Oh, I suppose I committed to writing a synopsis for American Horror Story: 1984, after posting a ranking of American Horror Story seasons 1 to 8, so I guess I should give my thoughts on the latest season, American Horror Story: Double Feature, as well – I’ve been slack putting fingers to keyboard, because quite bluntly, I enjoyed certain aspects of the newest season, which came out last year but I’ve only finished recently, but not so much to be enthusiastic about it. The biggest intrigue of Double Feature going in, was going to be how the series was to balance having two narratives in the one season – was it a sign that ideas were running thin in the Ryan Murphy household, or was it a chance for something new, and additionally creative? Were the two stories going to connect in some terribly wonderful way? After the teaser trailer, I was definitely most excited for the aliens’ plot, as I don’t think the show had dealt with extra-terrestrials since season 2, but we all had to wait until the seventh episode to get into that.
Because before ‘Death Valley’, there was ‘Red Tide’, which follows the Gardner family, who move out to a small coastal town in the middle of winter, to give father, Harry (Finn Wittrock), a quiet place to write, while mother, Doris (Lily Rabe), practices interior design, and daughter Alma (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) rehearses with her violin. The Shining vibes ensue, and by this stage of AHS, everyone should know that you really shouldn’t buy a second-hand house across America at all, especially if it’s a really good deal. On an afternoon walk, Doris and Alma are harassed by a pale zombie figure, and Harry meets some fellow writers in a bar who influence him to take a pill that helps unlock creativity, so long as you’re talented in the first place; otherwise, your brain will shrivel, and it’s the life of the pale braindead for you. Either way, the tiny little side-effect of this pill is a period of craving fresh blood; this pill, has Harry writing like a pro, and hunting down unsuspecting victims in between.
I love the dynamic this pill creates, with everyone assuming they’re talented, and the ones who are proven right, callous in their contempt for the feeble minded. I think we already perceive that there’s an air of arrogance to those who consider themselves with talent ‘above the herd’, and this adds a delightful twist to the vampire genre as well. I was really enjoying this story for the first few episodes, wondering why AHS wouldn’t stretch this out into a full season, but then it tanks harder than Thomas, the really useful engine. It was obvious from the very beginning that Doris would eventually take the pill and become a hairless zombie, so the whole episode dedicated to the ‘will she/won’t she’, as Alma tries to coerce her into it, was really redundant. By the time the climax comes, Ursula (Leslie Grossman) is somehow easily able recruit the pales to do their dirty work, and the three winning ladies march off into the sunset, unscathed, and making bank, while turning Los Angeles into unsustainable chaos. The Chemist (Angelica Ross) really is a psychopath, conducting her loosely termed ‘experiments’ on random people in town and not troubling herself with the complications, and the series never wags a finger at her. Sarah Paulson is also here, playing an unhoused too pure to risk taking the pill for a chance to become rich and famous, and doesn’t stop going on about it; I feel ‘Tuberculosis Karen’ might be duded by editing in this respect – the show could’ve cut, maybe, even one of her anguished speeches, and she wouldn’t be so annoying. AHS rightly prides itself on showcasing a triumphant female-led cast, but you still must write characters and storytelling worthy of the honour, and Red Tide concludes as a bit of a letdown, on the whole.
Yet, in saying this, I’m so glad we have this American Horror Story for Francis Conroy – there’s an entire episode dedicated to giving backstory to her character Belle Noir; a meek writer in a loveless marriage, who embraces her darkness, unleashes her talents through the pill, and accepts the trade-off of drinking human blood with eagerness. ‘Honey, you’re a paper airplane, and I’m a 747…’– her best line, directed at Mickey (Macauley Culkin), and I made a point to write that down 😀 There was once a belief in Hollywood that once a woman hit a certain age, there’d be no roles for her anymore, and I’ve surely applauded Jessica Lange and Kathy Bates in past ‘Horror Stories, but I always love Francis Conroy as well; she’s at her best here, playing a wicked character with true depth. Leslie Grossman also gets to play a balls-to-the-wall badass, as a ‘normie’ who takes the knowledge of this deadly pill in her stride, as if she’s seen it all before. The greatest shock-moments of Red Tide come when Ursula shows her cool at the surprise of a dead police chief, and when Alma starts hoeing into that dead bunny – yummo! I also didn’t expect Alma to take out her father at the end, but that was cool. Actress Ryan Kiera Armstrong is no Taissa Farmiga, famous for playing the daughter role in AHS before, but Armstrong will star in the upcoming remake of Stephen King’s Firestarter, and I’m glad I got to experience her first here, in what should be a very similar transformation. And me, as a Home Alone superfan since the beginning of time, loved Macaulay Culkin just being here. He’s a weird cat these days, which aligns perfectly for Mickey, a lovable vagabond prostitute who gets by playing dumb to all the big personalities in town. I got even more giddy than I should seeing Mickey in a large brown coat breaking into the Gardner’s house with a crowbar, reminding me so much of Daniel Stern’s Marv, and I’m sure that was intentional. I suppose, when I tease it out, I didn’t hate Red Tide as much as I thought I did; I was annoyed by a sour ending, yet I’d have to give Red Tide an A for premise and style.
