The fifth season of "American Horror Story" premiered this week, piloting their hotel theme for this season. I have no idea what goes through AHS’s writer and creator Ryan Murphy’s head as he brainstorms for these scripts, but oh my goodness. This show is known for its surreal and outlandish horror scenes, nevertheless it still allows room to address common fears of common people.
Some people may be hesitant to check into a “haunted” hotel and parents may always have a subconscious fear of losing a child. However, adding in ridiculously scary terrors heightens the horror of the show when both dreads are combined into one show. With the addition of Lady Gaga as the newest cast member and the loss of Jessica Lange, this new season has been the topic of much hype. So…how was the premiere? Does it live up to the hype and set up a crazy season of grotesque, completely insane yet intriguing plot twists and story lines. Why of course, it does; it is season 5 of AHS after all.
In the first scene of the show, two young Swedish ladies check into Hotel Cortez and, within hours, find a human body shoved into their mattress. Tearing it apart, a hand of what I can only describe as a bald, disheveled and diseased looking body slowly crawls out of the mattress with its eyes rolling back. Keep in mind, this is all before the opening credits. A creature with cuts everywhere and completely white eyes crawls out of a bed mattress. Personally, I had decided right there that I was hooked for the whole season, solely to figure out what it was and why. AHS is definitely pulling out all the stops this season and viewers won't want to turn away for a second.
As the ninety minute premiere progressed, we realized that the opening scene was nothing compared to the rest of the show. Among the insanity of events in the first episode are: a bloody foursome featuring Lady Gaga’s character, The Countess, a murder scene including a couple super-glued in intercourse with the woman dead and the man alive with his eyes gauged out, and a murderer who penetrates his victims rectally with a metal spike dildo. And, yes you read all of that correctly. How insane?! And this is only the first episode, I can't even picture how these events size up with the rest of the season.
Lady Gaga's television debut was a huge draw for many viewers and the center a lot of the show’s newest publicity. As The Countess, Gaga is a creepily extravagant woman who does cocaine and drinks the blood of humans. From her first full scene, we assume that her and her sidekick, Donovan, played by Matt Bomer, must be creatures that live off the blood and flesh of humans.
Towards the end of the episode, there is a flashback to 1994. While you watched that you may questioned what the heck was happening because in the episode, we see Donovan and a woman known as Sally (Sarah Paulson), very much alive and interacting with humans. This leads to the impending question, which this season may try to answer: what the heck is The Countess? Is she a vampire, similar to like those in the Twilight series, where she can bring back those from the dead by turning them into vampires, who then can only maintain their livelihood by drinking human blood? Is she a zombie who reincarnates the dead? Is she the female grim reaper who then makes the dead people ghosts in the human world? Or is she a medium or god of some sort who can breathe life back into people? Only time will tell on this pressing question, but I know this will haunt me until it is completely resolved and answered.
Another character we are introduced to is Detective John Lowe (Wes Bentley) of the L.A.P.D., who is investigating the mysterious murders. Recapping his role on the show during the episode, the detective has moved into the hotel where his son has been kept since his kidnapping and he has absolutely no idea.
Here, I encourage you to take a moment to re-read the ridiculous and horrific occurrences that happened within only the first ninety minutes of this season. Keep in mind there are twelve more episodes left before all of our questions and concerns are deciphered. In my opinion, this season may prove to be one of the most grotesque and mind-boggling yet, making it a definite weekly tune-in! Now, I may be a biased AHS fan thinking that this premiere has lived up to its excitement and hype; however, how can any viewer not think this show is literally insane? Despite your personal opinion, this show definitely provides onlookers with a reason to watch, whether it is only one episode, or the whole season religiously.
