Not to be confused with the far more recent TV series of the same name, this Bates Motel is an extended television pilot for a series that was never picked up. Ignoring the events of Psycho II and III, it forms its own separate continuity in order to start afresh, while on paper Bates Motel is a good idea, it's executed in the worst way possible. The only directorial effort by writer Richard Rothstein, there's no real flair to the visuals and plays like your standard TV episode but bloated full of unfunny moments and horror on par with Scooby-Doo.
Norman in this timeline has recently died and left in his will to someone he met while locked away in the asylum, Alex. Bud Cort plays Alex and while this is decent casting, his character isn't enough to sustain the film's runtime. Nor is a young Jason Bateman in a small role which is more fun in hindsight knowing his status now. Lori Petty is at least pretty entertaining as teenage runaway Willie and provides a few laughs. The only other thing worthy of note is the music by J. Peter Robinson who has some decent pieces, but is so few and far between you'd forget this even had a musical score.
All in all, Bates Motel feels like a few stitched-together episodes of the series more than something that would actively kick it off. It's an interesting oddity and footnote in Psycho's history but really not worth watching in any capacity unless you are really curious.
Norman in this timeline has recently died and left in his will to someone he met while locked away in the asylum, Alex. Bud Cort plays Alex and while this is decent casting, his character isn't enough to sustain the film's runtime. Nor is a young Jason Bateman in a small role which is more fun in hindsight knowing his status now. Lori Petty is at least pretty entertaining as teenage runaway Willie and provides a few laughs. The only other thing worthy of note is the music by J. Peter Robinson who has some decent pieces, but is so few and far between you'd forget this even had a musical score.
All in all, Bates Motel feels like a few stitched-together episodes of the series more than something that would actively kick it off. It's an interesting oddity and footnote in Psycho's history but really not worth watching in any capacity unless you are really curious.