Alice Rush reviews the season premiere of American Horror Story: Freak Show…
After an admittedly disappointing previous season which saw American Horror Story trade in its terrifying trademark for more character focused dramas, the excitement was palpable when it was announced that the theme for season 4 of the anthology series would be a freakshow. What creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk do so well is match together intense horror, visually impressive aesthetic and dark humour, all of which seems to go hand in hand with the classic circus theme chosen. Personally I have been desperate to watch this series after numerous teaser trailers had been released, all of which seemed to point towards one conclusion: that this series will be the best yet.
Set in Jupiter, a sleepy town on the outskirts of 1950s Florida, the season opener ‘Monsters Among Us’ is mostly concerned with introducing us to the members of the freak show. This is done through the eyes of Sarah Paulson’s characters Bette and Dot, Siamese twins who are recruited by German ex-pat Elsa, played by fan favourite Jessica Lange. After their mother’s murder, and their revealed involvement, they find refuge among Elsa’s ‘Cabinet of Curiosities’, a freak show that is under threat of closure. Also returning this year are series regulars such as Evan Peters who plays Jimmy the ‘Lobster Boy’ who has a penchant for pleasuring housewives with his deformed hands. Unlike his bearded lady mother, played by the returning Kathy Bates, Jimmy is sick of the ‘freak’ stigma and wants out of Elsa’s circus, by any means necessary.
‘Monsters Among Us’ does a good job of establishing most of the main characters, with a few still be settled in the coming weeks, and sets up some basic story arcs for the characters. For Jimmy his aim is to achieve acceptance from others, even by violent means, for Bette and Dot it is to find some place in the world than can please the both of them and for Elsa it is to make the freak show as popular as possible so that she can live out her dreams of being a star. What’s missing from this season opener is what characterised the first two seasons so well, and that it is a sense of impending horror. Whilst the characters within the freak show itself are certainly interesting there is nothing truly terrifying about them, and I don’t think the writers of the show want that to come across either. The one character thus far that has made a horrifying impact is the murderous clown that is seen roaming Jupiter and stabbing lots of people and kidnapping some. He even turns up at the freak show at one point in the episode and eerily rides the merry-go-round whilst no one is watching. With Murder House and Asylum from the very first episode there was a sense of danger and doom haunting the main characters which made both of these seasons so incredibly tense. Whilst the characters in Freak Show are strong and I’m sure there is going to be some real dark moments, as hinted at by a montage of the freak show members indulging in sex, drugs and debauchery, this season opener was more of an exploration around the circus rather than throwing us straight into the lion’s den.
That’s not to say that there weren’t some memorable moments. I will carry the image of Jessica Lange singing ‘Life on Mars’ whilst the freak show members danced around her to my grave (and I do mean that in a good way). One of the things that intrigued me the most about this season opener was Pepper, a character from Asylum who has become the first recurrent character within the American Horror Story universe, apparently breaking the anthology based structure. As a die-hard AHS fan I did notice a few foreshadowing nods to Asylum and I am extremely interested to see how they use Pepper within this series.
I am so thrilled that American Horror Story is back on our screens and that it seems to be returning to what it does best. I am sure that these characters will become some of the best the show has ever seen (Angela Bassett’s tripled breasted hermaphrodite looks to be a complete treat) and hopefully will echo the tense horror that characterised it’s earlier, stronger seasons. After a supernatural themed last season it’s nice to see the thematic arcs of Freak Show focusing more on human problems and issues, I just hope that it’s enough to support the whole season and give these intriguing characters a worthy performance. On with the show!
Alice Rush
Originally published October 12, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
