Has anyone been to one of the Psycho houses before?

The set for this movie was made and filmed in Universal Florida (now demolished). The original set and location for the other 4 is in Universal Hollywood, on the studio tour. Oh and i know that the house is mainly just a shell with very little on the inside, and a few of the rooms in the motel was where some of the scenes were actually filmed :)

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..the "original" house, as it is regarded by most people, hasn't always been where it is. It's true. Most people are under the impression that the Psycho house seen in the orignal 1960 movie has been sitting on top of the hill on the east side of the Universal lot for 48 years. It hasn't.

For many years, it was completely derelict, and was actually taken down on at least one occasion. The house seen in Psycho II is, believe or not, in a different place on the Universal lot, where it remains to this day. The motel cabins built for Psycho II are actually a limited, rebuilt version of just the office and Room 1. The rest of the motel is never actually seen if you look at the film, except for the opening travelling matte painting as Norman and Dr Raymond arrive. Yes, that's a painting which runs up to the motel's neon sign as the car pulls up. Amazing. You might be surprised by just how many matte paintings there are in Psycho II, for the motel, the house, Statler's diner and others. Albert Whitlock, what a master he was.

By the time of Psycho III, the entire motel was rebuilt on the same location. They were altered for the abysmal Bates Motel, a pilot for a TV show that (thankfully) never got picked up, and remained that way for some years. Psycho IV, of course, was shot on an entirely new set on the Universal Florida backlot. The house was an incredible recreation of the original, with the different, shorter flights of steps being the only real giveaway that it's not the original. The Florida house was torn down in 1999 (the motel was destroyed the year before) after being left to fall into disrepair.

The 1998 remake was shot on the Universal City lot, with the 'upgrades' for Bates Motel removed, and the new house facade erected in front of the 'original' house. Today, the facade has been moved slightly down the hill to the left, and on studio tour you pass that first. Unfortunately, the whole set has been somewhat invaded, with part of The Grinch set looming over the motel from behind, and the War of the Worlds Boeing 747 crash site located immediately behind the house! Bizarre.





"Never underestimate the power of denial."
American Beauty