I have to go on record right here, right now in saying that I believe in the possibility of ghosts and the supernatural.I’ve always been interested in horror movies and the paranormal.
I had a Ouija Board growing up I swore was real because, really, if I were to become a ghost, my fond memories of playing Monopoly and Battleship would totally make me want to make my presence known through a mass marketed Parker Brothers board game.
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“Uh, Spirit? You’re pointing to my crotch…” |
So when I saw commercials for American Horror Story on FX, I was more than intrigued.
It had been so long since I’d seen a good genre show like that done right.
Years back, CBS had Harper’s Island, which had a slasher flick/murder mystery motif, that ultimately fell flat and wound up canceling a few episodes, though it fared better than ABC’s Happy Town which I’m pretty sure was canned during the opening credits.
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Sam Neill was caught wondering why the hell he thought Happy Town would be a good idea. |
But this looked like it could be legit, so when it debuted in October, I was all set to watch.
That first episode, however, just didn’t do it for me.
It seemed like it was trying too much, like it didn’t quite know exactly what it wanted to be, so it threw a bunch of stuff at the wall to see what would or could stick.
Still, there was enough going on—and some eye candy as well—that I figured I’d try it out another episode or two.
And, hot damn, am I glad I did.
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Sure. I’ll just watch one more episode. You know, just in case… |
Put your **SPOILER** glasses on now, folks, because I’m about to go all mayonnaise on a hot summer day.
The story focuses on the Harmon family—Ben, Vivien, and teen daughter Violet portrayed by Dylan McDermott, Connie Britton and Taissa Farmiga.
After suffering a miscarriage, Vivien and Ben grew distant so he decided to make things better by cheating on her with one of his psychiatric patients.
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Pictured: The Hippocratic Oath. Not Pictured: Where it says that’s cool. |
As it turns out, the original owners—a woman obsessed with having a baby and her physician husband obsessed with giving her one by any means necessary—of the house haunt the place, as do a gay couple that lived there, two children of the woman next door, that woman’s former housekeeper, and the infamous Black Dahlia.
But these ghosts can make the living see them and interact on a physical level; their only limitation is being unable to leave the house except on Halloween.
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Because ghosts love Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. |
One of them, the teenaged Tate (breakout actor Evan Peters), was a violent sociopath but strikes up a relationship with Violet…and also rapes and impregnates Vivien, already recently pregnant from her husband, which is part of some Vatican prophesy of how the Antichrist will be born.
OK, so that’s a bit weird. But it works.
Ben’s infidelity comes back to haunt him, and his fling becomes stalker after learning she’s pregnant and is killed by the spurned former lover of neighbor Constance and winds up haunting the house herself as anyone who dies there becomes trapped there.
Vivien’s child is sought after by the different ghosts for varying reasons and plots within plots are hatched to take it from her.
By the end, the Harmon’s are all dead—Violet by her own hand in a jaw-dropping reveal, Vivien in childbirth along with one of the twins, and Ben at the hands of vengeful spirits.
Only Constance, played masterfully throughout by Jessica Lange, and the bad seed child remain behind.
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“Yoo hoo! Crazy delivery!” |
The first season was mystery, drama, and horror all rolled into one, with complex characters and mind bending plot twists that made you stop and go, “Shit, did that just happen?!”
Solid writing and acting all around—if Lange doesn’t get an award, this world is horribly flawed—helped make what could have been a cheesy little television sidenote into a ratings force and a show that explored the intricate workings of the human psyche while entertaining us silly.
With each season of the show set to involve a different location and set of characters, the writers were not afraid to take chances with what they had. No one and nothing was off limits and while it sometimes seemed to try too hard to be “edgy,” it was an overall solid show that I don’t even know how they can match in season two.
All I know is that I’ll be there when it starts…and hopefully I’ll survive until the end…
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This is going to be a tough act to follow. |
