Short non-spoiler summary: In the wake of a miscarriage and other problems, a couple moves to Los Angeles with their troubled teenage daughter. The incredible deal they get on a beautiful Victorian home turns out to be as a result of past tragedies on the grounds, and the house comes complete with creepy, intrusive neighbors and a mysterious housekeeper.
Watch American Horror Story Full Episodes. Freak Show American Horror Story - Freak Show 6.9. Free full movies 2016 online.
Badness ensues.I would categorize the pilot of American Horror Story as 'unrelentingly unpleasant, cynical, and fetishistic horror'. There are clearly fans of this approach. Other films that come to mind are 'Event Horizon' and 'Saw', as well as most other torture porn, where most or all of the characters are unlikeable and the psychological brutality and dread are non-stop.
It's arguable that there is a sympathetic character here, Vivien Harmon (the mother), played by Connie Britton, though I found her less and less so as the story progressed, much too weak. Her inability to communicate, her detachment from her daughter, many poor choices, etc. Dylan McDermott as her husband is even weaker, and other characters seemed equally single-minded.The clichés also abound (haunted house, twins, dead animals, shadows of hooks, the easily seduced husband, ghost babies, etc., etc.), though the use of fetish gear as a horror motif was interesting at times. In fact many of the elements are fetishized and sexualized, a surprising choice for a TV series. And equally bold, though hardly commendable, is the exploitation of modern inner fears. Teenagers all secretly involved in violence, self- mutilation, and Columbine-like thinking; Downs Syndrome children; etc. To my thinking, great horror or suspense is grounded by sympathetic or at least realistic characters, which gives contrast to the dread and a reason to fight.
'The Shining' is a prime example, as is 'Twin Peaks'. There are characters you truly care for, and who have something tangible to lose, and the despair is countered with humor. In comparison, this series is almost humorless and cynical to the core.That isn't to say that 'American Horror Story' doesn't have merits. If you're a fan of similar projects, you'll find much to like. Stylish surreal moments galore, some plot points are unpredictable, and both Jessica Lange and Frances Conroy ('Six Feet Under') are truly unnerving.
Their unexplained connection might even compel me to watch further. And this is not one of those moody horror films with little going on ('Paranormal Activity', the original 'The Amityville Horror', much Val Lewton).
It's incredibly dense with action, plot points, and characters, almost to a fault.' American Horror Story' was ultimately, for me, a trial to sit through. Not escapism, but possibly cathartic for those not offended, disturbed, or otherwise bothered.
Being suddenly slapped in the face with McDermott's butt.Have now officially seen more of him, than expected or wanted to in this lifetime.If you must have nude rears, please let it be Breckenridge.Oh, the show was bad too.Guess that's a good thing, considering it's horror.No saccharin sweet family with the oh cho chweet little kid.They look good.Good from far, far from good. Turn out to be ugly people once you get close enough.Creepy house, creepy neighbours and creepy hot housekeeper.Cliché ridden but still managed to be slightly different. Just cannot claim to be scared by this and still call yourself a horror fan.Thrill and chills are that stale. It's the characters that are offensive.Instead of stomach being turned by more hackneyed cgi, hackles get raised by Jessica telling a complete stranger that she missed out on aborting the 'mongloid' because the tests hadn't been developed yet. Can't glorify it by calling it irreverent.Just nasty.Which unfortunately makes it watchable.Being a better person will have to wait, want to see what happens next. Wish them well.Thank you.Wow. Went downhill fast.2nd episode - drag more disposable characters down to the basement.3rd episode - kill another disposable character.
Build gazebo while emo chick wails in background. Sorry Breckenridge, even the phenomenal rear view could not save this.Suspense and creepiness was all they had and that is long gone.
Only horror now, is how bad can this possibly get.Save your time and attention for walking dead while Darabont's touch is still visible. Initially I was left wondering how - what essentially is a short horror movie - could be made in to a long running TV series, but after a few episodes I started to realise that it's the Ryan Murphy magic that is sustaining this outstanding show.Much like Nip/Tuck, you have to suspend your belief and see this as purely entertainment. There's so many open ended narratives that are slowly unfolding and although at times the show verges on the edge of cliché, a single episode could easily match the brilliance of such horror classics like The Amityville Horror and The People Under the Stairs.At the end of every episode I feel shocked that 40 minutes have gone by, which is a sure sign that this show is pure, unadulterated, entertainment. If we have absorbed the lessons of what independent family dramas have taught us in the past few decades, what have we learned? That Father Has Never 'Known Best', that the 'Dreams of The Everyday Housewife' can be laced with resentment, disillusionment, fear and madness? That the placid, peaceful, tranquil picture of the all-American family we have believed in (and taught to uphold and emulate) by our own parents, has always been a facade for all kinds of dementia and dysfunction? If this is true, then what Ryan Murphy has done is taken the clichés of everything from chief competitor Alan Ball's award-winning American BEAUTY and Stephen King's THE SHINING, put them on steroids and blended them together in his word processor.