American Horror Story

Weird, weird, weird! Which was actually the purpose. Some see fear in it, others see the atmosphere of the town of Twin Peaks. One thing is clear, and that is the fact that this series doesn’t care about reality, simply playing with the viewer, and even though the story is based on paranormal phenomena, it seems to me as if it was not about them at all. The touch of the creators of Nip/Tuck is evident here. Some things managed to properly disgust me, but I don’t know if I can stand it until the end. Somehow the characters didn’t dazzle me enough to keep me going. But the idea definitely deserves it and the same goes for some of the characters. Anyway, I have to say that it’s pretty little for a long-running series. (07/07/2013)

I haven’t seen a more unnecessarily forced and artificial series than the first season of American Horror Story. But, I was getting a mass of recommendations from left and right for, allegedly, the best – second – season, so I simply had to start watching it. Well, and the first half was in a similar vein to the first one. The creators jammed everything they could into the asylum. At times I thought that the only thing that was missing was to connect it with some concentration camp… and what do you know. During the very next episode, I was met with an Auschwitz-Birkenau flashback. The second half of the season was a lot more interesting and I actually finished it thanks to that. Unnecessary scary scenes were exchanged for gradual refinement of the characters, to whom I was gradually getting used to. The finale went to the very core. In the end, hats off. Finally, a series that doesn’t have a problem with raising questions and answering all of them. (04/21/2016)

After a very solid second season, I thought I could give a chance to at least one more season of this series. So, it was the turn of witches and supposedly the weakest story of the whole series. Personally, I have to say that the beginning started off in a pretty promising way. The creators approached the story as a combination of snide Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and the good old Charmed. Just a bit rougher and, obviously, with a concept targeted mostly at the youth. Something along the lines of modern young adult stories. The only scary thing about the series is the theme song. Gradually, the story evolved in an unbelievably crazy way until it became nonsense and near the end, I was literally disgusted by it. Even so, I appreciate that the creators thought all the characters through completely and so you get answers for everything… and for everybody. I feel like that isn’t very common with series. Nevertheless, a pretty short range of 13 episodes allows for virtually anything. (05/02/2016)

I’ve always had a problem with the American Horror Story series, but since each season is built on a different premise, after every season, I endlessly keep giving the show another chance to impress me. One season has already managed to do that, so why couldn’t another one achieve that as well? However, my problem with this season was that the TV show Carnivale by HBO a couple of years ago was a lot more intense. This was a mere second brew that once again reduced the best that the world of freaky circus folks has to offer. But Jessica Lange sure had a blast with this one and at least she showed us all what a good singer she is. But that’s the only positive thing about this season. (03/07/2017)

American Horror Story isn’t usually my go-to, so it took me a while to finally dive into the Hotel season. Lady Gaga’s big debut as an actress was the main draw, and she definitely proved she’s more than just a great singer (even if Leo DiCaprio had a laugh at the Globes). But after watching, my main takeaway is that Lady Gaga is genuinely talented. As for the show itself, Hotel embodies everything that makes the series what it is. It feels like I’m watching a wild fever dream in a setting that reminds me of The Shining, but with characters so out there that delivering any of their lines must have had the crew in stitches. When they brought in vampires, I found myself questioning if Ryan Murphy is a genius or just completely off his rocker. Visually, the show is stunning, and I can’t help but wonder if maybe Murphy is wasting his talent on something so bizarre. But considering most people seem to love it, I’ll admit the issue might be more with me than with the show. Trying to find logic in this season is a lost cause — the opening scene sets the tone for all the madness that follows. (01/18/2022)