do with the material and his starry ensemble cast…and also feeling a bit shell-shocked leaving the theater after viewing the ultimately unwise finished film. Hitchcock’s film still has an impact even 15 years after this bungled remake so in the end this head-scratcher exists merely as a curiosity.
Written by Joe Botten
Joe Botten is The MN Movie Man, a Twin Cities film critic writing spoiler-free reviews since 2012. He also writes for Loud and Clear Reviews, a Rotten Tomatoes approved site. Find him on Instagram and Letterboxd.
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