Genres

Visitors Review

Coventry 2012-05-05 20:15:25

What were they thinking? Probably something like: "it's worth a try!"

A psychiatrist, as some sort of mental experiment, introduces a deeplydisturbed young boy to the institutionalized Norman Bates. The twobecome close friends and, 27 years later when Normal dies, Alexinherits the infamous motel under the condition that he reopens itagain. He has difficulties raising the funds and finding reliablepeople to help him, but Alex's commitment and willpower are strongenough. Things get a little old-fashioned mysterious when they dig upthe corpse of an old woman and the first customers showing up at themotel have ghostly characteristics. I personally think "Bates Motel"has an interesting enough concept. I love the original "Psycho" just asmuch as everyone else and consider it to be one of the top 3 mostinfluential and important cinematic milestones ever made, but not tosuch a pretentious extent that I think it's blasphemy to spoof orre-interpret it. The idea of a spin-off, which obviously refers to theoriginal characters and their notoriety, is both courageous andambitious. There are some really good plot twists and additionalbackground to the whole Bates legacy by dragging in speculations aboutNorman's supposedly adulterous and abusive father Jake. Practically allthe reviews around here show people exclaiming: "What were theproducers thinking?!?". Well, I don't blame them for this tryout. Itwas worth a shot. The sequences in and around the famous motel andparental house are automatically atmospheric, while Bud Cort'sperformance is pretty effective with a right balance between geeky andcreepy. There are a lot of subtle and honorable homage scenes, likewith the name board, the rocking chair and – of course – the shower.The film is still also very 80's as well, with annoying pointlessmusical interludes showing the progress of the construction works. Theextended sub plot during the last main act of the film, involving aromance between a suicidal aerobic teacher and an emotional fratstudent was a bad idea. Giving a paranormal twist to the Bates legacywasn't necessary, but it was presumably the first unfolding of alonger-running TV series that never got made.

Carl 2012-05-05 08:48:36

could be called Psycho 5

This used to play every Fourth of July on t.v... EVERY Fourth of July!NBC'stagline: This 4th of July...Make it a scream! ( or something like that)Saw this when it was first produced for NBC back in 1987. After a fewrerunson that network it was picked up by Lifetime Cable and is now in EncoreMystery Channel's listings. NOWHERE near a classic but passable "stalker"fare if you have really, really low expectations for homogenizedtele-terror.Ironically, when I went to see Scream 3, I couldn't help but think aboutTheBates Motel ( And it's been years since I've seen this film! ). Thesimilarities are shocking: Big, creepy manse as catalyst in final thirdofboth films, extended chase scenes on staircases, Mrs. Bates' fright maskofskull and black mack ( nearly a decade before the first Scream ) and theeventual unmasking of the "killer" in both films.It's probably crazy but I couldn't shake the comparisons. Strange. Also,though the movie was lensed way before Psycho IV: The Beginning,storywise,it easily could've been a fourth sequel.Tame terror, with bizarre casting, but odd enough to give it alook

Prolox 2012-05-02 03:58:14

This movie stinks! Avoid it!

