American Horror Story

There was once a guy named Ryan Murphy, and he had a lot of brilliant ideas. In a TV world full of constricting rules, he established himself as the creator of the incredible cable series Nip/Tuck (2003-10), then shocked audiences with the high school musical Glee (2009-15), and now we're a decade into the trap of seemingly unrelated series but with the recurring cast of American Horror Story. I'm kind of looking forward to when it all connects and the AHS universe explodes. There will be a Season 11. (07.02.2019)

It’s nice, bizarre, and disturbing. Ryan Murphy. It also has more than just the excellent idea of combining the story of Victor Frankenstein with Lindberg's child. The Black Dahlia is always a pleasure too, and the two faces of Moira is what it's all about. I've missed Alexandra Breckenridge tremendously since the end of Dirt... In the end, who wouldn't want to buy a house in La La Land on the famous murder trail? Jessica Lange is great and so is Connie Britton, and strangely enough, it's all one big romance again. Constance's fawn is proof of that. The ending is also delightfully satisfying and gives us the opportunity to get excited about the sequel and to be satisfied with the loop. (11.02.2012)

Asylum pushes the boundaries so far that it's no longer bearable (or fun). But making it into an Iron Sky sequel? That would be a pipe dream. From the second episode with Anne Frank onwards, it went completely downhill, so the only positive things left were the small acting performances. (23.10.2015)

I only saw Coven after it was confirmed that all the stories would relate to each other, even in small ways, and I don't want to lose any Easter eggs. However, the witchcraft mission of two rival clans from New Orleans was extremely over the top in every way. But what was too much in the present was made up for by great cinematography and perverse flashbacks. (23.10.2015)

Freak Show is becoming the best series of them all so far. So, yes, we're continuing. Elsa Mars as a Weimar snuff porn star for president! They also didn't need to make the previous series as a prequel because they could have just made this perfect series and that would have been good enough. :D I wish someone would actually make The Elsa Mars Hour, then everything would be as it should. "In the land of Gods and Monsters / I was an angel / Living in the garden of evil / Screwed up, scared, doing anything that I needed / Shining like a fiery beacon." (23.10.2015)

AHS in an art deco hotel? I am in. Hotel is such a relaxing series - old friends have new cool fetishes and strangely enough, even Gaga is alright. So it's going to be an overall enjoyable season. Love, blood, plenty of joy... There’s also the tender connection to Murder House and Coven. And the plot with Rambo and Valentino is completely satisfying. It didn't kill the whole, but it was an interesting excursion into the world of unfulfilled happiness. (16.10.2015)

Roanoke is a very strange affair; formally, it's at least three series in one. There is a lot of work with reality show formats, responding to audience development, fandoms, the strength of the media audience in general, etc. We enjoy the SPOILER return of Lana Banana /SPOILER, which I really didn't expect. The theme of the curse of the 16th-century Roanoke colony is a very strong one in and of itself, so there's no reason to worry that the 6th season of AHS won't be interesting. However, getting through the first two episodes was really a problem because I had no idea what would follow and the idea that the whole series would be in the style of The Story of Us (the annotated romcom with Michelle Pfeiffer) was not something I was excited about. As usual, I recommend not watching it episodically, but as a marathon. Because with the arrival of more old familiar faces from past series, you'll feel right at home again. (14.02.2019)

Watching Cult outside the US must be a completely different experience. I don't take the politicization of the series too well, but I understand the need to process this topic. And thanks to AHS, the Hillary vs. Trump contest is much more even, and the feelings of the people behind that choice are much more real. The general theme of matriarchy vs. patriarchy suits AHS, but the specific ideas are a bit debilitating. Did it really have to come down to Warhol and Manson? The breakup of not only the traditional family but the lesbian one as well? What about Twisty? Was his return useful? I am very uncomfortable with the acting of Chaz Bono, who has been with us since Roanoke. I'm rooting for a post-Trump US recovery, but I would appreciate a return to scary fiction in the next season. (02.03.2019)

Post-apocalyptic AHS? That might not be such a bad idea. We also get to see connections with Murder House, Coven, and Hotel, we are reminded of characters and actors we haven't seen in years (yes, Jessica Lange is back, Emma Roberts is fabulous, as are Taissa Farmiga, Lily Rabe, Frances Conroy)... One of the new guests is the immortal Joan Collins, who manages to surprise all those who thought that actresses belong in a retirement home after their 80th birthday. Yes, I watched the continuation of old plots with interest, but the whole thing was very tiresome. I don't like when sci-fi is mixed with horror. The last three seasons have gotten very out of hand and I really don't appreciate more experimentation. Perhaps a return to Freak Show? But there are no more holes in the story. Or maybe Asylum? God forbid. (28.03.2019)

The eighties are popular at the moment. Wonder Woman 1984 is even coming out next year. An era full of aerobics, rainbow sweats, and permanent, playful music... today's young people are certainly shocked by the methods of wooing the youth of that time, who had to function without cell phones, and so on. And while the more intellectual part of the audience tends to point 1984 toward Orwell, for AHS it is synonymous with summer camp slaughter. The aesthetics of the posters are reminiscent of the better covers from young adult horror books, and that's exactly the atmosphere of the new series. As a whole, AHS 1984 again manages to surprise us. In the first episodes, it tells the events of that dramatic night in almost real-time, and in the second half of the series we learn what led up to it and why. Of course, the old friends, Emma Roberts and finally Lily Rabe, are all back. Some of the jokes are practically genius, but the halo hovers most over the video rental store scenes. (01.12.2019)

The question is whether Double Feature can work as a gift for missing last season, among other things. The first story, Red Tide, is a pretty decent variation on the classic "family moves to a haunted house for new experiences, affecting their relationships and careers" situation. The novel admixture in this case is a kind of derivative of Nosferatu. Familiar faces have the opportunity to do something new again. The second half of the series is worse. The Nosferatu derivative doesn't have a compelling finale, and the second story, Death Valley, is an extreme oddity that benefits from the 50s and 60s phenomena, including Marilyn Monroe. (10.12.2021)