You know the POV shot, I don’t need to describe it for you if you’re reading this site.
I sat there at first thinking “Heh, neat.” But then the thought dawned on me: I get very annoyed when filmmakers “borrow from the best” – mostly out of nostalgia – and I don’t cut them slack, so why am I giving American Horror Story a pass?
As the episode wore on, I faced a harsh truth: I’m not happy with American Horror Story anymore. I haven’t been happy for a while now but I didn’t want to admit it. Sure, it’s an insane, erratic, perverse, button-pushing series unlike anything else out there. Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and company have fallen into some really bad habits, however.
Allow me to break down the things really bother me:
1.) The Visual and Audio Homages
Seriously, drop the nods to other horror films. The aforementioned Halloween gag was just the latest in a long line of visual nods. Since Murder House, the show’s debut story arc, American Horror Story has taken a Quentin Tarantino-esque stance to reappropriating identifiable soundtrack cues from other horror films like Carrie and Candyman. With so much talent at Murphy and Falchuk’s fingertips – especially with guys like director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon and writer James Wong – surely they can carve out their own iconic moments without relying on the past, no? The series has brought us some disturbing moments, let them stand on their own without the crutch of familiar horror movie moments.
2.) Lose the Glee Influence
Oh, Stevie Nicks. I blame you for all of this. When you came on board American Horror Story: Coven with your musical numbers you made it seemingly okay for American Horror Story: Freak Show to have weekly musical numbers. This is American HORROR Story, not Glee. I’ve never fast forwarded through episodes of this show before, but now it has become something I’m totally comfortable with when I see Jessica Lange take the stage to belt out a tune well ahead of its time. The musical numbers don’t add to the weirdness of the show, they detract from it.
3.) Jessica Lange
Let’s face it gang, it’s time to find a new leading lady. No disrespect to Lange, who has done some terrific work on the show, but I’m filled with total ennui when she’s on screen now. Quite simply because she’s doing a variation on her previous turns in American Horror Story – slightly damaged, self-centered, full of venom. The names and accents change, but the woman remains the same. Pass the torch to another equally amazing actress.
With American Horror Story now on its fourth season (a fifth season is guaranteed), I don’t think it’s too much to ask for more. The anthology nature of the show practically begs for an overhaul from season to season, but, it has bought into its own bullshit with the belief that as long as the series offers a unique backdrop, keeps Lange around and keeps the shock value high, audiences will keep coming back.
I’ll stick with Freak Show – because I sort of have to and I’m curious to see where it all leads, but the next season is going to have to make some significant changes to keep me around.