Made for TV movie was a pilot for a potential TV series that, thankheaven's died a bad ratings death. BATES MOTEL, was a spin off of thepopular horror thriller series PSYCHO, starring ANTHONY PERKINS. Thesetting much the same as in the movies, with a few alterations & a newmini restaurant built on the grounds. The film cast BUD CORT as ALEXWEST, a former mental patient, newly released from the asylum & eagerto get on with his life. While in the institution, Alex befriend NormanBates, who he had quickly struck up a friendship with. When Norman diedin the asylum, he left many things in his will to the people he knewfrom his youth. For Alex, his dear friend, he left him the crumblingBates Motel. Meeting up with a young lady that was living inside theold Bates house, they decided to fix the place up & get it runningagain, all is seemingly going well, except Alex is seeing Mrs. Batesghost pop up in the window of her room & around the motel & when bothher & her late husband's bones are accidentally found on the property,Alex begins to wonder if the place isn't haunted & so does a gueststaying at the motel, a depressed & suicidal female writer who getsvisited by a group of teens, that all looked & act like they steppedout of the 1950's & that's because they really did step out of the1950's! And they got a message for her...Hearing about this made for TVmovie & hearing all the good reviews this film got, not to mention it'splot, got me real eager to see this movie, but the problem was itwasn't available on DVD & I could find no VHS copies of it anywhere,until just recently. Being a fan of the classic PSYCHO & it's sequels,I couldn't wait to see it & finally after much searching, I was able tosecure an old VHS copy. The film was badly worn down, to the pointwhere I had trouble hearing most of it, unfortunately, by the time thefilm was over, I was extremely disappointed, BATES MOTEL stinks! abadly acted & directed film that makes the PSYCHO remake look likeAlfred Hitchcocks 1960 black & white classic in comparison! The film isas slow as a snail & is uninteresting. I cared for none of thecharacters, or the situations & the whole plot was utterly silly.Something worth noting though is the fact that BATES MOTEL is a directsequel to the first film only, ignoring PSYCHO II & III. But god blessthe makers of PSYCHO IV, which was made just a few short years afterthis, for ignoring this movie all together! A really bad film, even ifyou are a fan of the PSYCHO series & were curious about seeing this,don't, it's not worth the effort & by some chance you do see it, you'llsee why 80% of the movie going public, particularly PSYCHO fans, havenever heard of this movie & Universal is probably wishing that theother 20% didn't either! Stick with the movies since they are so muchbetter! This is not even a horror or suspense it's not even a comedictake on the series, it's just a boring, bland telefilm drama.* star

NerdofHorror 2012-05-01 22:01:19

Not as bad as it seems

I remember i looked for this "hidden gem" for almost two years. I was veryexcited when i sat down to watch it. It was a bit different then ithought,but nor bad at all. Rather good actually, but it's so Unneccesary.The film has some good acting though and especially from Bud Cort. He hasabrilliant way of acting in this pilot. Very strange and mystical and alsokind of nervous. (Perhaps it is a little Norman in himto).Overall a recomended film for the "Psycho - fanatics", but not a movie youHAVE TO SEE.8/10

Mutant-2 2012-04-29 13:06:58

Dismal

"Bates Motel" was a dismal attempt to create a "Twilight Zone" anthologytype series that was thankfully never picked up. It starts out interestinglyenough with a mental patient being released and entrusted with Bates Motel.Now enter the irritating sidekick, the poor episode about a women stoppedfrom committing suicide by ghosts and the scooby doo mystery (who is MrsBates??)."Bates Motel"'s only possible interest is for die hard fans of "Psycho" butapart from "Psycho" fans nobody else should waste their time on this lameeffort.

