Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk's creation, American Horror Story, has disturbed and scared viewers for over ten years. From the weird musical performances at a 'Freak Show' to a city where people are turning into vampires, various things have traumatized fans of the show. The eleventh season of AHS should come out this year, and there is much speculation regarding where the showrunners will lead the fans next. The series was renewed for three more seasons, leaving the audience certain there will be at least thirteen seasons of this beloved show. AHS has become a modern pop-culture classic, so much so that a spin-off, American Horror Stories, was released last year, and has been renewed for a new season.
The American Horror Stories teaser trailer for season two recently dropped on June 30th. It shows a series of creepy human-like dolls in a doll house. The dolls are, of course, doing weird and scary things. The new season premiere date is September 21st. Following the anthology format of the original horror show, the spin-off series still has a twist: every episode is a completely different story. Not only that but the creators play around with very different styles of horror, just like in the season-long arcs of the original show. It was a clever decision and gave the writers a lot of room to play around with concepts that may not have been complex enough for an entire season, but that were still scary and compelling enough for a shorter story.
The new show received a lot of criticism, some positive and some not so much. Here is how American Horror Stories compares to its source, American Horror Story.
The Original Show
American Horror Story explores different types of horror each season and makes extremely bold choices regarding every creative decision. The cinematography, production design, directing style and even storytelling format makes every season be remarkably different, and yet, those bold, go-for-broke decisions are what defines AHS and makes it feel complete and cohesive. That, and the anthology series decided to keep most of the cast but have them dive into new characters and a completely new story every year. This created a safety net for fans who, still to this day, eagerly wait to see who of their favorite recurrent actors will be back for one more season of horror.
The anthology element of the show makes it a refreshing story every season, even if some concepts work better than others. The world of AHS made it possible for characters (and not just actors) to appear in more than one season, creating a universe inside the show. With multiverses becoming extremely popular nowadays, it is no surprise that it is one of the show's highlights.
American Horror Stories
American Horror Stories was a possibility for the creators, writers, and the whole production team to invest in shorter horror stories. The concept of an episodic anthology show coming from a seasonal anthology series such as AHS is a great way to include smaller stories and has the potential to translate well on TV. This is especially true because the worlds of the seasons, such as Murder House (a fan favorite), were going to be the setting for a few of these stories. Therefore, the fans would be able to walk the corridors and scary basement of Murder House (as well as other well-known scenarios) again without it being the center of an entire AHS season.
The edgy and sometimes campy concepts are present in the American Horror Stories as well, but there is a lack of depth in most episodes, especially regarding the characters that really hinder the show. In most stories, but horror especially, if the viewer doesn't care about the characters then the whole narrative becomes pointless. There is a need for the audience to care for them enough to be afraid of what might happen, which unfortunately is not the case for most episodes.
Also, various episodes felt underdeveloped and didn't do justice to the original series. One of the highlights of the show was how bold the writers were: from murderer Santa Claus to a cannibal cult in the middle of the woods, a lot was seen in the series. But it was a testament to how a scary concept does not make a scary story good alone: it needs development and interesting characters.
Is American Horror Stories Worth The Watch?
American Horror Story fans will probably watch the spin-off series regardless of the scores from critics and negative audience reviews the show received. It really depends on what type of horror the viewer is interested in, because there is at least one episode for every taste. From a satirical look at today's internet obsessions to a pact made with a demon to get pregnant, variety is not a problem regarding the theme and genre of the show. Certain episodes are great, but watching the season as a whole is probably reserved for a very selected group of people that will watch anything horror related (though there is a chance that even they will not like most episodes). Unfortunately, the weak aspects of the series hinge a lot on what could be gripping and, if not scary, at least deeply disturbing episodes.
American Horror Stories is still very much something that could only come out of Ryan Murphy's mind, but its faults speak too loudly for AHS fans. The second season is coming this year, so there is still hope that fans can see new horror concepts and intriguing stories on the show accompanied by well-developed characters and storylines. After all, most people agree that the original AHS improved with its incredible second season, so only time will tell.