"AHS: Hotel" First Impressions

"AHS: HOTEL" First Impressions

When the credits began rolling at the end of the final episode of American Horror Story: Freakshow I was already excited for the fifth season of Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk's bizzare horror anthology series. Although it had it's negative aspects, Freakshow for me was an improvement on the shows rather disappointing third season Coven. However when you're waiting months for a show to return, the hype begins to die down and sometimes you almost forget it's coming back (I'm looking at you here Sherlock). The hype, for me had died after a couple of months until Murphy and Falchcuk's new show Scream Queens began a few weeks ago. Needless to say this reignited the excitement for me so once again I was dying to watch the first episode of Hotel. The seasons opening episode was a pleasant surprise for me and it felt good to be back in the world of American Horror Story again. So without further adieu, here are some pros and some cons of Hotel's first episode, Checking In.

Pros:

The Cast.

American Horror Story is known for it's ensemble cast of familiar faces and each season the actors are tasked with taking on new roles. Hotel sees the return of many AHS alumni such as Denis O'Hare and Kathy Bates along with new cast members such as Cheyenne Jackson and Lady Gaga. Gaga's role in particular was much anticipated and although her screen time is short in Checking In, so far she has presented audiences with an intriguing and charismatic character, The Countess. For me Sarah Paulson stood out the most in this episode. One of the cast members who's been here since way back in the murder house, Paulson has hitherto played characters who are usually pleasant and at worst cynical. Which is why it was surprising to see her play such a sleezy character like Sally. However Paulson shines as the sinister addict and I'm looking forward to seeing where her character goes. Other highlights include Denis O'Hare's cross dressing consierge and Wes Bentley's family man detective. The cast have already shown that they can continue to carry the show even without Jessica Lange.

The References.

Much like last season with films such as Freaks, the show continues to add in multiple references to pop culture, some subtler than others. There are many obvious references to films such as Stanley Kubrick's The Shining with the mysterious kids in the hallway and the familiar carpeting in the hotel. The plot involving Wes Bentley's character on the case of the Ten Commandments Killer is quite reminiscent of David Fincher's Seven while the impaled couple on the bedspread resembles one of the death scenes from Mario Bava's giallo classic A Bay of Blood. The whole introduction of Gaga and Bomer's characters reminded me personally of the opening scene of Tony Scott's The Hunger from the darkwave music to the bloody yet erotic encounter with the other couple. It was also nice to see a screening of Nosferatu midway through the episode. 

Less Singing, More Blood.

One of the downsides of the previous season was that it included to many musical numbers for a horror show. We all loved The Name Game in season two because it was something we didn't expect but after Evan Peters' rendition of Nirvana's Come as You Are, the novelty wore off. Thankfully there has been no singing so far and if what the writers have said is true then there won't be any this season. The show has returned to the brutal and bizzare violence that we all loved about the first two seasons and if the rest of the season is as violent as that first episode I think we are in for the most graphic season of AHS yet.

The Cons:

Too Much Going on?

There was a lot happening in that episode and AHS is known for having multiple subplots in each season. In the first episode alone viewers have already been treated to a variety of different characters, and are still to meet others such as Evan Peters' character and Lily Rabe's. My fear is that with only a handful of episodes to fit all of this in certain plot lines may be underdeveloped and certain characters may lack a level of depth compared to others. This was season two's major weakness for me and I just hope the numerous characters and plots are balanced out more this season.

Lacking Lange.

Now although the cast seen to be doing fine without her, I myself can't help but miss Jessica Lange. She had been the heart of the series ever since season one and has excelled in her portrayals of all of her characters since. Although future appearances aren't ruled out, it seems for now Lange has taken a break from the universe of AHS. This isn't the first time a major player has left the show as I'm still hoping that one day Zachary Quinto and Dylan McDermott will make a return. However Lange was one of the highlight's of the show and I look forward to seeing what she does now that she has more time for other projects.

The Verdict:

Now it is only early days so I cannot judge the season as a whole yet, but that first episode was the most bizzare and graphic episode of AHS in a long time and I think it brought back that sense of dread that had been lacking in the previous two seasons (apart from the short lived Twisty the Clown in the previous season). If the rest of the season is anything like Checking In then I think that we could be in for the best season of AHS yet and I look forward to exploring the world of the Cortez Hotel.