Arguably one of Alfred Hitchcock’s best films, Psycho is not only a major slice of cinematic history but is also one of the first examples of the now-popular slasher film genre.

The tension, the camerawork and the iconic performances by Janet Leigh (who starred as Marion Crane), Anthony Perkins (as Norman Bates) and Vera Miles (as Lila Crane), all cemented the movie as a box office hit. Fans of Bates Motel will already recognise the lasting impact of Hitchcock’s film, as the 2013 horror series is a contemporary prequel to the original 1960 film.

It seems as though Hitchcock’s influence continues to run through Hollywood, as now Sheila will be coming to the big screen and it’s been pegged as a modern-day Psycho.  

According to Variety, Tara Reid (American Pie, The Big Lebowski) is set to star in the new psychological thriller, which has been written by newcomers Jackie and Jennifer Moricz (better known collectively as the Moricz twins).

“Left to run her family’s Suntan Motel for the week, Charlie takes a unique interest in the only guest, a girl in town for a bikini contest – Sheila,” reads the synopsis.

“Tapped as the girl to beat in the 1980s bikini boom, it’s no surprise that when the story jumps 20 years, she’s known worldwide on a one-name basis. Sheila. Just Sheila.” 

Jump to 20 years later, though, and Sheila’s Corvette is found in the bottom of the motel pool with a body inside it – a plot twist that leaves you wondering what really happened between Charlie and Sheila at the Suntan Motel in the last week of July 1989.

Reid’s character owns the gym next door to the motel and “spends her days checking out what’s going on, which is usually nothing. Until this week.”

If you’re still not convinced that Sheila will leave you scratching your head and furrowing your brow, perhaps its format will change your mind. The events of the movie will be complicated further by the fact that Charlie – the man at the centre of it all – continues to blur fact and fiction, which will see the movie jump between July 1989 and the present day. 

One mysterious murder, an ominous motel setting and an unreliable narrator – what could possibly go wrong? It seems like this movie will catapult the viewer straight into the action and leave us all trying to piece together the truth piece by piece.

While a release date and further casting details are yet to be confirmed, we will update as soon as we know more.

Watch this space for updates. 

Images: Getty