Bates Motel Season One Review

by Daniel Falconer | 3 January 2014

Freddie Highmore as Norman Bates

Horror junkies and fans alike were nervous when it was announced the 'Psycho' franchise was going to be turned into a television series.

Then, it was revealed that Bates Motel would serve as a prequel to the classic film - a story of Norman and his mother Norma Bates, exploring just how he became the crazed killer who's become one of the biggest names in the horror genre.

It turns out that their worries were not warranted, as the producers of Lost and Friday Night Lights came together to bring us one of the best horror television series of all time.

The chilling and disturbingly real acting from Freddie Highmore and Vera Farmiga - who play Norman and Nora respectively - adds a whole other level to the story we all thought we knew.

Norman finds his father dead aged 17 - he appears to be the victim of a freak accident, which leads to he and his mother upping sticks and moving to White Pine Bay to start again.

Buying a motel, they move in ready to begin a new life and a new business venture.

Despite his awkward demeanour and strange social tendancies, Norman catches the attention of popular schoolgirls Bradley (Nicole Peltz) and Emma (Olivia Cooke), and his mother does the same with the Deputy Sherriff Zack Shelby (Mike Vogel).

However, things aren't all love and roses for the family, and after a horrific attack in the first episode - including a scene where Farmiga's acting is truly outstanding - Norma takes drastic measures with ultimately devestating consequences for everybody.

With secrets around every corner, fuelled by the return of Norman's estranged brother Dylan (Max Thierot), the family struggle with their own psychological issues, and the past of the motel and the town they live in is dug up once more.