American Horror Story is a horror-drama series that premiered on FX on October 5, 2011. You can still watch the first two episodes on Hulu as of right now, but the pilot will be pulled off on October 31.
Plot Overview:
American Horror Story follows the Harmon family, Ben (Dylan McDermott), Vivien (Connie Britton) and Violet (Taissa Farmiga), who move from Boston to Los Angeles after Vivien gives birth to a stillborn baby and Ben has an affair with one of his students. The family moves to a restored mansion, unaware that the home is haunted. Ben and Vivien try to rekindle their relationship while Violet suffers from depression.
I finally watched the first episode last night and mostly like what I see. I think the show has some pretty cool potential for the mysteries of the house, but there are some fairly cheesy things (like the burned man) and some mostly boring things (the high school drama).
I really dig the house itself, and the surrounding mysteries. The maid was particularly cool, as was the creepy neighbor lady. I'm excited to see the show progress and find out more about the house and the spirits that inhabit it.
One thing I wonder about is Tate, the teenage boy who was a patient of Ben's. His first appearance had him wearing a shirt very similar to the twins who were murdered in the intro, and the basement scene was clearly more than a little weird. Ben also had trouble contacting the police about him being a danger, so I wonder if he is actually real or just another phantom of the house.
The maid and Jessica Lange were very cool, and I'll keep watching because of them. It seems like the producers trying to do too much of everything though. Instead of scaring you with the unseen, they're just throwing every archetype/scary image they can think of at you. Babies, down syndrome prophets (wtf?), masks, burnt people, ghosts, psycho kids, etc.
I'm a sucker for horror movies/shows and I've been watching this myself. The show overall is pretty entertaining but my god, Dylan McDermott is such a bad actor.
Yeah, the acting is a bit meh, but it doesn't really detract much. The only thing that bothers me is all the high school drama stuff. I find it to be very unneeded and boring. I hope it develops into something shortly, though. I hope to watch episodes 2 and 3 tonight and be caught up.
On October 25 2011 04:41 Osmoses wrote: That was a pretty tame trailer tbh. I can see a horror series working, but surely not with the whole "haunted house" premise from the getgo.
I was really skeptical, too. In particular, I had no idea how they could take a haunted house concept and turn it into a full season. Episode 1 was pretty impressive, though.
I'm up to ep3, the production is pretty good although I'm inclined to hate the Vivien character. If anyone hasn't watched ep2 or 3 I'd advise stick with it, although it seems farfetched just pretend all the plot holes aren't there and you get a nice viewing experience. My only concern is all these storylines they add will contribute to a kinda 'Lost' effect where you just lose track of whats going on. Otherwise it's really enjoyable if you have 45 minutes to kill.
Tate is very clearly not human. I liked the Tate-LaBianca referene in the patient names. Overall, I'm less impressed with episode 2 than with 1, but it's mostly fear of how they'll handle it. I worry that episode 3 will not sufficiently portray the extreme trauma that they suffered during the break in / attempted murder. I still love Constance, though. She is perfectly creepy and insane.
I think the house wants to keep them here, or at least keep Ben here. After the intruders were killed, Moira, Constance, and Tate were discussing the situation. They decided that they need to hide the bodies so that Ben can keep treating Tate.
I love Constance so much. She is so evil in so many ways, ranging from murder to call Vivien an old fat ass. I can't figure out her history with the house. It seems like she was another victim of the house in 1983, but why was her daughter (presumably, more on that in the Addy section) outside the house in the 1977 scene? I think Constance is the main antagonist, though. She's got something on both Moira and the house, and her plan is to keep things going the way they are for some sick reason.
At first, she seemed like Constance's daughter, but this last episode made me unsure. The house was abandoned in 1977 with Addy outside, and then Constance lived in there in 1983. I think Addy is more a child of the house than anything else.
I now feel genuine sympathy for Moira. She was murdered and is trapped in the house. I think her curse is that all men see her as a slutty, young maid, and all women see her as a broken old crone. This curse can only be lifted by getting her body off the property, which she was trying to get Ben to do through drugging him, and she is now fucked because her body is entombed.
Tate is another one that I'm unsure of. At first, I thought he was an apparition created by the house, but this last episode makes me think everyone in the house was killed in the house, except the ones that are actually alive. I suspect he might be one of the twins from 1977, mostly because he was wearing a very similar shirt in his first appearance. The only part of this that makes little sense is the rules of aging. Moira went from early 20s to early 60s, and in only a slightly longer timespan, Tate would have gone from about 14 to about 17.
I think the curse of the house is deeply tied to him, though, since the house wants Ben to treat him. Maybe Tate is Charles' son?
The curse definitely started with this man. He wasn't intentionally evil, but bad things happened with him there and the curse began. I think those bad things were all of the abortions taking place there, ending with a murder/suicide where he killed his wife, then himself.
I have no idea who this is, but I think this guy is a manifestation of the house that gets women pregnant to make up for all of the abortions, trying to even the score.
