Bates Motel (film)
| Bates Motel | |
|---|---|
 Ad from TV Guide, 1987 | |
| Distributed by | NBC |
| Directed by | Richard Rothstein |
| Produced by |
George Linder Ken Topolsky |
| Written by | Richard Rothstein |
| Music by | J. Peter Robinson |
| Editing by | Dann Cahn |
| Language | English |
| Release date | July 5, 1987 |
| Running time | 100 minutes |
Bates Motel is a 1987 television movie spin-off of the 1960 suspense/horror film Psycho. The film is about Alex West, a mentally disturbed youth who was admitted to an asylum after killing his abusive stepfather. There he befriends Norman Bates and ends up inheriting the infamous Bates Motel. The film was originally produced as a pilot for a TV series based around the Bates Motel; however, it was never picked up by any network.
In early 2012, A&E announced that a new TV series titled Bates Motel was in development at the network, later on it was confirmed that the show was picked up for a 10 episode first season. However, being a prequel to the film, it has nothing to do with the failed 1987 TV pilot.
Plot
Alex West (Bud Cort) roomed with and became close friends with Norman Bates at the state lunatic asylum for nearly 20 years. After Bates' death, Alex finds that he is named in Norman's will as the inheritor of the Bates Motel, which has been vacant since Norman's arrest. Alex travels to Bates' California hometown (which this film has renamed Fairville from the original film's Fairvale) and with a little help from teenage runaway Willie (Lori Petty) and local handyman Henry Watson (Moses Gunn), Alex struggles to re-open the motel for business, only to have strange things happen.
Cast
- Bud Cort as Alex West
- Lori Petty as Willie
- Moses Gunn as Henry Watson
- Gregg Henry as Tom Fuller
- Khrystyne Haje as Sally
- Jason Bateman as Tony Scotti
- Kerrie Keane as Barbara Peters
- Robert Picardo as Dr. Goodman
- Andy Albin as Mr. Yokes
- Dolores Albin as Mrs. Fisher
- Kelly Ames as Beth
- Robert Axelrod as Sheepskin Salesman
- Gary Ballard as Pastor
- Nat Bernstein as Salesman
- Peter Dobson as Billy Parks
- Timothy Fall as Terry Miller
- Carmen Filpi as Buddy
- Greg Finley as Attorney
- Kurt Paul as Norman Bates
- Craig Richard Nelson as The Funeral Director
Production
With the financial failure of Psycho III, Universal decided to continue the Psycho franchise as a television series; taking inspiration from the Friday The 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street TV series. In this televised spin-off of Psycho, Norman Bates is portrayed by Kurt Paul, who previously stood in as a stunt double for Anthony Perkins in Psycho II and Psycho III. Perkins declined involvement in the project and even heavily boycotted it.[1] The film was made as a pilot for a weekly series, but the series was never picked up.[2] Thus Universal decided to air the pilot as a made for TV film over the 4th of July weekend. The film received low Nielsen ratings and mostly negative reviews.[citation needed] For example, USA Today said, "this could be the worst thing you see on TV all year."[2] Because of this, Universal decided upon developing a fourth film that would become Psycho IV: The Beginning and would be made for television.
Release
The film debuted on NBC on July 5, 1987.[3]
The film was released to DVD on October 3, 2013 as a part of Universal's "Vault Series", exclusively on Amazon.com.[4]
Continuity
Critics and fans of the Psycho franchise have argued that the pilot does not fit in with the canon of the series, ignoring continuity with Psycho II, Psycho III and Psycho IV: The Beginning due to the death of Norman Bates in the film, while in Psycho II, Bates is deemed sane and returns to the Bates Motel.
Reflecting on the continuity issues, Robert Price writes "It seems that all the different Psychos drift into and out of one another. There is no real sequence. All are variant versions of the same myth. The deep conflict being rehearsed and resolved in these movies is that of the Oedipal complex".
References
- ↑ "Trivia for Bates Motel". imdb.com. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Thomlison, Adam. "Q & A". TV Media. Retrieved 2013-05-23.
- ↑ "Release dates for Bates Motel". imdb.com. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
- ↑ http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FERST4S?CID=Email_OctNL_2013
External links
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