With the upcoming Eight season being released this month, and with all the hype suggesting this will be the best season yet, I thought I’d delve into past seasons and take a look at their plot-lines, and their themes. ‘American Horror Story’ is an anthology series created by ‘Ryan Murphy’, in which each season portrays a whole new setting surrounding everyday horror. There is a lot of controversy over which season is ‘the best’, with everybody having entirely different views. I started watching the series a few years ago on netflix, and have watched every season at least twice now, and have come up with my list of the best and worst seasons. If you haven’t seen this show, I highly recommend it, however it is not for the faint hearted as some scenes included within the show can be considered fairly explicit and violent.
Either way, almost every season delivers, with an interesting plot, and an intriguing set of characters. However, certain seasons can be considered not as goood as some others. Here is my own personal list of the seasons, ranking from the worst to the best.
7. Season 6 – Roanoke
Roanoke focuses around a documentary series called ‘My Roanoke Nightmare’, in which ‘real people’ are interviewed and talk about their experience in this haunted house they lived in, in Northa Carolina, whilst ‘actors’ portray what happened to them in the house. I know, even I’m confused. This is the case for the first few episodes, but midway through the season, the real people who experience the house, and the actors all stay in the house together as a thirst for more views from the producers who made ‘My Roanoke Nightmare’. Things get weird as you can imagine, and some messed up stuff happens in this house.
I think overall, season 6 is not only very confusing, but lacks plot, which is what I think is so special about American Horror Story. Each season usually includes big character arcs, and includes lots of twists, which is what keeps it so interesting. Roanoke however, failed to give a clear plot, as they changed the focus every few episodes, which in turn, confused me, and from the reaction online, many others. Though there are some out there who prefer this season to others, as the constant change of plot kept it interesting, I however found it a little hard to keep track of where the narritive was going.
In saying this, to every season, there are some good points, and I think this season conveyed the genre of Horror brilliantly. Jumpscares were frequent, and this season did not lack for creepiness. I would possibly argue this is one of American Horror Story’s more dark seasons, with ‘Kathy Bates’ character ‘The Butcher’ practically giving me nightmares. So although this is my least favourite season, for anyone who is a complete horror fanatic, that loves to be scared, I would advise them to watch this season, as it may well be their favourite. However, personally, I prefer gripping storylines that have a creepy feel to them, rather than a scary horror film dragged out into 10 episodes.
6. Freakshow – Season 4
Freakshow is a very intriguing season that focuses on a failing circus run by ‘Elsa Mars’ (Jessica Lange) and faces the threat of a very rich mummy’s boy named ‘Dandy’ (Finn Wittrock). Set in the 1950’s in Florida, the season includes multiple different story arcs progressing at the same time, which is what makes it so gripping. It explores backstories of certain characters from the ‘Freakshow’, and has a very saddistic theme too it. The season focuses a lot on character development, and is brilliant in this aspect.
However, freakshow, although a little bit creepy in parts, lacks the horror that is needed in a show called ‘American Horror Story’. Although I primarily watch the show for the drama and the brilliant plotlines, I usually expect something a little more creepy, yet I feel this season relates more to an unusual soap opera. Throughout all 12 episodes, only 2 or 3 succeed in shocking me in any way, shape or form. Scary parts do occur throughout, including ‘Twisty the Clown’, ‘Edward Mordrake’and Dandy’s psychotic tendencies, but other then these 3 plotlines, I fail to identify anything related to horror. Although some may consider the ‘freaks’ to be the horror part of the season, I find that they are all just normal people with different disorders, disabilities and traits.
Other then these pointers, the cinematography, and the plot is original and very interesting. This season has a brilliant message that ‘freaks’ are humans too, and conveys the idea that ‘beauty is on the inside’. Meaningful monologues occur frequently, with lots of heartfelt scenes that explore the freaks lives, and the judgement they get from others. This season, as said before, really allows you to build relationship’s and love for the characters due to their likeability factor, and with a strong plot and a heartbreaking last episode, this season is still fantastic in its own way, however, some of the episodes were severely dragged out, and with little horror, I struggled to find reasons to rank it higher on my list.
5. Cult – Season 7
The latest season of American Horror story explored the horror’s of today’s society, and what made this season more scary, is it included horror’s that could potentially happen to people. The season focused on the aftermath of the election where Donald Trump became president of the United States. In the season we meet ‘Ally’ (Sarah Paulson), a ‘Trump’ hater who spirals when he wins, and let’s her phobias get the best of her. After this, she then gets terrorised by cult of killer clowns, the leader of whom is ‘Kai’ (Evan Peters), a massive trump supporter who is incredibly radical in his approach, and kills in order to get what he wants. Although fairly different to previous seasons, ‘Cult’ once again includes great character development, and takes the time to look into every character’s personal demons and fears. The main villian of the series ‘Kai’ is incredibly powering and gives a chilling performance from the very first episode, which is the standout characteristic of this season.
