"American Horror Stories" Debuts with a Grisly Return to Murder House

The twopart premiere titled RubberwoMan Part I ampamp II feels at first like deja vu of AHS39 first season Murder House It begins with a charming young family moving into a beautiful home in Los Angeles that will be instantly familiar to fans of this franchise as will a couple of the ghosts therein including the unforgettable Infantata Dads Michael Matt Bomer and Troy Gavin Creel know of the murders that went down in the creepy Gothic home and plan to capitalize on it by turning it into a fully immersive quothauntedquot bed ampamp breakfast As if It doesn39t take long for them to learn the hard way that the tales of its terrifying history were not exaggeratedTrouble begins when teen daughter Scarlett Sierra McCormick a notquitegoth girl finds the iconic black rubber suit from season one feels compelled to put it on and then begins acting out of character to put it mildly That suit plays a key role is the violent revenge she takes against four toxic mean girls who bully and humiliate her online Before long the house is once again a hot mess in the worst way and Michael and Troy39s loving relationship is put to the testThe central storyline though finds Scarlett falling for one of the house39s many vengeful spirits the butterfly knifewielding leather jacketclad tough chick Ruby played by scenestealer Kaia Gerber making her network television debut As violent as it is there is something sweet and touching about it tooThe lure of the RubberwoMan episodes is the return of characters and settings from season one But as familiar as they are the new characters and the cavalcade of shocks mostly of the murderous kind keep them feeling freshEpisode three titled DriveIn follows a young couple played by Rhenzy Feliz Marvel39s Runaways and Madison Bailey The CW39s Black Lightning and their friends as they attend the screening of Rabbit Rabbit a horror film so disturbing that it has been blamed for sending its viewers on a zombielike rampage at its premiere in 1986 leading to six deaths This is sure to be a reference to infamous banned horror films like The Bunny Game and Cannibal Holocaust and incidents where people fainted and even vomited when The Exorcist hit theatres for the first timeCompared to RubberwoMan DriveIn is much more of a standalone episode and a memorable one at that as it pays terrifying homage to classic horror films with societal commentary especially Dawn of the Dead There39s even commentary from Rabbit Rabbit director Larry Bitterman played by AHS veteran John Carroll Lynch on how creatives are censored by studios executives and government and aren39t able to make a lasting impact with their art which many would argue is true these days In Larry39s case however the world is a better place without his fearsome filmWhat has always attracted me to the highly stylized AHS series along with other horror hits like The Haunting of Hill House is its exploration of personal themes beyond the scares It39s more than just episode after episode of jump scares and gratuitously gory deaths though each season has had plenty of both It39s the delving into the characters their complexities and their flaws that make them relatable human beings and keep them from being quickly forgotten victims of various killers and monsters The original American Horror Story Murder House dealt with the repercussions of a mother39s trauma from a miscarriage and affair a father39s infidelity and a daughter39s depression all while setting the tone for a newly revamped genre in televisionDriveIn39s homage to the Bhorror movies from the 3980s that were enjoyed by millions at drivein theaters on hot summer nights was expertly handled by director Eduardo Sanchez perhaps bestknown for his work behind the camera on The Blair Witch Project working off a script penned by Manny Coto whose filmography includes Dexter and American Horror Story Apocalypse The episode ends with a twist that quite literally made my jaw drop as one of Larry Bitterman39s last lines rings true quotYou think this is the end of the movie This is only Act IquotAt the end of each episode I39m continually intrigued thinking quotWhat the hell are they gonna do next weekquot And the very openended climaxes of the two stories so far suggests to me that there may be one big episode later this season perhaps the finale that brings all the events togetherNew episodes of American Horror Stories stream Thursdaysamp160on FX on HuluClick the social buttons to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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"American Horror Stories" Debuts with a Grisly Return to Murder House

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Juan Ayala

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"American Horror Stories" Debuts with a Grisly Return to Murder House

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