American Horror Story: Season 1 Review

10/11/2012

American Horror Story
Season 1

Horror TV shows may never usually receive the same overwhelming response or studio treatment as others, but recently the genre has begun to show its true colours with some high-end productions that shy away from the standard fare of entertainment and offer something a little darker. American Horror Story is one such series, which takes on a few untraditional elements and delivers a unique viewing experience.

As you can probably tell by the title, American Horror Story (or AHS), aims precisely to be a horror, but it isn’t an outright gorefest or anything of the sort. It’s still a drama, but an incredibly sexualised and erotic one at that, which complements the horror and dark nature of its core.

It tells the story of a seemingly regular American family, the Harmons, move cross country into a big new house, unaware of the dark secrets the property holds within its walls. While this is the main focus of the plot, there is a larger overarching storyline that surrounds the show, which we see acted out and brought to light over the length of the season. The Harmons new house has a deadly history, with numerous unspeakable and violent crimes being committed inside over the long course of its history. All the spirits of the houses victims still inhabit the property, some with more sinister and harmful intentions than others, and some with more prominent roles in the Harmons story and lives.

I actually really enjoyed the shows structure in this regard, which at the start of each episode gives us another piece of the puzzle and offers an explanation of how one or some of the spirits came to be just that. It was interesting to see the different eras of the home, and some of the origin stories of the ghosts were genuinely interesting. In particular, the plot of the mad surgeon bent on reanimating his deceased child is truly horrific, and wonderfully executed.

There’s really a lot in the plot of American Horror Story, with a sizeable amount being very well handled and developed around and with the cast, as large as it is for a 12 episode season. The plot twists find their place well enough, and don’t carry with them the common pitfall of being thrown in for shock factor or on a whim for a quick turnaround in the drama. Admittedly, it is lacking a few aspects, one of which being the fact that it’s only 12 episodes with such a heavy story, a lot is left unexplored and given a rushed feeling. At around the half way mark when some shocking revelations and made evident, some of the plot devices and major story elements could have been extended over a few episodes to give the characters more time to build their relationships and provide some weight to the suspense and drama.

As a whole, the actors pull off their roles adequately, but there are a few shining examples I feel deserve a special mention. Most of the supporting cast did a better job at handling their performances than the main actors though. That’s not to say they were bad – no, far from it. But after seeing Jessica Lange’s stone cold portrayal of the Harmon’s next door neighbour who knows more than she lets on (which also grabbed her an Emmy!), and Denis O’Hare’s brilliant job as the unpredictable ‘burned man’, both who steal the show in their scenes, the bar is raised a little higher than most of the other cast members can easily keep up with.

A star is born in Taissa Farmiga though, who is stunning in her breakout role as the Harmon daughter Violet, who develops a love interest in Tate, another primary character with a dark past that comes to life as the season progresses. Violet shows the biggest transformation of character through the series, and I think is the most relatable and lifelike character, from her subtext and standing, rather than just open struggles of depression. I really hope to see the young Miss Farmiga make something big out of the talent she displays here.

Season 2 of American Horror Story has just started airing in the US, and follows a completely different storyline, this time set in an insane asylum. By changing the setting of the different seasons, the creators have given us full closure of the Harmons tale that they wanted to tell. You can watch Season 1 of American Horror Story and be told an entire story, the idea of which I am fond of. Again, I think this lends itself to the complete structure of the show, which in an anthological manner, perfectly demonstrates the kind of originality and stance AHS takes on regular broadcasting. American Horror Story is its own beast, and one that horror fans everywhere should most definitely invest their time in.

Score: 8.5/10

DVD Extras

• The Murder House presented by Eternal Darkness Tours of Hollywood
• Behind the Fright: The Making of American Horror Story
• Overture to Horror: Creating the Title Sequence
• Out of the Shadows: Meet the House Ghosts
• Audio Commentary of the Pilot Episode

American Horror Story Season 1 is now available on DVD and Blu-ray. Order your copy here: https://bit.ly/V3zCzR

Written by Lax