But what’s with this season’s obsession with baby death?! That really got too much for me. There’s a couple of early understated suggestions of it, as Belle Noir convinces Karen to swipe a few babies for her, as their blood is the sweetest, but it ends up becoming a main motivation nearing the end of Red Tide. Which leads us perfectly into Death Valley, where slaughtering babies, again, is the main operation. I would call that horrific, more than horror. Again, while I was jiving with the initial premise of Death Valley, which deals with aliens, and a reimagined past where President Dwight D. Eisenhauer (Neal McDonough) is an unabashed boots-on-the-ground leader, who sets up an advancement in US technology through a deadly deal with aliens, I’m not sure this four-part story can sustain its own intrigue. Since I’m not American, and my knowledge of American history is rudimental, I didn’t mind them taking liberties with it, linking a lot of America’s biggest conspiracies to the goal of keeping aliens a secret, but as the series went on, I felt they pushed it too far, leaning on it too heavily.
Another thing American Horror Story prides itself on is sexually aggressive dialogue, and Double Feature takes the cake. There are characters constantly stating they’ve ‘rubbed one out’, and these teens in Death Valley are so conceited, yet so sexually liberated, I didn’t know whether I want to pat them on the back or hope they die horribly. Luckily, I did both, and admirably, I got both 😁 Whether you decide you liked them or not, I think they’re well defined and quite memorable. I think my favourite part of this story was the rapid pregnancies they face, not in the least regarding that two of them are men. And again, points for style, as Death Valley looks great, with the fake moon landing studio being put to good use. The black-and-white past of the series makes a point to squeeze Sarah Paulson’s Mamie Eisenhauer in at every scenario though, and I don’t think there’s anything more quite out of leftfield than her humping that android Valiant Thor (Cody Fern) 😑 Did you know that Mamie Eisenhauer was the one who made it popular for adults to celebrate birthdays and Halloween? How could I ever forget again? At least Paulson’s character gets her comeuppance here, as Angelica Ross’s awesome-looking hybrid alien-human is too clever to be seduced, and world-domination is afoot.
It’s a shame that neither of these ideas could sustain a traditional length of an American Horror Story. I thought both had potential, but fell away in their conclusions, and after American Horror Story: 1984 stretched itself to its full quota, I can understand why they didn’t try again, with either Red Tide or Death Valley. The biggest draw to American Horror Story for me continues to be seeing some of Hollywood’s most likeable actors mix and intertwine into new stories every season – I didn’t even mention Evan Peters, Adina Porter and Denis O’Hare, whom I adore, and Billie Lourd, whom I think is kind’ve neat. But I’m sure it’s no surprise to say that I do feel like this franchise is now past its prime, and perhaps because I’ve never been its most passionate fan in the first place, it’s hard to really pinpoint where that prime was anyway. But, since every season is a new beginning, there’s always an opportunity for more gold, and as long as there are new seasons coming, the completionist in me will seek them out and hope for the best.
Just before I go, I just want to update my rankings of the American Horror Story seasons. I think Double Feature fits in at the new seventh best season, in between Cult and Freak Show, although at times, it’s probably even better than Freak Show. What did you make of American Horror Story: Double Feature, and where would you rank it? And make sure to check out my other posts on American Horror Story if you haven’t before 😇
10 – Season 9: 1984
09 – Season 3: Coven
08 – Season 7: Cult
07 – Season 10: Double Feature
06 – Season 4: Freak Show
05 – Season 1: Murder House
04 – Season 5: Hotel
03 – Season 8: Apocalypse
02 – Season 2: Asylum
01 – Season 6: Roanoke
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