Coming from Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, the minds behind Nip/Tuck, is American Horror Story, a Frankenstein blend of ghost story, haunted house story, gritty soap opera and horror that blend together to blow your mind. The story revolves around Ben (Dylan McDermott) and Vivien (Connie Britton) Harmon, and their teen daughter, Violet (Taissa Farmiga). The family moves to L.A. from Boston for a fresh start after Ben, a successful psychiatrist, is caught by Vivien in bed with his lover, Hayden (Kate Mara). The fact that this comes on the heels of Vivien’s miscarriage only adds insult to injury. They get a great "deal" on a gorgeous Victorian house, presumably because the previous owners died there – a murder suicide. But as they say, if a deal seems to good to be true…
For starters, their new neighbors are quite peculiar. Constance (Jessica Lange), a total 70’s throwback with her overdone Southern charm and old-fashioned sentiments, is immediately disturbing, as is her daughter, Addie (Jamie Brewer), who has Downs Syndrome and always seems to be in the house, uninvited. A maid named Moira (Frances Conroy) shows up, who says she essentially comes with the house and has cared for the house for many years. Vivian is happy for the help and appreciates the older woman, however when Ben looks at Moira, she appears to be a young sexpot (Alexandra Breckenridge) and he can’t believe his wife hires her after their recent marital troubles. Then there’s a new patient of Ben’s. His name is Tate (Evan Peters) and he seems to be a budding psychopath, but things aren’t always what they seem and sometimes, they are even worse.
The truth is that the house is filled with ghosts, some docile and some horribly malevolent. Some of those ghosts like to interact with the living, even having sex with them, and some ghosts like to kill people, mostly because they are trapped forever in the house since they died there and they want others to share their fate. So each episode, the viewer is introduced to a new group of ghosts and we get to learn their history and how they came to their end in the house. The storylines are intricately interwoven and quite deep, even bringing up famous names like Elizabeth Short AKA The Black Dahlia (Mena Suvaris), who presumably died in "The Murder House" and I applaud the writers for weaving truth with fiction in such interesting ways. Fans of Zachary Quinto (Heroes and Star Trek) will enjoy seeing him in the role of ½ of a gay couple who died in the house, but come back to offer their acidic comments on decorating from time to time. True Blood will recognize Denis O’Hare as Larry, a former resident of the house who suffered unspeakable tragedy and now wears his past on his face and body in the form of hideous burn scars. The entire cast is fantastic and really works to set you on edge, even while you pity them and watch their inevitable futures unfold.
Special features are lots of fun and include a video "tour" of The Murder House with Eternal Darkness Tours of Hollywood, a making-of featurette, a featurette on the disturbing title sequence (which is so creepy I watched it once and skipped it every time after that), a featurette on the various house ghosts in the show, plus audio commentary on the Pilot. Naturally, since you are viewing the film in high def on Blu-ray, your viewing experience will be gruesomely crisp and intense, but the surround sound is amazing. At one point, my dog stood up and stared at the speaker when a blowfly seemingly buzzed by our heads. You’ll all but smell the decay of death, it’s so effective.
American Horror Story: The Complete First Season is Unrated and with good reason. Nudity, graphic violence and very frightening images abound and the story is more than just a little on the adult side, but it is oh-so-compelling. If you like a good ghost story and don’t mind some twisted storylines, you’ll love American Horror Story: The Complete First Season. The season wraps up completely with a very satisfying ending and has been renewed, but the show will begin at a new location next season, beginning October 17th. I am excited to see where the show goes and I like the twist of a new locale next season, which promises to keep things insanely fresh (hint: it’s an asylum). I have only given you the barebones of what goes on in this season, simply because the reveals are too important and you should watch the story unfold for yourself. While American Horror Story: The Complete First Season is not for everyone due to its strong content, if you like some creep in your viewing, check it out and you won’t be disappointed.
