American Horror Story was supremely successful last season becoming one of FX's highest rated shows and winning them a few Emmy's in the process. So it was interesting when last season ended in such a definite and conclusive way, leaving the prospects of a second season seemingly impossible. In an interesting twist the showrunners decided to create what I've coined an "anthology mini-series" mixing both concepts to hopefully great effect. Instead of the show building upon a single narrative they've opted to make each season a self contained story, completely unrelated to each other yet still casting a lot of the same actors but in completely different roles. For example the Harmon family and the "Murder House" from the first season have been replaced by a 1964 Insane Asylum run by Sister Jude. It's a risky move that could turn both new and returning viewers off, simply for its non-standard approach.
This show has always been a tough sell with horror, overly sexual scenes, and for simply being bizarre (rubber man). But now seeing the same actors as different characters and in every case so far, very different roles, might turn people who previously liked the show and its characters away. Evan Peter who played Tate last season is now playing a young man named Kit, who is fundamentally very different from Tate who was a violent psychopath. This occurs throughout the entire cast, some guest star from last season have even been promoted to series regulars like Zachery Quinto who now plays a psychiatrist who views the institutions methods as barbaric. Now for someone who watches a lot of TV, this premise is exciting, taking actors from each season thrusting them into polar opposite roles and in a vastly different time period and setting, it makes for fresh and challenging television and that's becoming increasingly rare these days. Unfortunately this season premier is a bit of a whirlwind and suffers from being over stuffed and frenetically shot and edited. The camera doesn't stay still for even a second and it becomes frustrating in even the most intimate scenes when the camera looks like its being operated by a drunk. As for the overly stuffed criticism, let me simply say I was overwhelmed by the amount of characters being introduced and plot points being brought up. It took all my attention to keep up with the show. Hopefully once the show gets into its groove it'll slow down and delve deeper into what seems like amazing potential for a horror themed show.
(3 out of 5)
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