American Horror Story
To finish off the semester, I’ll be discussing a TV show that has received a large amount of attention for its crazy themes and unique style. American Horror Story is a show filled with jump scares, gore, and supernatural presences. Each season of the show is independent of the others (minus a few cameos). The actors are recycled, taking on completely new personas with each coming season. This is one show that keeps you on your toes.
General Summary: Since each season is completely different, there really is no way to summarize the plot. Each season, however, has a few things in common. For example, at one point or another, there is gore. People always seem to be dying in this show (but I guess that’s the point of a horror show, after all). Some seasons follow a seemingly simple story line such as haunted house (see season 1, Murder House). Others may a play on the recent election (see season 7, Cult). Since each season has a totally new set of characters, I’ll just highlight a few of my favorite.
From season 1, Murder House, came Tate. He is a disturbed teenage boy who falls for the girl that moves into the block’s haunted house. While there is much more to this character, I’ll leave it at that to avoid spoilers for anyone planning to watch.
Next we have a character from season 3, Coven. This season tends to be a fan favorite. Jessica Lange, an actress that appears in almost every season, is picture below. She plays the leader of a clan of young witches.
Finally, we have Sarah Paulson, a staple actress for American Horror Story. In her most recent role in season 7, Cult, she played a liberal targeted by a cult obsessed with Trump. Here she is reacting to his winning of the election.
Best Parts About the Show: This show is full of diverse story lines so you’re likely to find at least one that you like. For example, if you really hate a particular season, no worries! Next season will be completely different.
This show also tends to be very attention grabbing. There are plenty of crazy plot twists to keep you interested. Murder House has one of the best twists, and that was one reason I have continued to watch the subsequent seasons.
You get to see actors explore a variety of different roles. It’s fun to watch your favorite actor play roles so diverse from one another. This really allows you to see their talent.
Worst Parts About the Show: The seasons you really love are over after just 13 episodes. It can be frustrated to see such a good story line end so soon.
While you’ll really love some seasons, you’ll really hate others. While you can just not watch the season, it can be very disappointing. Many people complain that the quality of each season has been diminishing as the show goes on, and I totally agree. However, I keep watching because you never know when a season is going to be really good.
If you don’t like gore, you probably won’t like this show. This isn’t to say that there is often gore or even gore in every episode, but there’s just enough that you probably won’t enjoy it.
My Overall Ratings
Binge-worthy-ness: 7/10 – it’s very easy to binge just one season of this show. However, since these seasons aren’t connected, there’s no real intensive to keep going. There’s not many qualities that make you wanted to watch season after season.
Plot: 8/10 – the plots tend to be very unique. However, as I mentioned before, they tend to be either really good or really bad
Characters: 9/10 – I really enjoy watching each actor take on multiple personas. The diversity is intriguing.
Overall: 7/10 – The seasons I love, I really love such as Murder House and Coven. However, the ones I hate, I really hate such as Freakshow and Hotel.
And finally, here is a classic gif that came out of this show…
