'Bates Motel' review: Putting the why in 'Psycho'

In brief: A "contemporary prequel" to the Alfred Hitchcock suspense classic "Psycho,""Bates Motel" boasts a first-rate cast and an intriguingly creepy expansion of the original story's universe. New Jersey's own Vera Farmiga ("Up in the Air") fleshes out (both figuratively and literally) Norma Bates, Norman Bates' domineering — possibly for a good reason — mother, and Freddie Highmore, who starred in 2005's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," embodies the high-strung earnestness of Anthony Perkins' portrayal. It premieres tonight at 10 p.m. on A&E.

First impressions: "Bates Motel" is packed with callbacks (or are they foreshadowings?) to the iconic film (we first see Norma getting out of the shower; the father of one of Norman's new friends is into taxidermy). And the iconic Gothic Revival house is one and the same, Norman has a penchant for old black and white movies, and Norma's demure wardrobe recalls the era of the original "Psycho," though "Bates Motel" is set in the present-day, which serves to keep viewers firmly off balance.

You only need a working knowledge of the film to appreciate the series, which expands the Bates nuclear family. Okay, Norman's father is already dead in the opening scene, and Norma uses his life insurance to buy a rundown motel and home on the northern Pacific coast. She doesn't, however, elect to inform her older son Dylan Massett, Norman's down-on-his-luck older half-brother (Max Theriot), who nevertheless tracks them down and inserts himself into their lives. Dylan has an equally complicated but much more strained relationship with his mother, but seems genuinely concerned for his younger brother.

And what of Norman? This may be a prequel, but the seeds of Norman's psychoses were planted well before the series opens. The reedy, sweet-faced Norman is simultaneously drawn to and repelled by his mother's smothering, and there is enough nuance in both Highmore's and Farmiga's portrayals that make you wonder whether Norma was responsible for Norman's later fractures, or was simply responding to some sickness that may have always lurked in the young man.

Guess which young lady Norma prefers? The way Farmiga's eyes light up when hearing Emma's grim prognosis is delightfully perverse.

There's also the requisite love triangle — not counting Mom. Norman almost immediately becomes the pet of a popular clique of girls and pines after welcoming (but taken) Bradley Martin (Nicola Peltz), while he's befriended by outsider Emma Decody (Olivia Cooke), who adds a dash of "Veronica Mars" to the proceedings. Emma trails around an oxygen tank because she suffers from cystic fibrosis, a chronic lung disease that almost always leads to a relatively early death. (Guess which young lady Norma prefers? The way Farmiga's eyes light up when hearing Emma's grim prognosis is delightfully perverse.)

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While we discover in the pilot that the motel has already sheltered its share of sick secrets, "Bates Motel" broadens Hitchcock's world to the "Twin Peaks"-ian town of White Pine Bay, rife with secrets and wielding its own twisted justice. (But never fear — no one breaks into "Mairzy Doats" in the first three episodes.) Nestor Carbonell, Richard Alpert (or "Eyeliner Guy") from "Lost," is the suspicious sheriff, Alex Romero, and Mike Vogel, last seen flashing his pearly whites on "Pan Am," is his deputy, who is seemingly sympathetic to Norma after she gets mixed up in an investigation.

"Bates Motel" wastes little time in shedding blood (there is a rather graphic sequence in the pilot), but there's more suspense than outright scares. This property is definitely worth the hourly rate.

Grade: A-