Season 7, although eerie and shocking at times, is highly political in parts, and does not identify with any of the other seasons. As someone who has watched every episode, I can tell you now that every season has a coommon thread, they are all supernatural in some form, and all have weird aspects. I completely respect that the writers were trying to explore by going in a different direction, but for me, it didn’t feel like ‘American Horror Story’. A great season through and through, but for die-hard AHS fans, it stands alone from all the other seasons. Also, I feel as the season got towards the last few episodes, it started to feel more and more dragged out, and I felt as though I was looking at my phone more then I was looking at the TV screen.
In saying this, ‘Cult’ has a fantastic plot, with the characters going on a massive journey, both personally and physically, with a completely new equilibrium at the end. There were many twists and turns in this season that nobody saw coming, including shocking death’s, and one particular character making it to the end with a whole new different mindset. Overall, I love cult, it is a fantastic season as a whole, but when split into episodes, quite a few of them lacked the drama that it needed, causing it to be lower in the ranks. With this season, I can understand it from both sides. I can see why people love it, and I can see why people hate it. I personally enjoy the season, but the other seasons that I have not mentioned yet impress me more.
4. Coven – Season 3
Coven is a shocking season (in a good way). Throughout Coven, we see a group of powerful witches living in ‘New Orleans’. The series includes interesting characters as well as some incredible villains. We see ‘Kathy Bates’ playing a racist, saddistic woman from the 19th Century who was made immortal, and must adapt to the new life that is 2013. This concept alone makes the storyline very gripping, and fun to watch. The ‘horror’ aspect of this season is highly supernatural, with many witch fights, and some horrifying scenes including people being burnt at the stake, and a huge death count (not that they all stay dead). Coven is your typical American Horror Story season, and the actressess involved are phenomenal. The season portrays mainly a female cast, with Coven being ultimately the feminist season, showing multiple strong and empowered women.
I love Coven through and through, this was one of the first seasons’ I watched, and this ultimately drawed me in to the world of American Horror Story. However, in comparison to other seasons, the show tends to go off track at some parts, with a few of the episodes seeming like they are going on for quite some time. I am unsure whether this is just my taste, but aside from the shocking sequence of events that happen in the season, it all seems rather long winded, with too many ressurections to count, which ultimately makes it not that big of a deal if any of the characters die, as once you reach episode 6 or 7, If any character dies, you just assume they’ll be back anytime soon.
Apart from this, the season is definately horrifying in parts, and the characters portrayed in the season are thoroughly enjoyable to watch. The plot can mess with people’s minds a little bit, with the audience having to be constantly alert of what is going on to understand everything, but the show keeps the audience on it’s toes so much that looking away from the screen isn’t really an option, as many of the episodes are very intriguing. Overall, I wish I could rate this season higher, but the seasons remaining to be reviewed were so fantastic that they held the top positions without hesitation.
3. Asylum – Season 2
The 2nd season of American Horror Story blew me away with it’s remarkable character development. The journey that ‘Jessica Lange’s’ character ‘Sister Jude’ goes on allows the audience to go from hating her character, to feeling sympathy for her. ‘Lange’ does an outstanding job of playing this role, and became one of my favourite characters of all 7 seasons. We also meet characters such as ‘Kit Walker’ (Evan Peters), a wrongly convicted serial killer, and ‘Lana Winters’ (Sarah Paulson) a lesbian woman commited to the Asylum after snooping for an interview with serial killer bloody face. Asylum starts with a gripping sequence of events that leave viewers wanting more, and shock the audience with the villain of the season being innocent and frightened ‘Sister Mary Eunice’ who is soon possessed by the devil after a failed exorcism attempt.
‘Asylum’ takes place, what a suprise, in a mental asylum for the insane. Many scenes in this season can make viewers sick to their stomach with some of the torture that the doctors and nun’s inflict on the patients. With a constant drab colour scheme, all characters looking pasty and ill 24/7, and a song continously on loop in the background, Asylum is extremely clever in that it can make the viewer feel like they’re going insane. After binge watching the 2nd season, I needed to take a break from the series as I was not mentally prepared for how it made me feel. However, due to this clever aspect that the writers incorpirated, it did ultimately tire me out due to the dull setting that is portrayed. Sometimes, beacause of this, it felt like the same episode over and over again on loop. Although the plot was intriguing, the season did mentally drain me.
Once again, this season is phenomanal and stands out from the rest. The complex narritive and the way we get to know each character is so superb, as we get a complete emmersive experience. I love this season so much, and it is one of the most smartest seasons in that it test’s it’s viewers on how far they can take it, ultimately making the viewers question everything. I did feel that the whole ‘Aliens’ narritive that runs through the show was a bit far fetched, however this is ‘American Horror Story’ and anything is possible. Overall, the season is wonderful, but I could not watch it on repeat, as I believe I would too end up in an Asylum.
