American Horror Story Is At Its Best When It Focuses On Scaring You

FX

• 
  
  It invested us in the cast from the start
  
  
  FX
  
  
  
  From the very starting of 1984, it was hard not to get invested in this rag-tag sort of young camp counselors. There was Brooke (Emma Roberts), reserved in her overalls and scandalized by rocker chic Montana’s (Billie Lourd) unexpected pass. Per his several reminiscences, Xavier (Cody Fern) is a former actor, while Chet (Gus Kenworthy) is a former user, we learn as he laments his steroid use. Finally, there’s Ray (DeRon Howard), who attended medical school once upon a time, yet dropped out somewhere along the way.
  
  
  And there we have it: an eclectic order of companions who determined to spend their summer working at the eerie Camp Redwood. We had their number any time if they showed their faces. Better yet: the familiar narrative suggested just enough insight into their checkered pasts and personalities to create us care, nevertheless yet still keep us curious.
  
  
  Then we meet the overtly devout owner of Camp Redwood, Margaret (Leslie Grossman), and the mystery starts to unfold. She presents herself as a survivor of the massacre that occurred at her beloved camp 14 years back — a Friday the 13th-like slaying previewed inside of the opening 15 minutes of the season premiere. She wants to prepare something positive out of the location, yet her harsh personality makes her feel more like a murder suspect than an ally. Certainly, that's all piece of the fun of a slasher; you never know who you could trust.
  
  
  Because we’ve all seen slasher flicks like Friday the 13th, we know what could happen to our crew at any moment, and we’re given plenty of reasons hope to keep them from harm. Although we know the character count is bound to dwindle down to the quintessential “final girl,”  we can’t help although scream “RUN!” every time one of those is in danger.
  
  
  
  
  



• 
  
  It doesn’t deviate from the main plot
  
  
  FX
  
  
  
  American Horror Story’s first season was awash with some of the most clever horror writing on television, serving seriously twisted visuals with not one superfluous scene. Immediately after toying with some extraneous twists and shock-value turns in a couple of seasons — who could forget Asylum’s left-field alien invasion, or the mid-season “documentary” reveal of Roanoke — 1984 returns the series to its laser-focused tradition.
  
  
  With only nine episodes this season, there’s no time to waste on frivolity. At the midpoint, we’ve already: gotten insight into Camp Redwood’s alleged O.G. Killer, Mr. Jingles; learned that each person who seemed good might also be bad; gotten a clarifying time jump to 1989 showing the downfall of Richard Ramirez and the near-execution of Brooke Thompson immediately after being framed for committing the Camp Redwood murders. That’s a lot of story in much less than five hours of television. Every scene, every sentence, and every glance has been satisfyingly loaded.
  
  
  obviously, it’s easy to stay on track in 1984, given its setting. There really are no cell phones or social media apps to steal our characters’ attention. There really are hardly even landlines — save the lone payphone Mr. Jingles uses to haunt Brooke with his ominous jingling keys. Modern intrerruptions eliminated, the season leans into its chosen genre, earnestly allocating characters who know more than they let on, a truly abhorrent killer (or and also you think), and the gory kills you expect from a slasher.
  
  
  
  
  



• 
  
  The twists make sense
  
  
  FX
  
  
  
  The twists in 1984 have been plentiful, and each one has spiraled off beautifully into the next. For now, there haven’t been any hard-stop, reset moments like Freak Show’s ‘surprise, the freaks run the freak show’ reveal — just a honest slasher. Once things do go off the rails, it’s in service of the story.
  
  
  For instance, take Mr. Jingles. We learned early on that he is (possibly) Camp Redwood’s murderous whichever — or is he? Come to find out, he has no memories of the massacre, and he hasn’t been blocking them out. It turns out @they could never have actually happened in the opening place. Meanwhile, Margaret’s brilliant facade starts to crumble. Any time traditional serial killer Richard Ramirez comes knocking at her door, she fawns over him as if he were an old friend, despite knowing all about his murderous urges. Is this camp owner even who she claims to be?
  
  
  These twists are fun callbacks to the way classic slasher flicks utilized misdirection to shock and thrill crowds. For instance, while in the initial Friday the 13th film, you're lead to believe the killer is the boy who drowned at Crystal Lake years back to the movie. It turns out his mother, Mrs. Voorhees, was the culprit all along. In fact, 1984 takes this exact plot thread and uses it in a later episode, turning it on its head and repurposing it for its own characters.
  
  
  
  
  



• 
  
  The fun feels earned
  
  
  FX
  
  
  
  Previous seasons of American Horror Story took themselves a little also seriously. Cult’s thinly veiled diatribe soon following the 2016 presidential election loomed over viewers like the particular election. And others felt campy for camp's sake, like Season 5's blood-soaked, Gaga-starring Hotel. Right now, camp has routinely been critical to AHS's foundation; most diehard fans would agree that the show has been more memorable once served with a healthy side of it. (Fans still quote Coven preference Madison Montgomery’s meme-able, “Surprise, bitch. I bet you’d thought you’d seen the last of me.”)
  
  
  Likewise, 1984 is well-versed in fun references to the decade — Hair! Spandex! Blue eye shadow! — And also popular horror movies. The characters frequently slip in iconic one-liners, like Montana’s Ghostbusters shout-out, “There is no Montana, only Zuul!”  Zooming out, the full story is a hodgepodge of homages to classic horror films, like Halloween, Friday the 13th, and even Sleepaway Camp.
  
  
  From reviving the Night Stalker Richard Ramirez to fixating on the aerobics craze of the ‘80s, 1984 is heavily steeped in its influences, and yes it isn’t afraid to patch them on their acid-wash denim jacket. Soon considering that, this pulpy dialogue is a big segment of what makes American Horror Story so damn fun in the initial place — and in 1984 it actually feels earned. And not to say, balanced with proper slasher scares.