This odd little 'made for TV' movie has the feel of a television pilot. It was made between Psycho III and Psycho IV, but basically follows from Psycho (I).
Alex West, an abused child, kills his parent and is placed in a mental institution… where he becomes friends with Norman Bates ("Psycho"). Years later, Alex (Bud Cort) is declared 'cured' and allowed to leave the institution. He finds that the late Norman Bates has left him the Bates Motel and family home.
This movie is the story of how Alex adapts to the real world after growing up in the asylum, and whether he can successfully remodel the Bates Motel. Along the way, he learns that the Bates Motel attracts some very strange visitors…
Co-stars Lori Petty in one of her very early roles, as the streetwise protector of Alex.
Bud Cort does well enough as Alex West, the oddly innocent owner of the Bates Motel. Lori Petty plays what is to become her 'standard' character. Unfortunately, there's no chemistry between the two characters, and no clue why Lori Petty's character is attached to him.
Towards the end, there's a creepy subplot that perhaps shows what a TV series might have been like: the 'spooky' visitor(s) of the week.
I give this one 3 stars. (IMDB gives it 3.9)
They tried to promote this film as a 'supernatural thriller' but it's really a light comedy/'feel good' movie.
Trailer: youtu.be/NrBxCSdw7Ns
