From a haunted house to a disturbed asylum and a freak show, FX’s American Horror Story (AHS) has captivated viewers time after time. Each season has a new theme and we slowly piece together one big mystery as the plot un-ravels. Now, AHS is back for its sixth season, “My Roanoke Nightmare;” a season that is already very different than the others.
The first episode began with the words, “The following story is inspired by true events.” This is already some-thing new for the show. In previous seasons, there have been characters based on real people, such as in season five, “Hotel,” when Lily Rabe played the role of Aileen Wuornos, a real person who was convicted of multiple murders in the early 1990s; however, this season, the true events stem from the Roanoke colony of the late 1500s; a colony whose people left to relocate but went missing. The definite whereabouts of those people were never resolved.
The next and most obvious change to the season is the use of interviews which creates a documentary-style. Basically, there are actors that portray the “real” character, and then scenes are reenacted by other “actors” to show the audience what was really happening. Because of this, there are two actors/actresses that play the same role for each character that gets interviewed. For example, one character in the show, Lee, is played by Angela Bassett as the “actress” parts of the show but is played by Adina Porter when Lee is being interviewed – which makes her the “real” Lee.
This is the first season of AHS that includes interviews from the characters during and in between scenes, similar to many reality TV shows such as The Bachelor and The Real World. This gives the show a more realistic feel to it because we are now able to get in the characters’ minds and understand exactly what they’re feeling and get a bit of a background on who they are. For example, Lee is a former cop that has struggled with addiction and we are able to see her background story through her interviews more clearly from her perspective and are able to better understand how she felt while it was happening. The only characters that have been interviewed in the two episodes that have been aired so far are Shelby (Sarah Paulsen and Rabe), Matt (Cuba Gooding Jr. and Andre Holland), and Lee (Bassett and Porter).
From there, the real storyline begins. Shelby and Matt are a couple that move into a new home in North Carolina in seek of a new beginning, and that’s certainly what they’re in for. After several weird occurrences take place, Matt invites his sister, Lee, to stay with them. The three then experience many alarming, gruesome moments as they learn more about what has happened on the property before. Now we must wait and see what bizarre twists and turns the season will take over the course of several hour-long episodes.
“I think it’s really good so far,” said senior marketing student, Cassie Stiansen. “I think it’s a lot more believ-able than the other seasons because there’s more of a story here and less random things happening. Plus, it’s really suspenseful. Definitely better than the last season.”
“This season has been especially scary,” said Kevin Holzer, a senior health studies student. “There have been some pretty gruesome and violent scenes so far, which isn’t something that you see all the time on TV. It feels more like I’m watching segments of a scary movie than a regular TV show.”
Holzer’s point of American Horror Story feeling more like a movie than a television show was something that I agreed with. When I watch the show, I get so involved in the complicated plot and creepiness of the scenes that I forget that this is just an hour-long episode of a TV show. There aren’t that many shows on TV that are similar to American Horror Story and that is what makes it so unique. It gives more of a movie-feel because the audience is able to get involved in the mystery that they may not be seeing on other types of television shows.
On the other hand, some people were looking for something different. Jessica Porter, a senior education student, said that this season doesn’t seem much different than previous seasons. “It kind of reminds me of the first season. They’re both placed in houses where creepy, weird things are happening and no one knows why. I feel like they’re trying to just put a spin on the first season but I want something different.”
There have only been two episodes thus far but Lady Gaga, Evan Peters, and several other classic American Horror Story actors and actresses will return in “My Roanoke Nightmare.” To follow the show, check out FX on Wednesdays at 10 p.m.
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