Scarecrow-88 2012-04-29 00:39:05

Bates Motel

"This place ain't no motel..it's a burial ground."What's most interesting about director Richard Rothstein's BatesMotel(..besides the fact that it was actually a proposed televisionpilot for a series which has something to do with why it's practicallyimpossible to find without the proper resources)is how his script(healso wrote the screenplay)disregards the other sequels, adapting aseparate story from the series where Norman never left the asylum, withamiable, lovable geek Bud Cort inheriting the Bates Motel from himbecause of their close relationship together inside the place. So Budgets out, heads for Fairvale, procures a loan to renovate, and theBates Motel is open for business once again. But, of course, such agrand decision hits a snag when an ominous presence maintains aroundthe property. Rothstein's story puts more emphasis on the settingunlike the movies which focused on Norman Bates and the situationaldevelopments which surrounded him.There's a lighthearted side to this movie which differs from the darkernature of the series, and you can see how those involved in BatesMotel, the production, wanted to capitalize on the iconic status ofPsycho without exploring the sub-textual material which made Normansuch an intriguing character. Bud is as innocent and gentle as a lamb,and you never, once, consider him a threat to anyone. We witness howcircumstances arise as construction continues(..such as the skeletalremains of Norman's parents, the sinister figure of a lady in blackturning up to give Alex the willies)perhaps offering spooky warningsagainst reopening the Bates.The cast sure is an interesting group assembled. Lori Petty is herusual perky, spunky self, attempting to educate Alex(Cort)on lifeoutside the enclosed environment he once lived. I have to say Ithoroughly enjoyed her interaction with Cort's Alex, because she haspep and fire and he needs that kind of strength. And, the fact that shehas nowhere to go, having lived in the Bates Motel as a squatter, onlyprovides for reason for her to vocally worm her way into his goodgraces, by forming a wedge between Alex and those which might takeadvantage of his meager nature. Moses Gunn is an old timer whose houseis to be bulldozed over due to progress(..condos and suburbancommunities), for which Alex seeks as a contractor to help build Batesback into a properly running establishment. Gunn brings a veteranpresence that actually helps things along. Gregg Henry also shows up asa bank executive who provides Alex with a loan to build the Bates backto prominence.While I do find the idea of building a continuing story around theBates house and motel an interesting idea, without it's emotional core,Norman, I'm just not sure it could ever have taken off, despite thenoble efforts of the cast to make it work.Introduced towards the end of the pilot movie is aerobics instructorBarbara(..she's introduced by a matchmaker to a young Jason Bateman), aproduct of three failed marriages, no children, and lost dreams,desiring to be an author, contemplating suicide, renting a room at theBates, and you can see, conceptually, what Rothstein was up to..theseries would have those from all walks of life popping up at the Bates,perhaps seeking new leases on life. Kids, right out of the 50's, showup to rent rooms and party at the Bates, but there's a specific purposefor their presence and it concerns Barbara. This is rather an intrusioninto the story-line regarding Alex, but, as I mentioned before, itseems to be here as a method for future potential episodes regardingcharacters who might stop by the Bates. The final minutes, regardingsomeone responsible for attempting to spook Alex away from the Bates,is executed rather clumsily. I will say that it was nice seeing thisagain after all these years..I hadn't seen it since the night it aired!

psycho_153 2012-04-27 16:01:45

WHAT WERE THEY THINKING!!

I think this was an attempt to keep the PSYCHO series alive, but faileddismally. It is classified as a horro movie, yet there are no killings, noblood, no suspense, no terrifying scenes. all in all I would say this istheworst movie ever made. Please do not waste your time or money on thisworthless piece of junk, only watch to see how stupid this movie is foryourself but spend your money on something better like Halloween or SilentNight Deadly Night, they are much better than this waste ofspace.

Michael_Elliott 2012-04-27 10:01:41

Another "What Were They Thinking?"

Bates Motel (1987) BOMB (out of 4) Coming less than a week after watching LOOK WHAT'S HAPPENED TOROSEMARY'S BABY, I was lucky enough to finally track down another filmthat I had been wanting to see for years. In this made-for-TV flick,Norman Bates is sent to a mental asylum where he befriends a littleboy. After Norman's death the boy, now an adult (Bud Cort) inherits theBates Motel and plans on opening it back up. As with the film justmentioned, I'm really not sure what the hell this film was trying to dobut it's a complete disaster from start to finish and I just can't helpbut wonder what was going through the producer's heads when this got agreen light. I'm really not sure where to start but I guess a lot ofthe blame can go towards the screenplay. I think a decent movie couldhave been built around the motel but this here isn't it. The screenplayis all over the map and never really seems to know which direction itwants to go. There's an obvious subplot dealing with mother's ghosthaunting the grounds but this goes no where. We have a stupid subplotof a land developer wanting the property to build condos on. We haveyet another subplot of a suicidal woman checking into the motel. Thenwe have the new owner and a strange woman (Lori Petty) who has beenstaying in the house. In the end there's really no clue as to what'sgoing on as this certainly isn't a horror film yet the drama is sochildish that you can't help but wonder what any of it means. We alsoget some extremely stupid and poorly written comedy that goes no whereand just check out the scene where Norman's will is read. Cort isn'ttoo bad in his role but he can't save anything in this film. Petty isextremely annoying and one will be wishing that Norman would returnfrom the dead and take care of her. Jason Bateman has a brief role andit's amazing he still has a career when you consider that he followedthis turkey up with TEEN WOLF TOO. The film was originally meant to bea pilot for an eventual TV series but it's easy to see why this thingbombed and didn't catch on. Fans of the PSYCHO series might want tocheck this out just to see how horrid it is but at least we do get tosee the original house.

