Amph American Horror Story: Hotel

Oh oh that makes more sense, lol.

 

Though I was truly looking forward to AHS: Freak Show when it began last Fall, IMHO this is the weakest season of the series so far. Note IMHO it's far from terrible - just not as good as the other seasons. I found myself looking forward to it the least of all the shows I watch every week - and, now that it's winding down, I find myself being glad that it'll soon be over...

My main issue with this season is that, unlike the previous three seasons, there is an obvious lack of any supernatural/horror-like element to the show; there was an episode early on which involved the "ghost" of a nobleman (supposedly based on a real person) who had a face on the back of his head - but, it was unclear whether this was a dream that the other characters were having, or whether it was actually happening...

That being said, I did like:

Sarah Paulson's conjoined twin(s) characters; very convincing - I like how she gave each one a distinct & different personality. Her characters reminded me of a reality show a couple of years ago about actual female conjoined twins...

The rock/pop musical sequences they had in the earlier part of the series; really enjoyed these, even though they were anachronistic (i.e., none of this music was around in the 1950's)...

Also liked last week's episode - this was an obvious homage to the extremely disturbing cult classic film Freaks (1932), directed by Todd Browning...

 

I'd have to agree with yout post, Blur. Although this is the first season I've watched week to week, so that might be influencing me. It's very stylish, but I'm finding the main plot far less engaging than in previous seasons. It's a little directionless.

 

So, thoughts on how this played out?

Given what Murphy said was the motivation behind the story he wanted to tell this season, I don't mind it. I do find it interesting that we didn't get the soliloquy from Lange/Paulson/anyone that we have over the last 3 seasons, but that fits with how different this season was in relation to the previous 3. Having the 3 connecting characters was a good way to start showing how all of these stories are interconnected. I just hope that they don't run too quickly down that path but keep dropping little hints along the way.

What will be interesting is to see which actors come back for Season 5. This was supposed to be Lange's last, but that might not be the case from recent talk. I really like the dynamics that Bates and Bassett have with each other. Paulson and Peters have to be the mainstays throughout this. Supposedly Murphy wants to keep Mat Fraser on. And the only reason Finn Whitrock shouldn't be elevated to the main players is because someone else has offered him an obscene (and deserved) amount of money for another show.

 

Great final episode of AHS: Freak show! Just saw this, and IMHO it's the best episode of the season. Liked how everything wrapped up - SPOILERS BELOW:

The massacre at the beginning would have been unexpected, but I knew something was up since I unintentionally read spoilers before watching (I watched the episode a couple of days after it first aired). Anyway, quite horrific. I thought that the final fate of Dandy was somewhat bland, since I thought his end would be a lot more gruesome...I actually felt he got off easy, considering all of the horrible things he had done...

Nice to see one more musical number....Not a huge David Bowie fan, but didn't mind Lange's rendition of the famous song Heroes...

Liked the very ending...and, I wonder if Bette/Dot Tatttler & Jimmy Darling's child will have two heads?!....

 

Though I liked AHS: Freak Show (more than many other fans of the series, it seems), it was still IMHO the weakest season, hands down. That being said, here's what I liked best:

- Sarah Paulson's two-headed Bette/Dot Tattler - very convincing effects, and Paulson did a very convincing job giving each twin her own personality - extremely well-done; I know the effects had a lot to do with this, but IMHO in the hands of a lesser actress this wouldn't have worked as well...

-The musical numbers: I'm a huge fan of rock/pop music, and I really enjoyed these; this brought back memories of hearing these songs for the first time, and I didn't mind that these covers weren't always as good as the original versions...great stuff here...

- As always, Jessica Lange did an amazing job in her role; excellent actress, and I hope this isn't her last season of the show...

In grading the 4 seasons so far, here is what I think:

S1: Murder House: Creepiest/scariest season - 4 stars (out of 4)

S2: Asylum: Most disturbing season - 4 stars

S3: Coven: Most entertaining season - 4 stars

S4: Freak Show: Most bizzare season - 2 stars

 

Ben Woolf (Meep) got hit by a car and is in critical condition.

 

Well, he died.

 

And now we have Gaga instead of Lange. Screw this.

 

It's called Hotel. So nice haunting potential.

But Gaga? Really?

 

Yeah I try to reserve judgement but since the usual cast isn't going to be in it (at least they all seem to be busy with other projects).... I dunnoooooo....I don't really see how Gaga can be that *scary*. She's just a hot topic kid that wandered into gucci by accident.

 

Ryan Murphy is probably a little monster. Isn't that the BS her hype machine touts?

 

Looking forward to Lady Gaga in the next season of AHS; she's quirky enough that I think her persona is tailor-made for the show.

As I mentioned, I was quite disappointed with Freak Show - again, not a bad series but one that didn't have enough supernatural elements.....hopefully there will be more in Hotel...

 

It did have the two faced guy. Edward something.

My only issue is that it won't be a character, but LADY GAGA.

 

Well, we don't actually know what is happening with all of the other actors. And since it was the studio that released the news about Gaga's involvement (almost all other casting news has come from Murphy) I have to wonder if it isn't just hype from their end, or potentially that someone was about to leak it so they got in front of the story (and then let her spill the "Hotel" tagline to make it about more than just her).

I can't see them having Gaga in as one of the major characters in the season, or at least not one of the core characters. I can see them doing something more like they did with Adam Levine where the character appears for a couple of scenes an episode at most.

 

The thing about the Edward two-faced (literally) character (supposedly based on an actual person who lived in the late 1800's), was that it was unclear whether he was a collective "dream/fantasy" that all of the freak show circus members were seeing, or if he a real ghost/monster. In the finale, Elsa saw him - but it was obvious she was the only one who did - I got the impression he was probably a part of some psychosis all of the characters were experiencing, as opposed to an actual "ghost"...I obviously could be wrong, however.

 

Woo. Soon.

 

You over the frights, SLG?

 

Yeah I leveled up

 

Awesome.

 

So after Coven, I had pretty much given up on this show. Was the latest season worth the watch?

 

I'm not sure, there's a lot of haterade on the show online I've noticed. I enjoyed the last season the least, but that's not to say it was bad. There were parts to it that were bad and they tried to fit way too much in. But there were a lot of good parts and overall...it was entertaining at least. I also didn't mind Coven too much beyond it not really being very horrorish. This season was much more.

 

I haven't finished watching Freak Show and I feel morally obligated to do it before the new season starts. Anyways, yay!

 

Freak Show was all style over substance for me. Hopefully Hotel is a return to form.