I think the curse of the house originated in the late 20s/early 30s, when Charles was performing all of those abortions and then snapped and killed his wife before killing himself. If any one person is the spirit of the house, it's Charles. The curse of the house is now tied to undoing the abortions through impregnations, by any means possible. It wants the curse to end, but is unable to do so on it's own and thinks Ben can help/
In the end, I think the house is cursed and is trying to fix itself and Ben treating Tate is key to that. I think Constance is trying to prolong the curse for some reason. The only problem with that is Constance helped Tate and Moira get rid of the intruder's bodies so that Ben could continue treating Tate.
Wow, is no one really watching this show? It shits on Walking Dead imo in terms of drama. This is a well executed Drama Horror show. Episode 6 was such a disturbing episode.
On November 11 2011 09:47 matiK23 wrote: Wow, is no one really watching this show? It shits on Walking Dead imo in terms of drama. This is a well executed Drama Horror show. Episode 6 was such a disturbing episode.
I'm still watching. I just stopped posting when I realized nobody was responding.
I'm going to watch episode 6 as soon as I get home tonight. Because of how late it airs, it's a bit inconvenient for me to watch on Wednesday.
Episode 5 was kinda meh, though. It had a bit too much going on, but that is to be expected since 'on Halloween, the dead walk freely'. I really liked the revelations that Tate seems to have been a school shooter about 16 years prior to the show.
A friend of mine just recommended this to me a few days ago and whoa - this is awesome. One of the best horror shows I have seen. Certainly beats 'The Walking Dead' by a fair margin.
That was a good episode this week. It seems like such a rare feeling to be genuinely surprised by the turn of events in a show. I'm guessing the whole family is gonna die at some point since they've pretty much covered the back story of all the ghosts in that house, and season 2 will continue with a new family in a different haunted house?
I was surprised too that she ended up being dead. I wonder if their is any possibility of the dad being killed by Tate as well. Pretty good show so far and kind of excited to see what happens in the coming weeks.
I enjoyed the little Tate/Ben dialogue that occurred a lot, great characterization for both of them. Also I thought Moira(sp?) was finally going to pass on for good when Viv said she could be the godmother.
This show, is amazing, I never DL it cause it had "american" in it, but then my brother told me to watch it. Really good show, right up there with the best shows.
I watched many episodes slighty high on pot, just enough to get really sucked in. AMAZING. The finale, was so good, they really did great, not trying to milk their way to the money.
I finally got around to finishing the season last night. I did not see Violet's death coming at all. Towards the end of the last episode, I also began to wonder if Constance has been dead this entire time, but is somehow able to leave the house. Maybe she's stuck in some sort of loop with having children in that house, only for them to grow up to become monsters. Maybe even the twins were her children.
The new season starts october 17th and the OP should be updated with The trailers and screen shots it has a lot of the same cast but is a new storyline and should be just as amazing as the first season! I am so excited for this shows second season!
Edit: yes it starts on the 17th not the 31st as the article I read was wrong.
I'm really looking forward to the new season. The first few episodes were so atmospheric and frightening as the world of the show had yet to be defined. It was even creepier when watching it in chunks instead of from beginning to end. It made understanding it even more elusive and made the show even more maddening. I'm really keen on seeing where they take the show from there.
On October 01 2012 03:06 Gene wrote: im sad that it seems they're totally leaving the old story dead. I loved violet so much.
But the seasoned was completed so nicely, adding more to that would be disastrous. I love the concept of them having a new story and setting each season.
I loved this show. It wasn't executed perfectly and had a lot of plot holes, but there's something about the story telling that just made this so riveting.
On October 02 2012 01:16 Fiziks wrote: I loved this show. It wasn't executed perfectly and had a lot of plot holes, but there's something about the story telling that just made this so riveting.
Really curious to hear a couple of the plot holes I have seen it twice now and I think everything was wrapped up pretty damn well.
I am SO pumped for this season after the first episode. Totally blew my mind. I wasn't sure they'd be able to recapture that unsettling feeling that I get watching this show, but hot damn they pulled it off.
Im not sure what to think of this season, episode 2 was pretty cool, but I cant say Im pumped and have to watch the show on release. Asylum and the setting seems a bit boring.
On October 02 2012 01:16 Fiziks wrote: I loved this show. It wasn't executed perfectly and had a lot of plot holes, but there's something about the story telling that just made this so riveting.
Really curious to hear a couple of the plot holes I have seen it twice now and I think everything was wrapped up pretty damn well.