Stanton67 2012-04-23 12:06:16

Bad

This is a bad TV movie. However what is funny is that it was a pilotfor a TV show. I don't know they were thinking. To me if there is noNorman Bates there is no Bates Motel. Instead we get a "Twilight Zone"set at The Bates Motel. That might not sound bad however this movie isbad. The acting from Lori Petty is beyond words. Bud Cort is no AnthonyPerkins. The screenplay must of been written by a 12 year old. Thedirection isn't there at all. Its bad from a to z. This movie should beshown in film schools as the prime example of bad movie making. I cannot think of anything worse. If you can let me know. Bates Motel musthave made Alfred Hitchcock spinning in a shower drain

Lynn 2012-04-23 04:38:56

Norman would be spinning in his grave!

In a perfect world, this "movie" would not have been made at all. Those ofus putting our comments here are giving the movie more credit than it'sworth by even posting. While watching the Sci-Fi channel, my husband and Isaw that this was coming on and I was thrilled, being a major horrorfan(especially a Bates fan!), yet having somehow missed its debut back in'87. After watching the first 5 minutes, I realized I was truly blessedthatI did miss it! This is awful! I'm not even done watching yet and I have tosay that with the possible exception of Boxing Helena, this is the WORST"movie" I've ever seen in my life! Any true fan of the horror genre shouldbe embarrassed for the producers of this piece of fluff, and I'm surprisedthat Psycho fans didn't rebel. Anthony Perkins(AND Norman Bates)is probablyspinning in his grave right now, and I can't say I'd blame him. I'm gladthat this didn't catch on as a t.v. series, and I think I can truthfullysaythat my 3 year old could've done a better job. Stick with the excellentmovies, and don't give this travesty a try, not even for the sake ofcuriosity.

sisterdebmac 2012-04-20 19:52:01

I watched this for 2 reasons...

I was a fan of Tony Perkins and the original "Psycho". And I loved BudCortfrom the time I saw him in "Harold & Maude" on. What I came away thinkingabout when I saw "Bates Motel" though was, boy would this have made agreatseries. Also, who is Lori Petty? This was really one of her very firstjobs. I followed her to the "Booker" TV series and I've been a fan eversince. Who would've thought that a Tennessee-born Pentecostal preacher'sdaughter would go on to be "Tank Girl"? I will always love this goofylittle TV movie for keeping the But Cort flame alive and introducing me toLori Petty. A note of trivia: Kurt Paul, whoplayed Norman in this movie went on to stunt double for Tony Perkins inthebig screen "Psycho" sequels and to guest star as the serial killer beinginterviewed by CCH Pounder in the "Psycho IV" cable movie.

TelevisionJunkie 2012-04-20 11:27:52

Thank God Sci-Fi is airing this...

I've been getting bugged for years for copies of this film -- since ithardly ever got played after it bombed on TV back in '87. As a piece ofPsycho history, I taped it in '87 and foolishly let people know that I had acopy.... I'm so glad Sci-fi is airing it so I don't have to sit through itanymore. Made as a potential pilot for an anthology series, the movieflopped badly and a show never materialized. Anthony Perkins (Norman Bateshimself) boycotted the production. Not that he really needed to, since thepublic hated it as much as he did....I'd like to say this film is awful. But I can't really say that, since I'veseen so much worse. But as an attachment to the Psycho films, it IS awful. It ignores the two sequels that had been made and even makes mistakes basedon information from the original. Bud Cort gives a mind-numbingly dumbperformance as the friend of Norman's who inherits the motel after hisdeath. You never really have sympathy for him 'cause he just plays it sodumb. Lori Petti, who I usually love, is rather annoying as the squatterthat befriends him. She does an okay job with her part, but the problem isthat all the main parts were poorly written. We get more than half of theway through the movie, focusing on Cort and Petti trying to get the motelrunning again, and then we enter the first of the Twilight-Zone-ish stories: a woman who wants to kill herself is befriended by some strange teens. Thewriting and acting in this segment isn't bad, but after sitting through theCort/Petti story, it hardly seems worth it. There's really only one creepy segment in the film -- the presence of thewoman in black at Mrs. Bates funeral (but the discovery of her corpse isnonsense, since they found her body in the basement in the original film). The whole Jake Bates story seemed like it was jammed in so they could add afew more scares, though the scares fell flat. And the black-and-whitesegment at the film's climax could have been great -- if they hadn't wentthe Scooby-Doo unmask-the-villain route -- but as another reviewer wrote, itseemed to be the inspiration for "Scream 3" (which I love, by the way). Though the film is a piece of Psycho history, I wouldn't really recommend itto anyone, except maybe fans of the actors -- even then it wouldn't get astrong recommendation....

