American Horror Story.
I’m fairly discerning when it comes to the television I watch, and extra discerning when it comes to horror. It’s my jam. So please listen to me when I unequivocally, absolutely insist that you should be watching American Horror Story on FX.
I feel the need to tell you to watch this show because I hated the ad campaign for it “ooooh, a gimp touching a pregnant woman, how freeeeeaky!”, proclaimed it to be terrible, and therefore avoided it at all costs. But after some cajoling from a friend, I watched the pilot, and I realized that they marketed it all wrong:
American Horror Story is the cheesiest, frothiest soap opera on earth, put in a sack with disturbing imagery, amazingly insane dialogue, and some blood and gore.
And who doesn’t love that?
Here’s the story in a nutshell- a family of three heads cross country to escape two tragedies that nearly ripped them apart (a miscarriage and affair, and I’m not spoiling anything), and they move into a house where murders have happened. Add on the most spectacular twisted, aging, Southern belle character (Jessica Lange), her Down Syndrome-affected daughter, and a maid that shapeshifts, and you know basically all you need to know. For now.
There are genuine moments of fear, genuine gross out moments, some gratuitous masturbation scenes, and some very real emotional turmoil happening within the family. Plus a creeping sense of wanting to know what the FUCK is going on in this bizarro Los Angeles the show inhabits. Even though the world doesn’t feel real, it feels fleshed out enough that I feel comfortable visiting it. It reminds me of my childhood watching Twin Peaks with my Mom, and how we’d just stare at each other at the end of each episode and wish it was next week already. It may not be sophisticated as Twin Peaks, it may stuff a million tricks into each episode, and some of the dialogue may feel insanely written, but that doesn’t bother me in the slightest. I can enjoy cheap entertainment. What matters to me is that I have high fived while several times while watching it, and that when it’s over, I want it to begin again.
(Small note: Kudos to the show creators for not making the “disturbed young man” character into a goth kid in all black and trench coats. He’s fantastic just the way he is, and much creepier for not looking so obviously creepy.)
cwbuechelerChristopher Buecheler said,
November 9, 2011 at 11:31 am
** mild spoilers below**
I’ve only ever seen last week’s “Halloween Night” episode (I had much of the plot explained to me by some friends before watching it), but it seemed to me almost like they tried to cram too much into a single episode. Like, everyone except the girl was at DEFCON 1 level freaking out from start to finish. I enjoyed it, but by the end it felt like they’d been trying too hard. I am wondering if it’s like that every episode or if it was just because it’s the one night where the dead can walk the earth.
Agreed wholeheartedly tho that the disturbed kid looking like your average suburbian teenager is nice touch. Tho in the couple of flashes they showed near the end of the episode, it looked like he gothed himself up pretty good when he went nuts. Hard to tell.
Kiki said,
November 9, 2011 at 1:23 pm
I’m loving this show. It’s the new show that I get together with my roommate and best friend to watch every week.
To the commenter above, last week was the second part of a 2 part episode, so that might have something to do with why it seemed that so much was happening.
It wil be interesting to see if they can keep it up. Denis O’Hare is probably one of my all time favorite actors, I’ll watch anything he’s in, and can they just hand Jessica Lange the Emmy right now? She is brilliant!
M said,
November 11, 2011 at 11:24 pm
I have been watching this show and I have always admired Jessica Lange. Now, I am IN LOVE with her. She is perfection. Her delivery of soft spoken spikes targeted toward a deserving (or non-deserving) person, is an act of poetic cruelty. She amazes me.