First of all, i'm only halfway through season 1, so i don't know everything yet. but...Id also like to hear what plot holes your missing? I feel that it isn't supposed to have everything all wrapped up with a nice bow for you, you gotta think. Secondly, what makes a good horror to me (and which especially happens in this show) is when the creators (director/writer/actors/producers) play on the natural human fear of the unknown. The point isn't to just tell you everything, it's for your imagination to take their beginnings into as many different directions as you can think of. That's why this is a good series (so far..granted im only halfway through season 1!) Then you add in the suspense, where the viewer is shown something, that the characters don't know about, and it ups the level of tension and overall "scary" of the piece. What i don't like is all the weird blood/gore parts but i understand why they felt they needed to use it. (if you notice, the horror genre, particularly like every horror movie that's coming out in the last 10ish years, has just turned into an almost pornographic "how gross can we make this look? how many gallons of blood can we use? how can we turn this into a gorefest)...which in my opinion isn't about scary/tension/suspense...it's more about how disgusting they can be
Witches, witch hunts, incest, minorities, slavery, mothers and daughters, and witchcraft versus voodoo. This season will be set in modern day and the 1830
I haven't really payed much attention who writes this stuff, but anyone know if we have same crew writing/filming as Season 1? Just curious what to expect from S3.
Saw the first episode (of S3), and I really liked it. It's really nice how different it feels from the other seasons. Promising first episode, and hope they can get this season of witches working, as I just love witches and bitches.
I'm really thrilled that most (if not all) main characters are female, written by men :D
The second season was pretty bad compared to the first one in my opinion, but after watching the first episode of the third season I have high hopes. Jessica Lange is fantastic as per usual (my favorite every season so far) but Evan Peters new character seems pretty vanilla. I hope there's more to him than the average joe they've shown so far.
On October 17 2013 06:18 kuresuti wrote: Evan Peters new character seems pretty vanilla. I hope there's more to him than the average joe they've shown so far.
On October 17 2013 06:18 kuresuti wrote: Evan Peters new character seems pretty vanilla. I hope there's more to him than the average joe they've shown so far.
Well yeah kinda, or maybe not alive but I'm sure he will be there in some form. They already did ghosts in S1 but maybe something similar to that lady who was dug up at the end of the episode. He's had big roles in the previous seasons so I'm guessing he will have one this season too, but you never know.
I know this is an old thread, but I just devoured the first season in one day so I couldn't resist.
Holy shit I love this show. It was in danger of going off the rails once they started explaining the origins of Murder House, and shit started hitting the fan much too soon in my opinion (that Halloween episode?), but overall I think American Horror Story touches on everything you could want for a horror show.
I don't think I've ever felt as sad for a cast of characters than I do now after just finishing the first season. Every time Violet appeared on screen I was on the verge of tears, and I'm still distraught over + Show Spoiler +
how she died and how she was just left for dead in the crawl space, flies eating her from the inside out.
Seriously, fuck that. I feel genuine sadness for a fictional character; she didn't deserve any of that! T_T
What's most impressive to me is how American Horror Story incorporates multiple horror genres: hauntings, monsters, home invasions, serial killers, slashers, demon babies, and general insanity. Sometimes there was so much going on that there was no room for subtlety (where horror shines), but with the exception of two or three episodes I think the first season was pretty outstanding.
Well, I just finished season 2, and I think while it was better executed and more focused than season 1, it lacked the emotional punch that season 1 did for me.
I'm not sure what to think so far. Jessica Langes characters have all been my favorites in the previous seasons. She's kind of a one trick pony in that her characters are very similar but she does it really good. This time around is no different except they had to give her a stupid accent. I guess she is okay but the accent just seems forced somehow which I don't like. We'll see how she develops.
As for the series itself... I've only seen one episode so I can't really judge it yet. Overall it's just weird. Also holy shit that indian girl. Her voice... I don't even know if she's adorable or horrific o.o
Yeah I'm watching. Seems like the people I talk to have all had their favorite season each for different reasons. Asylum seems to be the most commonly appreciated with season 1 close behind (most commonly because it was something very different and new on a cable series). The Coven seems to mostly just be popular among people who are witch fans.
I think this season being a 'freakshow' has some of the most potential but comes with the highest expectations (for me at least).
I just started watching the first season and I'm impressed. Actually, I really should go to bed now, as there's a lot of work waiting for me tomorrow, but I can't. I just have to watch one more episode. And you know how that's gonna end. (Nah, seriously, I will sleep. Or will I?)
Edit: Done with the first season and quite disappointed. They overdid it. The references to classical horror movies were neat, but poorly executed. The finale was kind of lackluster, too, as too much stuff was explained unnecessarily. Overall, the show was entertaining, but only the first few episodes were outstanding. After those, it devolved into a stereotypical postmodern mess.
On October 25 2015 06:41 virpi wrote: I just started watching the first season and I'm impressed. Actually, I really should go to bed now, as there's a lot of work waiting for me tomorrow, but I can't. I just have to watch one more episode. And you know how that's gonna end. (Nah, seriously, I will sleep. Or will I?)
Edit: Done with the first season and quite disappointed. They overdid it. The references to classical horror movies were neat, but poorly executed. The finale was kind of lackluster, too, as too much stuff was explained unnecessarily. Overall, the show was entertaining, but only the first few episodes were outstanding. After those, it devolved into a stereotypical postmodern mess.
Watch the 2nd season. It is considered by most the best season, me included. Most people will agree upon that.
EPT
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