TV series · 2013
Bates Motel
A psychological horror drama imagining the earlier lives of the Bates family, drawn from Robert Bloch's Psycho, across five seasons on A&E.
- Year
- 2013
- Created by
- Carlton Cuse
- Starring
- Vera Farmiga, Max Thieriot, Olivia Cooke, Nicola Peltz, Nestor Carbonell, Kenny Johnson, Mike Vogel, Keegan Connor Tracy
- Seasons
- 5
- Episodes
- 50
- Network
- A&E
- Country
- United States
- Original language
- English
- Kind of horror
- Psychological, Small town
Bates Motel takes the family from Psycho and works backwards, showing where all that unease actually started. Created by Carlton Cuse, it ran for five seasons on A&E, and Vera Farmiga leads it with a performance that's unsettling in the quietest way, never shouting for your attention.
It's dread of the slow, domestic kind. A tidy house, a mother and son who love each other in a way that curdles the longer you watch, and a town that keeps its own secrets close. Nothing jumps out at you here; it's the sort of horror that settles into your stomach over an episode and stays there.
This one's for anyone who likes their horror character led, patient, and a bit sad underneath the tension. Not a film night pick if you want something loud. Put it on when you've got a proper run of evenings ahead of you, a big mug of something strong, and no plans to be anywhere else.
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