What. The. Shit.
Those three words could pretty much define this pilot episode. There has been a lot of build up for American Horror Story whether through our site or the other entertainment sites. Whether it be from the co-creators of Glee, Brad Falchuk and Ryan Murphy, that it has awesome Friday Night Lights star Connie Britton in it, or that the pilot was supposed to be one of the most creepy and well made in recent years. So with October in full swing, it is time to see how this series will stack up and live up to the height. After viewing the pilot, so far so good. Obviously do not proceed if you do not want spoilers. I will not give away too much but still, this is a review after all.
The pilot begins with a flashback to 1978 as we look to see a girl with down syndrome standing in front a house staring at it as two red-headed jackass twins come in with evil intentions of redecorating the interior with baseball bats. Naturally, the girl tells them they are going to die in there but details. Let’s just say that the boys get their comeuppance. Let us also note that the tone of this is pitch perfect. The way the sound and music plays into setting scenes and how the camera almost stalks its way towards the people really has this creepy vibe that adds to the atmosphere. You never feel comfortable viewing this but that’s what makes this pilot as a whole great. You are always on edge because this is not a cookie cutter pilot. There is no predictability and it definitely will suck you in.
Moving on, we advance to the present time where Connie Britton is treated at a doctor’s office months after a traumatic miscarriage only to come home to find her husband Dylan McDermott “burying his sorrows” into some other girl. Afterwards, we see the somewhat jaded couple take themselves and their daughter to Los Angeles in search of a new life.
We see the troubles still remain in all them as the episode moves on. Daughter does not fit in and is a cutter, husband is still pretty selfish oblivious to everyone else’s thoughts and ideas, and the wife is still broken.
Oh by the way, that house in ’78? That’s their new home. That creepy girl? Yeah, she just told Coach’s wife (I still have to get used to not calling her that) that she’s going to die. Also, Jessica Lange is a bitch.
Speaking of great actresses, what a great cast. You have Jessica Lange coming in giving off the right kind of kooky neighbor with a bit of unforgiving bitch slapped on for good measure. The supporting characters are great as well and the family shines as they each convey their demons with enough subtlety to where it does not feel overdramatic yet enough to show that the horror is truly what they are going through internally and obviously externally.
Throw in a creepy maid, burn victims, school bullies and one messed up kid patient and I think this will be a good show to watch. I do question how long this will all last because let’s face it, most horror movies over 90 minutes tend to wear out its welcome. FX is the perfect network for this show however because they are able to push the boundaries further than what the traditional networks can do. The writing is sharp and the pacing, while a big off-kilter, works brilliantly.
I am curious where they take this and with that, I will go 4 grizzlies out of 5. I saw way too much of McDermott’s ass to give it a perfect score.
Grizzly Bomb 