''Bates Motel'' is a 1987 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

supernatural horror film Supernatural horror film is a film genre that combines aspects of horror film and supernatural film. Supernatural occurrences in such films often include ghosts and demons, and many supernatural horror films have elements of religion. Common them ...

and a spin-off of the ''Psycho'' franchise written and directed by

Richard Rothstein Richard Rothstein is an American academic and author affiliated with the Economic Policy Institute, and a senior fellow (emeritus) at the Thurgood Marshall Institute of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. His current research focuses on the history o ...

, starring

Bud Cort Walter Edward Cox, known professionally as Bud Cort, is an American actor and comedian, known for his portrayals of Harold in Hal Ashby's film ''Harold and Maude'' (1971) and the eponymous hero in Robert Altman's film ''Brewster McCloud'' (1970 ...

Lori Petty Lori Petty (born October 14, 1963) is an American actress, director, and screenwriter. She is noted for her roles in the films ''Point Break'' (1991), ''A League of Their Own'' (1992), ''Free Willy '' (1993), and the title role in ''Tank Girl'' ...

Moses Gunn Moses Gunn (October 2, 1929 – December 16, 1993) was an American actor of stage and screen. An Obie Award-winning stage player, he is an alumnus of the Negro Ensemble Company. His 1962 off-Broadway debut was in Jean Genet's ''The Blacks,'' and ...

Gregg Henry Gregg Lee Henry (born May 6, 1952) is an American character actor and rock, blues and country musician. He is best known for his performance as serial killer Dennis Rader in the made-for-television film '' The Hunt for the BTK Killer'', and for ...

Jason Bateman Jason Kent Bateman (born January 14, 1969) is an American actor, director and producer known for his roles of Michael Bluth in the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox/Netflix sitcom ''Arrested Development (TV series), Arrested Development'' and of Mart ...

, and

Kerrie Keane Kerrie Keane is a Canadian actress. She graduated from McMaster University with a Bachelor of Arts in history in 1970. Her early film career included roles in '' The Incubus'' (1982), '' Spasms'' (1983), ''Morning Man'' (1986) and '' Bates Mot ...

. Outside of the 1998 remake, this is the only installment not to feature

Anthony Perkins Anthony Perkins (April 4, 1932 – September 12, 1992) was an American actor, director, and singer. Perkins is best remembered for his role as Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's suspense thriller '' Psycho'', which made him an influential ...

Norman Bates Norman Bates is a fictional character created by American author Robert Bloch as the main antagonist in his 1959 thriller novel '' Psycho''. He has an alter, Mother, who takes from the form of his abusive mother, and later victim, Norma, wh ...

as Kurt Paul portrays the character. The film premiered as part of ''

NBC Monday Night at the Movies ''The NBC Monday Movie'' was a television anthology series of films that debuted on February 4, 1963 (in the middle of the 1962-63 season). It was referred to as ''Monday Night at the Movies'' prior to the mid-1980s. Contrary to popular contemp ...

'' on July 5, 1987. It is a direct sequel to '' Psycho'', ignoring the other sequels. The film is about Alex West, a mentally disturbed youth who was admitted to an

asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent Asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea ...

after killing his abusive stepfather. There he befriends Norman and ends up inheriting the Bates Motel. It was originally produced as a

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

for a proposed TV series set in the Bates Motel, but it was not picked up by the network.

Plot

''Bates Motel'' ignores the existence of '' Psycho II'' and '' III'' (and would in turn be ignored by ''

Psycho IV ''Psycho IV: The Beginning'' is a 1990 American television film, made-for-television slasher film directed by Mick Garris, and starring Anthony Perkins, Henry Thomas, Olivia Hussey, Warren Frost, Donna Mitchell, and CCH Pounder. It serves as both ...

''), with Norman Bates never being released from the mental institution to allow the events of those films. Alex West (

) is a mentally disturbed youth who was admitted to the asylum nearly twenty years ago for killing his abusive stepfather. He became close friends with

( Kurt Paul) at the asylum. Years later, Norman dies and Alex learns that he has inherited the Bates Motel. He travels to Norman's California hometown (renamed Fairville for this film; in the original film it was Fairvale) and with a little help from teenage runaway Willie (

) and local handyman Henry Watson (

), Alex struggles to re-open the motel for business. Alex gets a loan to renovate the motel, but the project is plagued with rumors about the place being haunted by the ghost of Norman's mother, Mrs. Bates, and the discovery of her remains, as well as those of her late husband, buried on the grounds of the motel. When recovering the remains of Mrs. Bates, the sheriff said that the body "was never found", which seems to conflict with the original Psycho, where Mrs. Bates' corpse is present in the basement where Norman is finally captured by Sam Loomis. While renovating the motel, Alex sees Mrs. Bates in her bedroom window, and sees the corpse of her late husband from the same window, supporting the idea that the property is haunted. After Alex tells Willie that he owes his first loan payment of $10,000 the day after the motel opens, Willie becomes suspicious and with the help of Henry reveals that the haunting was a prank and the ghost was the bank manager, Tom Fuller (

). Fuller had approved a loan with predatory terms with Alex and was trying to sabotage the motel by trying to scare him away. Tom is then forced to help Alex and the others by negotiating friendlier payment terms for the loan or face prison for fraud. The motel is soon finished with the renovation. Meanwhile, not all ghost stories turn out to be hoaxes as Barbara Peters (

) books a room in Alex's motel for the night, planning suicide because she was getting older, and had been through three divorces without children. Barbara meets a teenage girl, Sally (

Khrystyne Haje Khrystyne Kamil Haje ( ; born December 21, 1968) is an Americans, American actress. She is known for her role as Simone Foster in the sitcom series ''Head of the Class''. After the series ended in 1991, she continued acting in both television an ...

), who invites Barbara to dance at an after prom party in the motel with her and her teenage friends, including Tony Scotti (

), though Barbara felt uncomfortable hanging with young kids. It is then revealed that Barbara's real name is also Sally, and that the teenage girl who took her own life 25 years ago is a ghost along with Tony, and other teens who also committed suicide. She tells “Barbara” that she has a life worth living for, then leaves with the rest of the group. “Barbara” leaves the motel the next day, planning to live her life to the fullest. Alex looks at the screen telling viewers: "If you ever need a room, come on by. I can't say for sure what you'll find, but that is what makes the world go around".

Cast

Home media

The film was released to

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

on October 3, 2013 as part of Universal's "Vault Series", exclusively on

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...

. Universal re-released the film on DVD (along with '' Psycho II'', ''

Psycho III ''Psycho III'' is a 1986 American slasher film, and the third film in the ''Psycho'' franchise. It stars Anthony Perkins, who also directs the film, reprising the role of Norman Bates. It co-stars Diana Scarwid, Jeff Fahey, and Roberta Maxwell. T ...

'' and '' Psycho IV: The Beginning'') as part of its "4-Movie Midnight Marathon Pack" in September 2014.

References

External links

* * {{Psycho 1987 films 1987 television films 1987 horror films 1980s supernatural horror films American horror television films American supernatural horror films Psycho (franchise) films American ghost films Films set in motels Film spin-offs Television films as pilots Television pilots not picked up as a series Universal Pictures films Films produced by George Linder 1980s English-language films NBC network original films 1980s American films Alternative sequel films

Plot

Cast

Home media

See also

References

External links