Spoilers Ahead – Ed.
American Horror Story has returned for its third season with sequences even more gut wrenching than before, making it an American Disturbing Story to say the least.
“I definitely think I was more disturbed than scared, but there was a few times that I jumped,” senior Criminal Justice major Stephanie Vargas said.
The show’s format is treated as a miniseries, completely changing the plot and setting every season with the only connection being the title and the use of flashbacks. Previous seasons were set in the Hollywood hills plagued with murders throughout the 1900s until present day, and a corrupt insane asylum, two controversial topics that have been relevant in American culture. But this season they’re diving into the dark arts with a coven of witches.
Led by Academy Award winning Jessica Lange and Kathy Bates, the coven is a struggling group of women, which is dwindling in numbers with every episode. Though the idea of conjuring demons and cutting throats may seem scary to some, others disagree.
“As of now the first season is definitely the best one, it was more realistic because it was based on actual events,” Vargas said. American Horror Story is known for making topics that aren’t usually regarded as ‘horrifying’ hold an essence of creepiness. Last week’s episode touched upon the topic of incest, a topic that made some students feel uneasy. “I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, it was disturbing, but American Horror Story is addicting so I just kept watching,” senior applied psychology major Alessandra Scalia said. Even if students aren’t necessarily jumping out of their seats from a fright, it doesn’t mean they can’t get scared in other ways.
“I really enjoy the camera work this season, the angles describe the mood of the scenes well and it creates a sense of uneasiness,” senior media communications and visual arts major Lisa Musillo said.
My Two Cents:
Back in 1973 The Exorcist defined a generation of horror fanatics, making a head doing a 360 turn and a demonic voice coming from a little girl the scariest thing that anyone had come out with. In fact, at the time it was banned from a lot of theaters because people felt it endorsed the Devil. Nowadays it just isn’t making the cut. You need to add a sense of reality for people to grasp your message, whether its films like Paranormal Activity or Hostel, there’s this added feeling of reality.
Creator Ryan Murphy is well aware of this fact. Every season he sneaks in topics that aren’t necessarily scary but definitely add edginess. In season one it was abortions, bondage and murders, the second season was about bashing Catholicism and we’ve yet to see what topics Murphy will exploit this season.
From an esthetic stand point; they aren’t going into uncharted waters between similar tones and actors but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. The show is known for its eeriness and they’re sticking with what they know.