Network: A&E
Cast: Vera Farmiga (1), Freddie Highmore (2), Max Thieriot (3), Nicola Peltz (4), Mike Vogel (5), Keegan Connor Tracy (6), Nestor Carbonell (7), and Olivia Cooke
Do you ever think about the backstory of all the infamous killers in film and television? Were they ever normal? Did they go to school? Did they have friends, or even a best friend? Is there a turning point in their life that made them become killers and what was it? All these questions are sometimes never addressed in slasher flicks or suspense thrillers. I mean you can only put in so much detail and backstory in 90 to 150 minutes. But it is this curiosity to fully understand a character such as Norman Bates that will make this series a hit.
I don't do well with suspense horror films. That's my excuse for not ever watching Psycho. I have watched Hitchcock's Vertigo though, in class. But watching Hannibal, and now Bates Motel, and actually liking them has made me reconsider my self imposed embargo on suspense thrillers. Maybe I just need to muster up the courage to be open to watching suspense thrillers.
It's interesting that there are so many recent television series that build on or expand on the universe of already well known characters. Just this year alone there are shows like Arrow that build upon the universe of the Green Arrow. Beauty And The Beast featuring of course the title characters, Elementary with Sherlock Holmes, Hannibal featuring Dr Hannibal Lecter and the characters from Red Dragon, Ripper Street which is linked to the universe of Jack the Ripper, and of course Bates Motel. But I love majority of the shows mentioned here, because whether I previously knew of the characters or universe they are based on or not, there's always something new and fascinating to discover about them. I see it as a new point of view. Or a new insight to an already well loved character.
With Bates Motel, much like in the new series Hannibal, I think it gives a new dimension to the character of Norman Bates. He is no longer just the creepy guy with a split personality and a violent streak. This is an updated version, set in the modern world. And it's beginning to look like it's gonna be a really interesting world.
Our experiences shape who we are. Maybe if Norman Bates never witnessed his mum killing the man who raped her he wouldn't have become a psycho killer? And if they never tried to cover up his murder, Norman Bates would have never found the book with graphic images which may or may not have put those sadistic thoughts in his head? We will never know if the absence of these incidents would have made a difference, but still it's interesting to think about. And this is what draws me into the series. The characters.
Do you ever think about the backstory of all the infamous killers in film and television? Were they ever normal? Did they go to school? Did they have friends, or even a best friend? Is there a turning point in their life that made them become killers and what was it? All these questions are sometimes never addressed in slasher flicks or suspense thrillers. I mean you can only put in so much detail and backstory in 90 to 150 minutes. But it is this curiosity to fully understand a character such as Norman Bates that will make this series a hit.
I don't do well with suspense horror films. That's my excuse for not ever watching Psycho. I have watched Hitchcock's Vertigo though, in class. But watching Hannibal, and now Bates Motel, and actually liking them has made me reconsider my self imposed embargo on suspense thrillers. Maybe I just need to muster up the courage to be open to watching suspense thrillers.
It's interesting that there are so many recent television series that build on or expand on the universe of already well known characters. Just this year alone there are shows like Arrow that build upon the universe of the Green Arrow. Beauty And The Beast featuring of course the title characters, Elementary with Sherlock Holmes, Hannibal featuring Dr Hannibal Lecter and the characters from Red Dragon, Ripper Street which is linked to the universe of Jack the Ripper, and of course Bates Motel. But I love majority of the shows mentioned here, because whether I previously knew of the characters or universe they are based on or not, there's always something new and fascinating to discover about them. I see it as a new point of view. Or a new insight to an already well loved character.
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| Every good suspense thriller needs a creepy house! |
Our experiences shape who we are. Maybe if Norman Bates never witnessed his mum killing the man who raped her he wouldn't have become a psycho killer? And if they never tried to cover up his murder, Norman Bates would have never found the book with graphic images which may or may not have put those sadistic thoughts in his head? We will never know if the absence of these incidents would have made a difference, but still it's interesting to think about. And this is what draws me into the series. The characters.
