“American Horror Story” premiered on FX on Wednesday after weeks of build-up and
endless advertising. Since the only description of the show I could find said it was “a
psychosexual thriller,” my first thought was, “A show about necrophilia? Really,
America?”
Naturally, I took the bait hook, line and sinker, mainly to figure out what the hell the
show was about since the commercials were so freakin’ vague.
It seems the show’s creators, who also created “Nip/Tuck” and “Glee,” didn’t exactly
have a set plan for the plot and used the age-old technique of throwing everything at
a wall and seeing what sticks.
Apparently, what stuck was a fetus in a jar, an old creepy housekeeper, ginger twins
and a strange sex scene involving kinky, anonymous S&M relations. It was very
Addams-Family-meets-Amityville-Horror-meets-porno. And I like it.
Vivien Harmon (Connie Britton) is the main character. Fate has not been
kind to her, as she recently walked in on her cheating husband and had to deliver a
seven-month miscarriage prior to that. To start over, she, her husband and daughter
move from the east coast to an old house in L.A.
Upon viewing the house, the real estate agent alerts them of the previous owners,
a gay couple who died in the basement by murder-suicide. Violet, Viven’s daughter,
immediately says, “We’ll take it.”
The cast is a very somber bunch: Violet is an outsider who smokes, cuts herself
and gets in fights at school. Ben, Vivien’s husband, is a psychiatrist dealing with
deranged teenagers in his home-based practice and is a naked sleepwalker.
Of course, like any good thriller, there are so many questions left unanswered. What
is up with Constance, the Harmons’ odd, nosy neighbor? Is Tate, Ben’s patient, just
a psychotic hot mess or an evil spiritual component of the house? Why are there so
many gingers on this TV show?
The show is chock full of schizophrenic micro-flashes slipped into the scenes at
various points, reminiscent of “Black Swan,” including scary, mutilated faces, gore
and claws reaching out to choke you in the dark.
Despite all these external influences, the show is very original. The quirks
greatly outweigh the “Don’t go in there!” clichés in the pilot episode. There is
nothing else like it on TV, which is refreshing, and surely will develop a cult
audience quickly.
All in all, the show is more intriguing and darkly erotic than it is scary. I am not a fan
of scary movies (after watching “Paranormal Activity,” I didn’t sleep for a week) but
I do love this show. The pilot left some big shoes to fill for the rest of the season, so
let’s hope it’s not all downhill from here (ahem, “Glee”).
