For the past two episodes, I’ve been rather quiet on American Horror Story’s sixth season. I’ve loved the show since its inception, but after season 4, American Horror Story ‘s age was beginning to show-- with arcs half started and half completed, gruesome deaths shoved into the narrative for shock value, and continuity errors becoming increasingly apparent, it seemed as though AHS was clearly relying on fan loyalty moreso than its on its own storytelling. This, coupled with the loss of Jessica Lange’s commanding on-screen presence, led to AHS: Hotel having the lowest viewership in the franchise. Season 6 was for me, as well as many others, the year for AHS to make it or break it.
But after watching 6x03 of My Roanoke Nightmare, I think it’s safe to say that AHS is back on track.
The premise of this season is relatively simple—it’s a documentary modeled after paranormal favorites such as “An American Haunting”. Young couple Shelby (Sarah Paulson) and Matt Miller (Cuba Gooding Jr.), along with Matt’s sister Lee (Angela Bassett) move into an old, depleted farmhouse in an attempt to start a life away from the city. But as specters, stalkers, and murder begins to invade their everyday lives, they are soon dragged into the sinister history of the Roanoke colony.
To say that I was pleasantly surprised wouldn’t do Roanoke justice. As much as I loved AHS’s Lange years, ‘My Roanoke Nightmare’ may be one of the best concepts American Horror Story has ever had. The horror is a visceral, intangible feeling of being watched, phantoms seen from the corner of your eye, the questionable existence of a little girl’s imaginary friend. The sort of creepiness that is taken from a terror of the unknown is tricky to pull off, but AHS gets it right in three ways:
1) It takes advantage of its documentary format.
As much as many of us love to make fun of the “based on a true story” screen headings, Roanoke is particularly effective because the format of the paranormal documentary is familiar enough for audiences to become uneasy.
2) There's no slow burn.
The escalation in the hauntings and paranormal activity wastes absolutely no time. Slow burn horror has its time and place, but Roanoke certainly isn’t it. AHS avoids the pitfalls of loitering too much on “weird occurrences” and proceeds to jump straight into “what the fuck” mode.
3) Roanoke relies on the audience to provide much of the terror.
Ever heard of the saying “it’s always worse in your mind”? This season is a good example of how to manipulate an audience’s imagination. There aren’t any gratuitous shots of people dying slow and painful deaths. There isn’t an up close and personal view of blood, guts, and gore. We have a character called “The Butcher” (Kathy Bates), and yet what we see of her actions are mostly quick glimpses or distant views. The show does well to feed us the pieces of the puzzle, and then let our overactive imaginations put it all together.
The stark difference of this season versus the previous five may be a source of discomfort for longtime viewers, but I find it a welcome, innovative, and show-saving change. As great as the previous seasons were, by the time season 5 hit, itwas much too reliant on star power. But thankfully, season 6 shows us that American Horror Story is nowhere near ready to jump the shark anytime soon.
