Wednesday night marked the long-awaited and much-debated premiere of American Horror Story's sixth season. The popular anthropology series has, in my opinion, been going downhill since season 3, with season 4 and 5 hardly worth watching. Ryan Murphy must have some inkling of this, for the lead-up to season 6 was so spectacular that he drew back in audiences that had left after the confused gore-fest of season 4. As a friend of mine joked, "They spent all their budget on the promos".

The episode opened with a strange piece of text. "The following story is based on true events". I frowned. What? Sure, past seasons have twisted real-life events and people to fit their plots (i.e. Marie Laveau, Delphine LaLeurie, The Black Dahlia, The Axeman of New Orleans, etc...), but never before has a whole season been based on history. Within seconds, this made sense.

In a wonderfully refreshing change from the style Murphy has been leaning towards, season 6 will be formatted like a documentary (titled "My Roanoke Nightmare" — explaining the leaked photos from the set). Lily Rabe and Sarah Paulson play Shelby — Rabe is the "real-life" woman, while Paulson is the actress participating in the "dramatic reenactment". Andre Holland and Cuba Gooding Jr. play her husband Max (in interviews and the enactment, respectively). Another beloved AHS actor, Angela Basset, makes an appearance as the actress portraying Max's troubled sister, Lee. The equally amazing Adina Porter plays the real woman, and says quality lines with a dead-pan humor. For example: "My brother married one jumpy b***h".

Shelby and Max are a couple from Los Angeles who move to rural North Carolina following a violent gang attack. The house of their choosing was suspiciously low in price. That, as fellow horror fans can testify, is the first sign that there is something seriously wrong. They go up against a group of locals in the bidding war for the house-- and are left with a warning.

Horrible things happen to the couple in typical American Horror Story ways. Max finds a dead pig on their doorstep, Shelby is nearly drowned in the hot-tub, their home is trashed, etc.

I don't intend to relay the whole plot-- all I can say is that it was surprisingly classy. It felt more like a throwback to the first season (my personal favorite) in regards to the eerie shots and lighting choices. Rather than relying on extravagant shock value (I'm looking at you, "Hotel"), Murphy goes back to the roots of terror. Relateable (if dumb) characters move to an isolated spot where they encounter horrific things of a different nature. It was simple-- and that, in itself, was awesome.

However, three things irked me once the credits ran. The first can be explained due to the format of a documentary-- but it doesn't lessen my frustration. The iconic title sequence was missing! There was no creepy beat and flashes of frightening images, which has been a staple in every season so far. I hope that they find a way to include it in future episodes-- it's too classic to simply drop.

The next thing is a petty quirk, but still important to me. Where was Evan Peters? Maybe it's because I'm a young, straight female, but his absence was rather disappointing. I know he'll be in the season eventually, but I missed him! Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe this is the first premiere where he hasn't made an appearance.

Last, but not least, is the weird fact that the episode ran short. In primetime television, it's a trend that premieres and finales run a few minutes longer than their promised length. However, 6? ran a solid six minutes short, which left my friends and I wondering "Is that it?"

All in all, it was a surprisingly entertaining and subtle first episode, and I am intrigued to see where Murphy and his writers intend to go with this format and these characters.