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As a huge Hitchcock fan, was I just setting myself up for disappointment by choosing the Official Psycho Parody as the topic of the second installment in the ‘porn as paracinema series‘? Spoiler alert. I was.

That’s not to say this isn’t a successful porn parody. The plot is pretty faithful. Marion Crane (played shockingly well by Sara Sloane) steals some dough and hits the road. While on the lamb she stops at the Bates Motel where she is quickly dispatched by Norman. Lila and Sam follow, hot on Marion’s trail, and also find themselves at the Bates. This parody is painted with broad strokes and Psycho‘s plot is more of a template. I wasn’t expecting miracles. There was no way this was going to be Psycho, but with sex.

From the film’s opening it was pretty clear I was not going to get what I wanted (see above; Psycho with sex). We first see Marion and Sam, post-coital, just as they appear in the actual film. Instead of showing them have sex, we speed forward to Marion at work where her coworker has a 3 way with the boss and a client. It’s a real missed opportunity and oddly enough, we never see Marion and Sam have sex.

Before we hit the 25 minute mark, we find our main character arriving at the motel where she is greeted by Norman (Ryan McLane). I really felt like it could all turn around here. And it did. For a bit at least. It’s established almost immediately that Bates is a cross-dresser. He’s wearing heels and nail polish and things are beginning to get interesting. “What a neat, kinky, clever way to exploit the fact that this character wears women’s clothes,” I thought aloud. And the scene between McLane and Sloane is great! See my exclamation point? It really is a captivating scene between the 2 most interesting people in the movie. And then she dies and he’s basically MIA for the rest of the film. It’s a shame and things really go downhill after Marion kicks the bucket. Her sister shows up and has some sex as does the private investigator and the sheriff. It’s all quite vanilla and formulaic.

This parody is a mixed bag. Marion and Norman are awesome. The cross-dressing angle is awesome. The fact that disc 2 contains the film in black and white is awesome (and how I recommend viewing this). But what I can’t get over is how, in a film that contains a cross-dressing male character, the sex is so straight, and I don’t mean heterosexual. Well, I guess I do mean that seeing as how all the sex is heterosexual in nature. But I also mean it is lacking in any kink, depravity or deviation from the norm. It’s the same old formula; lather, rinse, repeat.

So, is this a successful porn parody? Sure. This flick gets points for an authentic opening title sequence and some great costuming (as well as the actors and B&W mentioned above). But it’s far less entertaining then it should be.

Next up, I’ll be taking a look at a “classic” porn, Behind the Green Door. I’d also like to thank Gore Gore Girl for all her help with this feature.