Bates Motel

Series 1 - Episode 1 First You Dream, Then You Die

Review

by David Crawford

Ever wondered what got Norman Bates so screwed up? This sort-of prequel to Psycho – first shown on Universal in 2013 – sets to tell the tale, starting from the death of his father and his mother’s decision six months later to make a new start at a motel in the coastal town of White Pine Bay.

Confusingly it’s set in contemporary Oregon, though the scenes in the motel are shot in muted tones with 1950s-style fixtures and fittings. Ignore that and enjoy Freddie Highmore very much resembling a young Anthony Perkins as the 17-year-old Norman, and shiver at the simmering psychosexual drama in the close relationship he has with his mother (Vera Farmiga).

Summary

New series. A prequel to Alfred Hitchcock's film Psycho, depicting the lives of a teenage Norman Bates and his mother Norma. After the death of her husband, Norma takes her son to live in Oregon, where they move into an old house overlooking the adjoining motel that they have bought to renovate - but the properties come with secrets of their own - as does the new town they now call home. Starring Freddie Highmore and Vera Farmiga.