2. Hotel – Season 5
Through my scrolls on the internet, and conversing with other American Horror Story fans, I have found this to be an unpopular opinion, but ‘Hotel’ is an outstanding season. Many fans I have encountered asy that this is one of the worst seasons yet, however I think it is truly brilliant. The sinister feel it has is through the roof with ‘Hotel’, with some scenes being truly horrifying and disgusting. This season is what horror is all about, and it explores multiple different styles of horror. Watching this season, one might think it was created and written by a psychopath, with some of the happenings that go on in the hotel. This season is truly dark and twisted, and covers multiple storylines throughout that keep it immensely interesting, not to mention the incredible eye candy that is ‘Matt Bomer’. With several unexpected twists and turns, there is no question in that this season keeps viewers on their toes.
I struggle to find fault in this season as I see it as thoroughly enjoyable. Many people online have stated that they find it gets boring, but I have no such opinion as I feel it is constantly gripping. The only thing I would say is I think that episode 1 fails to reassure viewers how good the season is. ‘Hotel’ gets better with every episode, and includes heartbreaking backstories, and psychotic villians that somehow glorify murder. Each character draws you in to understand why they act the way they do, and many roles in the series are portrayed beautifully. I hate to see this season slated online, as I do believe it deserves a lot more credibilaty then it gets. One cast member of this series is ‘Lady Gaga’, and for someone who has never participated in acting before, she proved to be a great performer, and even mangaged to make viewers such as me shed a tear.
An interesting plot is what I believe makes a good show, and the plot of this season made my heart skip, as I fell in love with the characters and the setting. ‘Hotel’ is unique from the other season, and yet similar at the same time. The show keeps the viewers constantly wanting more, and shows incredibly violent scenes, as well as loving and emotional scenes. This season is the perfect balance of horror and narrative, and I wish every season was as good as this one. The only reason this did not make the top spot is because the 1st few episodes of the season did not do the show as much justice as I would have liked, as it really becomes so intriguing as the season goes on, and I just wish the writers would have added more action into the first few episodes. Nethertheless, I still thoroughly enjoyed the first few episodes, and it is extremely difficult to grip an audience in in such a small space of time.
1. Murder House – Season 1
The original season of American Horror Story won my heart the moment I first watched the opening sequence. The house that inhabits many ghosts of the former residents of it was a briliant idea created by ‘Ryan Murphy’, and no season as of yet has topped it. With it being the 1st season, nobody knew what to expect, which is what made the drastic twists in the storylines even more powerful. I got full enjoyment watching this season, with such an unearthly presence about it, it was a breath of fresh air when it first came out. The characters backstories, much like every season, were immersive and heartbreaking, as was the plot. The deeper you get into the series, the more you start questioning what is real and what isn’t. The cinematography and music in this season really gave it a unique and sinister vibe, with the first episode being so shocking and immediatly gripping the audience in.
As the series progresses, things start connecting and making sense, and you start becoming aware of what is going on in the house. There was no better way to kick off a series then this season. From the get-go, no episode was boring, or unlikeable. The season not only gives a great balance of horror and plot, but it also has a great amount of action spread across every episode. ‘Murder House’ also takes its time to tie up loose ends, and dedicates a whole episode to the aftermath of the shocking events of episode 11. Everything is done perfectly, with no unanswered questions at the end of the 12th episode. An absolute pleasure to watch, with so much attention to detail in every episode. It wasn’t until the 2nd time I watched this season that I noticed little bits and pieces that at a first glance do not mean anything, but in the grand scheme of things, hold every bit of importance. For example, before the twins are born, when ‘Zachary Quinto’s’ character is plotting to steal both babies, we notice him building a nursery for the two, with one crib being white, the symbol of purity, and the other being red, a symbol of danger. These tiny details go a long way to explain what is going on, as we later find out, oone of the babies, fathered by ‘Tate’ (Evan Peter’s) is the anti-christ.
There is so much I could say about this season, and I feel that it has such a combination of genre’s other then horror, that it could be appealing to a wide range of people. ‘Lange’s’ character ‘Constance’ is a great addition to this series with her epic monologues and her tragic background. The relationship between “Tate’ and “Violet’ is so beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time, as we first see the similarities between them, before we start realising Tate is more dangerous then he seems to be. I have not one bad word against this season, which is why in my book, it holds top place. Many may disagree, which is completely fine, as everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but for me, I adore this season and could rewatch it a million times.
With the new season coming up, and multiple teasers being released, I am not ashamed to say I am thoroughly looking forward to the new series. It is said to be a crossover season, feautring characters from both “Murder House’ and ‘Coven’. No doubt once the season is well and truly finished I shall be writng a lengthy review about it, but until then, I will just obsess over the fabulous teasers that they are releasing. I have a strong feeling this may be one of the best seasons. Could it top “Murder House’? It will be incredibly difficult, but here’s to hoping.
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