A Glee-ful Screamfest

Lately, the horror genre has experienced a surge of interest with TV-series such as The Walking Dead and my personal favourite American Horror Story. The latter is truly a breath of fresh air in your weekly TV-schedule and the end of its second season is approaching fast! This show has received high appraisal by many TV – critics thanks to its high originality and accredited cast. Personally, I am mostly impressed by how it manages to transform gory, suspenseful and physiological horror into rather cheerful entertainment. But considering this show is brought to you by the co-creators of Glee, the gleeful twist is perhaps not too surprising after all. Don’t worry though, this TV-series is completely free from happy tunes and annoying teenagers played by 28+ year old actors.

The first season sets off as a family of three moves into a wonderful chateau in sunny California. They were at least notified that the house has a murderous past but little did they know that it also has dozens of otherworldly dwellers... or that occupiers rarely make it out alive or out of this world. One episode at a time, the history of the house unravels and you begin to understand why this haunted building has become the major attraction of a murder bus tour that passes by on a daily basis to revel in the unfortunate fates of past residents. The halls are crawling with both murder victims (a gay couple, nurses and creepy children) and murderers (a high-school shooter, a doctor and a dentist). Meanwhile, the family is on the brink of destruction, with serious neglect of their suicidal teenage daughter and a marriage cracking at the seams by adultery. As puzzle pieces slowly fall into place the viewers become increasingly attached to the living as well as the dead.

The second season brings on a new theme of horror that takes place in an insane asylum (Briarcliff) in the 1960s. This institution is run by iron fists of a nun (Sister Jude) that carries a past of alcoholism and tragedy. And as they say: bad habits die hard, and people from the ward seem to be dropping like flies. Many of these deaths are attributed to the asylum’s experimental medic Dr. Arden who transforms these poor souls into deformed creatures. I should probably mention that he also used to serve as an SS officer back in the day. By his side is the gullible and loyal Sister Mary Eunice who becomes possessed by the devil half-way through the season. In addition, one of the inmates has been committed on the basis of false murder accusations, while the real ‘bloody face’ killer is still on the loose. This nickname was picked up from his passion for carving off the faces of his victims to wear them as masks (or make pretty lamp-shades).

Yes, the second season does sound drastically wackier than the first (and I did not even mention the aliens). But regardless of its extreme oddities the amazing cast makes it virtually impossible to stop watching this show. Some actors are re-occurring in both seasons due to their phenomenal performances. The fact that they are portraying completely different roles in the two seasons strengthens the proof of their theatrical aptitude.

The top three cast members to keep an eye on include: Jessica Lange, Zachary Quinto aka Heroes’ Sylar and Evan ‘Kickass’ Peters. Jessica Lange won an Emmy award for her outstanding supporting role as the nosy next-door neighbour Constance in season one. Her portrayal of the drunkard Sister Jude this season is on par with her previous performance, so who knows what prizes await her? Zachary Quinto is constantly associated with psychopathic tendencies ever since his brilliant enactment of mass murderer Sylar on Heroes. But, impressively, he shows no signs of inclination towards evil in the first season, where he plays the role of the kind and slightly depressed, gay ghost Chad. In this season he portrays a psychologist, Dr. Threadson, who happens to have severe deep-rooted mummy issues. Evan Peters’ performance in the first season is excellent as a high-school shooter (Tate) who falls in love with the suicidal daughter. He continues to do a good job in this season as the wrongly accused asylum inmate Kit.

There are no other horror shows that can match the acting performances, depth of characters and intricate plots in American Horror Story. I cannot wait to unravel the remaining mysteries of season two. I heard rumours that Briarcliff gets an especially festive visit by a Santa dressed killer, so see the show to get in the Christmas spirit!