The_Triad 2012-04-19 23:21:41

Just don't...

Bates Motel is a terrible film. If you are a fan of Psycho and thePsycho series trust me, you are not missing anything.Where to start? The plot centres around a man named Alex who met NormanBates in a sanitarium, and on Norman's death, is left the Bates Motelin his will. Alex then goes about finding the place, and fixing it upso Bates Motel can live on.Now here's how you know a movie is bad: 1) You go into it with lowexpectations and it's still awful.2) You take the film on it's own terms, not worrying how it relates tothe Psycho franchise and it's still awful.3) You take it in the context that it's a pilot for a sitcom and it'sstill awful.Bates Motel is more of a comedy than anything else, and while I'mwilling to accept (just) that the Psycho franchise can go in thisdirection, I cannot accept the woeful attempts at humour that arefeatured in the movie.The acting is terrible and the script woeful, complete with an endingthat anyone who has seen an episode of Scooby Doo will guess very earlyon. This film is so far away from the original Psycho as to beoffensive to anyone who treasures the original for the stone coldclassic it is.Just please be aware, Bates Motel is rare and hard to get for a reason.It is awful, and stands as the worst film I have ever seen.

loripetnut-1 2012-04-19 05:19:18

I want this released on DVD!

I saw this just once on TV years ago. I wish I could find it somewhereon DVD, even if it didn't have extras, just so I could see it again. Ican't even find it on tape to transfer to DVD on a borrowed machine.I liked that it tied up the end of the story of Norman Bates, who diedand left it in his will to fellow inmate Alex in the asylum. Would bevery nice to have this to add to the entire Psycho movie collection Ihave.The performances of the actors was good, especially Bud Cort and MosesGunn. The hotel itself was recreated beautifully for this, completewith cobwebs, rundown, house, and all sorts of damage you'd expect foran abandoned building that hasn't been occupied in years. You just haveto suspend the knowledge that the original house was burned down at theend of the fourth Psycho movie (they never did explain why the housewas still standing in this one--did they put the fire out?).

dogglodi 2012-04-16 22:46:59

This was a good movie

I was on this site and appalled to see the nasty comments about themovie. It was a rather good "closing chapter" to the Bates legacy.Anthony Perkins and his "mother" would be proud of it. So all of youpeople out there need to take a shower. a cold one and get over thefact that you as movie consumers are inferior to a normal person. Imean come on now i was 4 when i first watched it and even then i wassmart enough to aknowledge "a great movie" when i saw one. For TV itwas a edge of your seat thriller. You guys must be mad when u typeawful comments like that. But as norman would say "we all go a littlemad sometimes".Josh Atterbury

William C. Uchtman 2012-04-16 10:23:55

It Almost Worked

There was an interesting idea in this non-conventional sequel to thepopular Psycho movie series by connecting ghost stories to Norman's familymembers and victims, but using the motel as a setting to a TwilightZone/Fantasy Island series was so out of left field that it just couldn'thave worked for more than less a season. Bud Cort plays a guy who Norman hadalledgedly befriended in the sanitarium. After his death, he inherits thehotel and the property, but the ghost of old Mother Bates won't sit stillfor the mockery. Lori Petty, still a relative unknown, plays his prettyfemale friend, and unforgettable Moses Gunn becomes his benefactor in thisalternate reality to the movie series. The movie bogs down on the suicidalguest sub-plot, an idea later used in the third movie installment, but itshould have stuck to the ghost stories than to try and create a series.

