by Chris @Movieguy84
Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story is back, and this time we’ve checked into one of the most twisted, disturbing hotels imaginable.
First off, let me state that I have enjoyed each season of this anthology series. Every season was different in theming and storytelling than the last. The first season was a haunted house story with some throw backs to classic horror films. Season two had different types of horror (slasher, psychological) but also had a interesting look at mental institutions and religion. The third season was a modern horror story with witchcraft as the focal point and the fourth season was more of a message that everyone is as ‘freak’ while showing that the ‘normal’ people can be just as twisted as the ‘weirdos’.
Murphy brings us to the present with Hotel. At the Hotel Cortez it seems people check in, but the check-out process is a little more difficult. The inhabitants include a couple of vampires, and wacko drug addicts and maybe some ghosts. Most of the usual cast is back (Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson, Kathy Bates) as well as some new faces including Lady Gaga as a vampire. Or at least a woman that really likes blood. I still don’t quite know yet.
I’ve only seen the first episode at this point so not everything has been made clear to me. While I really enjoy the insanity of this past seasons, this first episode seemed to say, “If you thought that was crazy, wait till you see what we’ve got now!” I was shocked and quite surprised by a lot that happened. It was a whirlwind of blood, sex, and disturbing characters which there were so many of being introduced that I barely had time to figure out what was happening before something new came upon the screen. It did seem though that this season will follow Wes Bentley’s detective as the main narrative through the season. He plays a detective who has some work/life balance issues.
I did watch the first hour of this episode with a friend of mine who has never seen the show, and doesn’t watch horror much. I thought the show may be more ‘mainstream’ this season due to Lady Gaga being in the cast but, nope. She was definitely turned off by the insanity stuffed into those first 60 minutes and stopped watching. And I don’t blame her. I thought a lot that happened was probably the most extreme this show has ever done.
I’m definitely intrigued to learn about what’s really happening at the Hotel Cortez and will continue to watch. If you’re new to the series, I won’t be surprised if you decide not to continue after the first episode, but I’d recommend checking out the other seasons as a starting point.
Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story is back, and this time we’ve checked into one of the most twisted, disturbing hotels imaginable.
First off, let me state that I have enjoyed each season of this anthology series. Every season was different in theming and storytelling than the last. The first season was a haunted house story with some throw backs to classic horror films. Season two had different types of horror (slasher, psychological) but also had a interesting look at mental institutions and religion. The third season was a modern horror story with witchcraft as the focal point and the fourth season was more of a message that everyone is as ‘freak’ while showing that the ‘normal’ people can be just as twisted as the ‘weirdos’.
Murphy brings us to the present with Hotel. At the Hotel Cortez it seems people check in, but the check-out process is a little more difficult. The inhabitants include a couple of vampires, and wacko drug addicts and maybe some ghosts. Most of the usual cast is back (Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson, Kathy Bates) as well as some new faces including Lady Gaga as a vampire. Or at least a woman that really likes blood. I still don’t quite know yet.
I’ve only seen the first episode at this point so not everything has been made clear to me. While I really enjoy the insanity of this past seasons, this first episode seemed to say, “If you thought that was crazy, wait till you see what we’ve got now!” I was shocked and quite surprised by a lot that happened. It was a whirlwind of blood, sex, and disturbing characters which there were so many of being introduced that I barely had time to figure out what was happening before something new came upon the screen. It did seem though that this season will follow Wes Bentley’s detective as the main narrative through the season. He plays a detective who has some work/life balance issues.
I did watch the first hour of this episode with a friend of mine who has never seen the show, and doesn’t watch horror much. I thought the show may be more ‘mainstream’ this season due to Lady Gaga being in the cast but, nope. She was definitely turned off by the insanity stuffed into those first 60 minutes and stopped watching. And I don’t blame her. I thought a lot that happened was probably the most extreme this show has ever done.
I’m definitely intrigued to learn about what’s really happening at the Hotel Cortez and will continue to watch. If you’re new to the series, I won’t be surprised if you decide not to continue after the first episode, but I’d recommend checking out the other seasons as a starting point.