Bates Motel (1987)

That was an excellent one.

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

I am only giving this a 2 because of Bud Cort who did a great job at playing a character that I felt sympathy for. (Which is hard to come by especially now) From the start of this I knew there would be issues. As soon as the credits are done rolling we are shown the front of the courthouse in black and white and at the bottom of the screen we see ''Fairville'' any fan of ''Psycho'' knows the town is Fairvale. Fairville sounds like a game we would be playing on face book. Then we are told a story of a little boy named Alex who is befriended by Norman Bates. Norman Bates from ''Psycho'' alone is shown as a loner. I say it like that because we are supposed to forget about ''Psycho 2'' and ''Psycho 3'' but any true fan can't do that. So these two become friends and skip ahead to the present, Norman has died and left his property to Alex. Alex to me is such a quiet and timid character I couldn't help but feel bad for him, his friend has died and not only does he get the Bates motel and the house he even gets Norman's ashes, which he talks to. I found that to be silly. The rest of the movie goes on as a long joke, Lori Petty plays a girl who has been sleeping in the abandoned home that was once Norman's and now is ''forced'' to mingle with Alex. I say forced because anyone would just kick a wacky girl who dresses as a chicken for work, out of the house! It was a slow movie with silly elements and a ''scooby doo'' ending. Any true fan of the ''Psycho'' franchise should avoid this. I only watched it because it was the only ''Psycho'' thing I had not watched. Want to watch something good related to ''Psycho'' then watch ''Bates Motel'' on the A&E channel. Skip this!!!

Hmmm...what would Norman Bates say about 'Bates Motel?' Perhaps, "We all go a little mad sometimes." Except I really don't think it was all that crazy to give the TV audience a taste of Psycho. I have to admit, I've been fascinated with the character since the first time I saw Psycho in the '80s and I loved the crazy sequels that followed. I also liked Jason Bateman as an actor (still do). However, I think this show was somewhat doomed from the start. I think it's hilarious that 25+ years later, I am hooked on the 'Bates Motel' TV series, which is better because I think a prequel is a better way to go. You know what they say about hindsight though. In any event, I'd like to see this again as I only saw this version in 1987. I think in light of the fact that the new show on A&E has done so well, why not show it for giggles? I'm sure Anthony Perkins won't mind...now.

This weak as water flick really disappointed me to the point, I was almost gonna smash the video cover. This is no way deserves it place along the other 4 Psycho films, that Hitch himself, would of had a heart attack a thousand times over, if learning of this potential bomb. What we have is a former mental patient (Bud Cort) who roomed with our late Norman, who must of killed again after Psycho 4, or just went plain nuts. He's been given the heavenly job of taking over Norman's motel. But greedy developers want to knock down the Bates Motel, "Oh no, not the Bates Motel" at the hands of their evil faced manager (Gregg Henry-Body Double, Payback) who you should hire if ever you're short of a villainous role. He goes to such lengths as scaring Cort off, either by wearing a chicken suit or dumping a fake body in the car lot, (the film's only low level violent scene) and who's gonna believe Cort over a respected property developer. But then again, I couldn't believe this film. And of all people, who should pop up, as a cooky female friend of Cort's, Lori Petty, in her early acting stage. But I guess you gotta start somewhere. If apart from Petty, Cort and Henry should of said "No" to this pile of garbage that is lucky to get two stars. Honestly, I would of stopped at one and a half. This film's so bad, that the Universal, Mca logo music, comes up at the end, following a quick end credit sequence, preceded by a little soliloquy from Cort's character. Honestly, some things in life leave me ultimately stupefied. Avoid at all costs, cause the consequences could be fatal.

As someone who really loves his horror films but will delve into other genres 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 actual Psycho franchise but then again it doesn't need to be a part of the franchise because it's got a completely new story of its own. Let's move onto the cast, the cast is a bit of a weird line up but then again I think that's what made me continue watching it and yes it's actually got a story to it and tries to take helm from Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho franchise. I know I'm not really reviewing this movie and explaining much about it and that's because I don't really know what to say, what I will say is…. If you can grab a copy of this very rare film just watch 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.