It's Coming... American Horror Story: Alysum

[ChronoGrl]

Ok, I can FINALLY comment on this thread as I've just caught myself up.

And.

Wow.

It's crazy and schizophrenic to the point where sometimes the direction literally stresses me out (in a GOOD way; they are clearly trying to disarm the audience and it worked).

I am LOVING all of the elements that are coming together - I'm going to put the "SPOILER" warning on the below just in case.

• I agree with NE - Lange and Cromwell are absolutely horrifying and brilliant. He's a ridiculously good sadistic doctor.
• Nunsploitation and Nazisploitation!! Mon dieu!! LOVE that they are delving into more exploitative genres this season; The scene with Arden and the prostitute, the fetishism - So delightfully creepy and well-done... And OH! My nerdy horror senses are tingling with the "Anne Frank" story and the fact that the EVIL DOCTOR MAY BE A NAZI DOCTOR. BRILLIANT!
• Aliens (I saw it too NE - EEEEE!), mutants in the yard - AMAZING!!
• The Aversion/Conversion therapy - Wow, so creepy it made my stomach churn.
• Also, the torture/mangling of Chloë Sevigny was so incredibly disturbing it made my mouth drop open (I love it when "surprises" like that hit me in horror movies).
• Lily Rabe is INCREDIBLE and I'm ridiculously gleeful about the Evil Demon nun.
• I thought the exorcism was great, but oddly enough I had forgotten about it until I read J's post.
• To be honest, I'm not really sure how I feel about "present day," though I'm sure J's psyched about the fate of Adam Levine. ;) I am a little baffled by it, but have faith that the show will tie it together somehow.

I would say that my biggest complaint is that I'm disappointed in Joseph Fiennes; I think that he's a weak link acting-wise, which is too bad because I was excited to see my Shakespeare again. ;)

Also, for some reason Lizzie Brocheré/Grace bothers me; not sure if it's an acting issue or what, but she doesn't sit well with me. And I think that Evan Peters was better with a bit part last year that the more leading role he has this year.

However, everyone else is amazing and I feel the need to give a shout out to Zachary Quinto (who, while perhaps well-intentioned is wonderfully creepy) and Sarah Paulson is just perfect opposite him.

I would say that the biggest difference between last season and this season is that last season I identified and sympathized with more characters than I do this season, something that I thought would be an issue, but it hasn't stopped me from enjoying it yet.

Regardless of my complaints, I am ridiculously excited to see where the season continues to go. I think that they have reached a deeper level of dark and disturbing that has honestly unnerved me. Kudos. Can't wait to watch more of it.


I must have missed something NE because I'm not sure what you're referring to here?

Originally Posted by neverending

The lesbian gang we saw in the previous episode has been abducted, bearing striking similarities to an infamous alien abduction case from the 50s.
Flesh eating ghouls.

[neverending]

In response to Chrono:

The four women in the house, listening to records. (One of them is the reporter's lover) They are all stereotypical lesbians circa 50s-60s. They're not spelling it out, but it's obvious if you know what you're looking for. Something happened at that house that we didn't get to see, and when the cop goes there the check up on the reporter's roommate, the house is abandoned. The implication is they've been abducted by these aliens.


You called them mutants in the graveyard, I saw them eating a dead body, so I called them flesh eating ghouls.


And I agree about the present day storyline. It's definitely the weak link, but I'm trusting them to make it pay off, because I love the potential of something called BLOODY FACE.

[ChronoGrl]

Originally Posted by neverending

In response to Chrono:

The four women in the house, listening to records. (One of them is the reporter's lover) They are all stereotypical lesbians circa 50s-60s. They're not spelling it out, but it's obvious if you know what you're looking for. Something happened at that house that we didn't get to see, and when the cop goes there the check up on the reporter's roommate, the house is abandoned. The implication is they've been abducted by these aliens.


You called them mutants in the graveyard, I saw them eating a dead body, so I called them flesh eating ghouls.


And I agree about the present day storyline. It's definitely the weak link, but I'm trusting them to make it pay off, because I love the potential of something called BLOODY FACE.

Ahh, Gotcha now...


I "got" that they were the stereotypical lesbian group, but I thought that it was implied that the girlfriend was attacked by Bloody Face after they left. Then again, there seems to be a tie-in with the alien abduction theme and Bloody Face, so if that's where they're going (the whole group getting abducted), I totally missed it.

Makes me want to rewatch the first couple of episodes.

heehee - Mutants vs. flesh-eating ghouls; I like the term "flesh-eating ghoul" better. :D

And I agree - Someone called BLOODY FACE - Brilliant.

[fortunato]

Haha, I'm loving all of this secret correspondence.

Speaking of things that were sickening, how about Lana's aversion therapy? That was so disgusting. And the Anne Frank character once again reiterates the AHS writers' maniacal audacity, and at this point, I'd expect nothing less.
I also had an inkling that Dr. Six-Feet-Under-Babe was a mad Nazi doctor, so I was a bit jaw-dropped to have that revelation in the show.

[neverending]

Well, you know... we just don't want to spoil things for folks who haven't watched yet. Anyone's free to peek if they want!

[fortunato]

Originally Posted by neverending

Well, you know... we just don't want to spoil things for folks who haven't watched yet. Anyone's free to peek if they want!

Oh I know, it was just funny to see this conversation that was basically all whited out.

[ImmortalSlasher]

I thought the modern day twist at the Asylum was crazy. I wonder if we'll get to find out who Bloody Face is in the past?

[neverending]

Eventually.

[neverending]

I believe this may have been my favorite episode of the entire series. So many different things going on. Even the direction was superior to what you'd normally see on a TV show. They rolled out as many camera tricks as possible- forced perspective, claustrophobic framing, weird angles, quick cuts, extreme light and shadow, mujted color palette, odd coloration resembling old film stock from the 50s in the scenes from the past, use of shots with no people in them, such as the shot of a desk with two chairs before it or the flames in the fireplace, certain musical cues. At times it really resembled a homage to Hitchcock or Polanski.

And then the plot itself:
They're really delving into some dark corners here, dipping into the heart of evil in American society. The government use of former Nazi scientists, forced sterilization programs, ice pick lobotomies.
We're still getting glimpses of the aliens.
And holy shit- the revelation of who BLOODY FACE is.



This is top notch story telling and filmmaking. It's making use of the one advantage episodic television has over feature films- the ability to develop a storyline and characters over a period of time.
With the proper team in place- writing, directing, good production values, great actors- this form can't be topped. This series is one of the best efforts I've ever seen.

[ImmortalSlasher]

The reveal was surprising. I think a scene in an earlier episode was now played as how another character saw things. As I usually don't like it when a show lets us see things that didn't happen or are there to throw off the audience. But yeah, this show is using all these horrible things that happened in society, that were going on at the time to perfection. Few shows would be able to get away with this sort of thing without seeming silly. I like this a lot more than the original.