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‘Barbie’ – Weird Barbie’s House Was Inspired by the Norman Bates House from ‘Psycho’

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On its way to $1 billion at the worldwide box office, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie is a smash hit success by any possible metric, becoming a true pop culture moment in just one week of release. Gerwig’s bold take on the iconic Mattel toy line is winning over audiences and critics alike, and it’s no surprise that Mattel is now doubling down on their shift into Hollywood.

A thriller based on the Magic 8 Ball toy, on that note, is already in the works.

But we’re here today to talk about Barbie, and specifically Barbie‘s surprising connection to a classic horror movie. Speaking with Variety, Barbie production designer Sarah Greenwood has revealed this week that one aspect of the film was inspired by Alfred Hitchcock.

The Barbie movie introduces a handful of different Barbie characters, one of which is “Weird Barbie,” with Kate McKinnon perfectly cast in the role. McKinnon’s Weird Barbie humorously represents the dolls that kids got a little too aggressive with, her legs gone wonky, her hair chopped up, and her face decorated with crude makeup. A couple scenes in the movie take place inside Weird Barbie’s house, which was partly inspired by the 1960 classic Psycho!

Sarah Greenwood explains to Variety, “One of my early references is that you go up the stairs, and there’s the ‘Psycho’ house, and we brought in other elements.”

When you look at the two houses side by side (above and below), you can definitely see where the Norman Bates house inspired the design of Weird Barbie’s house. Granted, Weird Barbie’s house is extremely colorful while the Bates house in Hitchcock’s black and white classic is quite the opposite, but there’s a lot of shared DNA there, particularly in the front steps.

Proof that sometimes, inspiration comes from the most unexpected of places. Interesting to note, the Barbie doll was introduced in 1959, just one year before Psycho‘s release!

Writer in the horror community since 2008. Editor in Chief of Bloody Disgusting. Owns Eli Roth's prop corpse from Piranha 3D. Has four awesome cats. Still plays with toys.

Movies

Jessica Rothe Keeps the Hope Alive for Third ‘Happy Death Day’ Movie

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It’s now been five years since the release of sequel Happy Death Day 2U, Christopher Landon’s sequel to the Groundhog Day-style slasher movie from 2017. Both films star Jessica Rothe as final girl Tree Gelbman, and director Christopher Landon had been planning on bringing the character – and the actor – back for a third installment. So… where is it?!

We’ve been talking about a potential Happy Death Day 3 for several years now, with the ball in producer Jason Blum’s court. Happy Death Day 2U scared up $64 million at the worldwide box office, a far cry from the first film’s $125 million. But with a reported production budget of just $9 million, that first sequel was profitable for Blumhouse. So again… where is it?!

Chatting with Screen Geek this week while promoting her new action-thriller Boy Kills World, franchise star Jessica Rothe provided a hopeful update on Happy Death Day 3.

Well, I can say Chris Landon has the whole thing figured out,” Rothe explains. “We just need to wait for Blumhouse and Universal to get their ducks in a row.

Rothe continues in her comments to Screen Geek, “But my fingers are so crossed. I think Tree [Gelbman] deserves her third and final chapter to bring that incredible character and franchise to a close or a new beginning.”

Back in 2020, Christopher Landon had revealed that the working title for the third installment was Happy Death Day to Us, said to be “different than the other two films.”

In the meantime, Christopher Landon is directing a mysterious thriller titled Drop for Blumhouse and Platinum Dunes, along with a werewolf movie titled Big Bad for Lionsgate.

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