The Big Picture
- The 1987 spin-off film, Bates Motel , deviated from the original canon of Psycho and took a different approach to Norman Bates' madness.
- The film introduced supernatural elements to the Psycho universe, which was seen as a departure from the rational and relatable horror of the original.
- The movie was not well-received by audiences and did not lead to a series, but it paved the way for the successful 2013 TV show, Bates Motel , which learned from the mistakes of the earlier film.
The impact of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho cannot be understated. The film changed horror (and movie theaters) forever and introduced the world to the infamous killer, Norman Bates (brought to life by Anthony Perkins). Perkins returned to the role 23 years later for Psycho II, followed shorting by Psycho III, and Psycho IV: The Beginning. Ironically, The Beginning was the end of the original franchise, but in 2013, A&E debuted Bates Motel, a modern-day prequel that follows a young Norman's (Freddie Highmore) descent into madness. The series was praised by Psycho fans for giving nuance to Norman's story and helped introduce the classic property to a slew of new viewers. However, Bates Motel was not always a successful title for television. In 1987, a Psycho-based television spin-off under the title aired on NBC. Premiering a year after the release of Psycho III, the film ignored the canon in hopes that it could spin off into a weekly series. Unlike the preceding films, 1987's Bates Motel took a different approach to Norman's madness and a hard turn away from the logic set up in Hitchcock's original.
Bates Motel
HorrorMysteryThrillerA contemporary prequel to Psycho, giving a portrayal of how Norman Bates' psyche unravels through his teenage years, and how deeply intricate his relationship with his mother, Norma, truly is.
Release Date March 18, 2013 Cast Vera Farmiga , Freddie Highmore , Max Thieriot , Olivia Cooke , Nestor Carbonell Main Genre Horror Seasons 5 Studio A&E'Psycho's 1987 Spin-Off Ignored the Original Canon
Psycho, as a franchise, has been met with mixed reception over the years. 1983's Psycho II gave a more nuanced look at Norman's condition, portraying him as a tragic figure. 1987's Bates Motel took a far different approach and ignored the two sequels that came before it. The film follows Alex West (Bud Cort), a mentally disturbed young man who inherits the Bates Motel from his friend, Norman Bates (played for the first time by someone other than Perkins, Kurt Paul) after he dies. Alex moves to Norman's old town and teams up with a lost teen, Willie (Lori Petty), and a maintenance person, Henry Watson (Moses Gunn) to reopen the long-closed motel. The task does not prove easy, as Alex must take out a loan to get the renovations done. During the preparation, Alex has strange experiences and starts seeing Mrs. Bates haunting the property along with the corpse of her deceased husband.
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When Alex tells Willie about the apparition and reveals that his first payment is due to the bank the day after the motel opens, Willie becomes suspicious of the bank examiner, Tom Fuller's (Gregg Henry) intentions. Working with Henry, they discover that Fuller was behind the alleged haunting, hoping he could scare Alex away and prevent the motel's reopening. Fuller is forced to help the trio reopen the motel, or face jail time for his fraud. They get the motel ready, but just when all seems logical again, the ghost stories continue...
1987's 'Bates Motel' Brought Supernatural Elements to the Psycho Universe
Horror and the paranormal are an age-old pairing, but before Bates Motel aired, the supernatural presence of Mother only occurred in Norman's mind. After Alex successfully reopens the motel, Barbara Peters (Kerrie Keane) checks in. Dissatisfied with her life after three failed marriages, Barbara intends to commit suicide. Before she can go through with it, she meets Sally (Khrystyne Haje), a teenager who invites Barbara to a party happening at the motel. There, Barbara also meets Tony, played by a youngJason Bateman. While partying with the teens, Barbara's real name is revealed to be Sally, and her teenage guide is actually a ghost who took her own life 25 years before. Tony, too, is a suicide victim, the two both ending their existences with a group of other teens. Sally convinces Barbara not to commit suicide, and Barbara checks out of the motel the next day with a new lease on life.
The addition of canon ghosts to the Psycho-universe is a bizarre one. The cornerstone terror that made the original film so scary was its rationality. After all, the character of Norman Bates resembled the real-life killer, Ed Gein, so much, that many thought the character was based on the criminal, though it seems writer Robert Bloch more so took inspiration from the entire Gein case. The tangible horror of Norman and his murderous derangement made audiences feel as though they could be a victim of such an attack. By bringing supernatural elements so blatantly into the film, it missed the point of what made viewers fear the infamous motel and its former caretaker.
Another element that made the original film so effective was that audiences could relate to the characters... whether they wanted to or not. Future Norman Bates, himself, Freddie Highmore, even admitted to finding his doomed character relatable. With so much focus on ghosts, both real and make-believe, the film seemed too far removed from the tensity and suspense set up by its predecessor. While it may have set the tone for what the intended series was to be, it proved to be far too much of a removal from the Psycho audiences were used to and the series never went forward. To date, the movie holds a low 35% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Though the show may not have moved forward, it did set the tone for what was to come.
The 'Bates Motel' TV Show Learned From the TV Movie's Mistakes
Close2013's Bates Motel learned a lot from 1987's attempt. The show retained the nuances of Hitchcock's original classic by keeping the action both gritty and down to earth. Though not the exact same versions seen in Psycho, the characters are flawed, detailed, and frighteningly relatable. Where 1987's Bates Motel deviated too far from the source material, the A&E series knew how to pay homage to the original film, while making the old tropes scary again with a natural and realistic twist. The 2013 Bates Motel lasted five seasons, concluding with a series finale that was praised by viewers.
1987's Bates Motel was not picked up as a series, the feature instead aired as a movie of the week. Many viewers found the film's untraditional approach to the Psycho universe baffling, from ignoring the sequels to its dabbling with the supernatural, causing it to fall into obscurity. However, the film paved the way for Psycho beyond Anthony Perkins. So, perhaps, without this '80s TV movie, we wouldn't have had one of the best horror TV shows in recent memory.
Bates Motel is available to own on Amazon in the U.S.
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