After the explosive events that occurred in the first season of Bates Motel, things are only going to keep getting tougher and more dangerous for Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore) and his mother, Norma (Vera Farmiga), especially with the economic livelihood of the motel being threatened. On top of that, Dylan’s (Max Thieriot) business is in a precarious position, Norma’s brother (Kenny Johnson) is in town, and there are new love interests for the characters.

During this recent exclusive phone interview with Collider, actress Olivia Cooke (who plays quirky teenager Emma Decody) talked about what most surprised her about Emma’s journey in Season 1, what she most enjoys about playing this character, how anxious she is to get tidbits of information about what’s to come, the status of Emma’s friendship with Norman, how close Emma is getting to Norma, what Emma’s new love interest will be like, that Emma will have a scare involving her Cystic Fibrosis, and that she’d love to see Emma caught up in a murder.  She also talked about her work in the upcoming feature films The Quiet Ones, a horror movie about a university physics professor who assembles a team to help create a poltergeist, and the thriller Ouija.  Check out what she had to say after the jump, and be aware that they are some spoilers. 

Focus Features has released the first trailer and poster for director William Eubank’s (Love) sci-fi thriller The Signal.  The story centers on a computer genius who lures three college students on a road trip across the Southwest to an eerily isolated area where they encounter…something.  Laurence Fishburne plays a creepy scientist and Brenton Thwaites (The Giver) leads the pic as one of the college students who has regained consciousness to find he’s in a waking nightmare.  This trailer highlights a visually arresting, moody, and fascinating thriller with a mystery bent.  It’s promising stuff, and I’m eager to see more.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer and check out the poster.  The film also stars Olivia Cooke, Beau Knapp, Lin Shaye, Robert Longstreet, and Jeffrey Grover.  The Signal opens in theaters June 13th.

Lionsgate has released a new trailer for director John Pogue’s supernatural horror film The Quiet Ones.  The pic stars Jared Harris as an unorthodox professor who sets up a series of dangerous experiments in order to explore the dark energy manifested by the damaged psyche of a young girl.  Naturally, things don’t quite turn out all fine and dandy.  Despite the now obligatory inclusion of a found footage aspect (though it appears to be minimal, thankfully), the pic seems like a solid entry in the historical horror genre.  The period setting sets The Quiet Ones apart from the deluge of modern, low-budget horror films that are currently populating the marketplace, so at least it feels a bit fresh.

Hit the jump to watch the new trailer.  The film also stars Sam Claflin, Olivia Cooke, Erin Richards, and Rory Fleck-Byrne.  The Quiet Ones opens April 25th.

Here’s a look at the latest casting news for the following films:

• Helena Bonham Carter is in final negotiations to reprise her role of the Red Queen in Disney’s Alice in Wonderland sequel, Through the Looking Glass.
• Taraji P. Henson has joined Term Life, Peter Billingsley’s crime drama fronted by Vince Vaughn and Hailee Steinfeld.
• Olivia Cooke is in talks to lead Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s Me & Earl & the Dying Girl, adapted by Jesse Andrews from his own novel.

Hit the jump for more on each project.

The latest effort from Hammer Films, The Quiet Ones, isn’t due out until April 25th, but we have three character motion posters to put you in the mood right now.  John Pogue directs this horror film, based on true events, that finds a university professor and his students participating in an experiment with a troubled young girl, and unwittingly unleashing dark forces.  The motion posters, which are delightfully creepy, feature the principal cast of Jared Harris, Sam Claflin, and Olivia Cooke.  Erin Richards and Rory Fleck-Byrne also star.  Hit the jump to check out the motion posters.

Lionsgate has released a full trailer for the upcoming horror film The Quiet Ones.  The film stars Jared Harris as an unorthodox professor who sets up a series of dangerous experiments in order to create a poltergeist from negative human energy.  I’m a sucker for horror films set at least forty years in the past, and that was one of the things I liked best about The Conjuring.  The Quiet Ones looks like it has some similarities by using a mix of creepy recorded footage and the supernatural evil attacking the researchers.  Aside from some questionable CGI at the end, this could be damn fine horror flick.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer along with a new image.  The film also stars Sam Claflin, Erin Richards, Rory Fleck-Byrne, and Olivia Cooke.  The Quiet Ones opens April 25th.