mutty_mcflea 2012-04-15 18:53:49

Nothing is sacred

A passable but misconceived pilot for a 'Psycho' TV series thatthankfully never happened. Bud Cort inherits the infamous motel fromfellow mental hospital inmate Norman Bates and plans to get thebusiness back up and running. But strange goings-on hinder his progress– a figure at the window, bodies in the ground, stuff like that. Notsurprisingly, the plot has nowhere to go; it's padded out withsupposedly clever nods to the original movie, and dumb jokey sceneslike the homeless guys fooling around with the urn containing Norman'sashes and a renovation montage complete with silly doodle-doo music.The subplot, which presumably sets the template for the intendedseries, has Kerrie Keane as a suicidal guest saved by a gang ofpartying teenagers, and is so far removed from the original 'Psycho'concept it's ridiculous.

emenon 2012-04-15 06:49:52

Must Release To DVD or VHS

This was as scary as the first Psycho movie made in 1960, with AnthonyPerkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles and John Gavin. It was full ofsuspense. A young guy Bud Cort, took Norman Bates wish, after his deathin his will, to have the Bates Motel and Mother's House. ThePsychiatrist thought it would be good. He did go and with help from ayoung girl named Willie and Moses Guinn helped him restore the BatesMotel. The young lad had financial trouble. However this Banker wastrying to scare him away from the Bates Motel. Dressing as Norman BatesMother and telling him scary stuff, about a murder that took placeyears ago. At the end the Banker got caught with some help from Willieshe came in dressed as Mrs. Bates and got a confession. After all theexcitement was over Bud got to keep the Motel. Norman Bates housebehind the motel, should be made into an attraction for visitors. Makeit into a Bed and Breakfast, your not going to get stabbed. It shouldbe on the historical register.

gatecrasher258 2012-04-08 19:17:40

What in the name of Sanity!?

I cannot believe some of these other posts, which do a fairly shaky jobof damaging this movie's credentials and storyline itself. If anyonewould be spinning in their grave, it would be Alfred Hitchcock, inseeing the amount of negative views and opinions about one of hisgreatest ever masterpieces.The plot involves a man whom was befriended by Norman Bates shortlyafter being admitted to a mental institution, and 27 years later whenNorman dies, he leaves the entire Bates Motel estate to him in hiswill... requesting that he have a second chance in life. Soon enoughstrange and chilling things begin to take form, and he starts to see aghostly image of Norman's dead mother in the window of the old house.I feel this movie has been attacked because of one simple fact. Itlacks any gore or violence, and come to think of it - nobody is killedeither. People expect to much dumb shock-horror type story linesthese-days, without paying attention to other area's of the plot. Ifyou cannot sit down and watch a movie without feeling the compulsionsomeone has to have their head blown off or their gut's ripped out Ipity them.An excellent, well esteemed effort, which was unfortunately preventedfrom going any further by a bunch of selfish fools.Hitchcock would be proud.

gazzalere 2012-04-08 05:43:58

Something different

As someone who really loves his horror films but will delve into othergenres this film is something I went into watching with an open heart.The name never said Psycho to me or anything to do with the actualPsycho franchise but then again it doesn't need to be a part of thefranchise because it's got a completely new story of its own. Let'smove onto the cast, the cast is a bit of a weird line up but then againI think that's what made me continue watching it and yes it's actuallygot a story to it and tries to take helm from Alfred Hitchcock's Psychofranchise. I know I'm not really reviewing this movie and explainingmuch about it and that's because I don't really know what to say, whatI will say is…. If you can grab a copy of this very rare film justwatch it for the way it plays out, you may just enjoy, I know I did,maybe you'll book a night at the Bates Hotel just like myself.