Hammer Films has released the first trailer for director John Pogue’s (Quarantine 2) supernatural horror film The Quiet Ones.  From the studio behind The Woman in Black, the film stars Jared Harris as an unorthodox professor who sets up a series of dangerous experiments in order to create a poltergeist from negative human energy.  While genuinely good original horror films are few and far between these days, The Quiet Ones doesn’t look half bad.  There’s a nice aesthetic to the piece that evokes the found footage genre without feeling forced, and Harris is pretty intimidating as the film’s lead.

Hit the jump to watch the UK trailer.  The film also stars Sam Claflin, Olivia Cooke, and Erin Richards.  The Quiet Ones opens in theaters on April 11, 2014.

It’s hard to believe that Psycho actually qualifies as a franchise, mostly because everything after the immortal original was a steaming pile of cow flop.  Three theatrical sequels, one aborted TV pilot, the well-intentioned but ultimately pointless Gus Van Sant thing… it hasn’t been an easy ride for Norman Bates and his mother. Until now.

Bates Motel starts out feeling like a terrible gimmick, covering Norman’s (Freddie Highmore) formative years in what initially promises to be a one-trick pony.  Instead, the show serves up a meaty cocktail of American Gothic, as Mrs. Bates (Vera Farmiga) buys a quiet hotel with her young son in hopes of escaping a very checkered past.  Naturally, things go from bad to worse as the hotel’s old owner shows up, the local sheriff (Nestor Carbonell) pops in to ask awkward questions, and bodies both real and metaphorical start getting dumped in out-of-the-way places.   Hit the jump for my full review of Bates Motel season one on Blu-ray.

Fresh off her recently-announced Emmy nomination, Vera Farmiga and the rest of her Bates Motel cast members, including: Nestor Carbonell, Olivia Cooke, Freddie Highmore, and Max Thieriot, joined by producers Carlton Cuse and Kerry Ehrin, took the Comic-Con stage to discuss the upcoming season of A&E’s new hit series. During the discussion, they delved into the show’s relationships and provided some teases for what to expect in Season 2. Hit the jump for highlights from the panel.

Currently wrapping up its first season and already given a second, the A&E drama series Bates Motel gives viewers an intimate portrayal of how Norman Bates’ (Freddie Highmore) psyche unravels through his teenage years.  This contemporary prequel to the genre-defining film Psycho reveals the dark, twisted backstory and shows first-hand just how deep the relationship with his mother, Norma (Vera Farmiga), truly goes, as she helps forge the most famous serial killer of them all.

During this exclusive interview with Collider, co-stars Nicola Peltz (who plays Bradley, the beautiful teenager who Norman is in love with) and Olivia Cooke (who plays Emma, the quirky friend with a crush on Norman) talked about how they each came to the show, how familiar they’d been with Psycho, what they enjoy about their characters, how much input they have with their characters, and what made them each want to become actors.  Check out what they had to say after the jump, and be aware that there are some spoilers.

The first full trailer for the upcoming A&E series Bates Motel has been released.  The show comes from Lost co-showrunner Carlton Cuse and Friday Night Lights’ Kerry Ehrin and serves as a prequel to Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film Psycho, with Freddie Highmore as a young Norman Bates and Vera Farmiga as his mother.  We previously saw a couple of moody teasers that were more than a little reminiscent of Twin Peaks, but this full trailer really ups the ante on the creepiness.  The second half of the trailer actually plays more like a featurette, with the cast and crew discussing the series.  Farmiga notes that they’re not remaking Psycho, they’re “using it as an inspiration.”  My interest is sufficiently piqued.

Hit the jump to watch the 2-minute trailer.  The series also stars Nestor Carbonell, Max Thieriot, Olivia Cooke, and Mike Vogel.  Bates Motel premieres on A&E in March 2013.

We recently got our first look at A&E’s highly anticipated Psycho prequel series Bates Motel by way of a couple of images of stars Freddie Highmore and Vera Farmiga as Norman and Norma Bates, and now a large batch of new images from the series has landed online.  The drama from Lost co-showrunner Carlton Cuse and Friday Night Lights alum Kerry Ehrin centers on the relationship between a young Norman Bates and his mother, and the show looks to feature an appropriately colorful cast of characters.  There’s a bit of a Twin Peaks feel from these images, so hopefully Cuse and Ehrin have crafted a creepy and fun take on the burgeoning serial killer.  A&E ordered Bates Motel straight to series instead of waiting to see a pilot first, so the show is poised to debut in Spring 2013.

Hit the jump to check out the images which feature Max Thieriot as Norman’s older brother Dylan, Olivia Cooke as classmate and fellow outcast Emma Decody, Mike Vogel as Deputy Zach Shelby, and Lost alum Nestor Carbonell as town Sheriff, Alex Romero.