Post by Fenril on May 7, 2013 15:07:53 GMT -5
(This was simply titled "American Horror story" on broadcast and remains so in the region 4 dvd, but was retitled after the show's second story, so...)
The Harmon family (psychiatrist Ben, celloist vivianne and teenaged Violet) move to a new house in Los Angeles hoping to save their family bonds after a series of traumatic experiences such as stillbirths, spousal infidelity and attempted uxoricide. Unfortunately, they have inadvertently moved into what is quite possibly the most haunted house in the U. S. (it was the site of no less than twenty violent murders since the 1920's). It's haunted by all sorts of spirits, some relatively benign, some unspeakably evil and most just plain deranged. It's accompained by a living family that is no less dangerous than the spirits --and in fact has a lot to do with the house's blood-soaked past. The Harmons deeply seated neuroses will prove no match for the house's twisted plans for them...
I finally checked this miniseries after being initially weary due to the fact that this is a Ryan Murphy production --which means a morally corrupt cast that keeps making the worst possible choice whenever faced with a dilemma, and over the top, often exploitative trashy storylines (see: "Nip / Tuck", "Popular", "The new normal" and the famous "Glee"). Thus, I was expecting a sleazy guilt indulgence; and I did get it. What I wasn't expecting is that this show would be so well-plotted and so... entertaining, in the most demented way.
The story of the titular "Murder house" is a pastiche of pretty much every major ghost story / haunted house movie ever made [it's pretty fun to catch the nods to, among many others: The Amityville horror; The others; Rosemary's baby; The innocents; The haunting (both versions); Burnt offerings; Dark shadows (any of the million versions out there); Beetlejuice...], coupled with an exploitative appropiation of real-life horror (the Black Dalia case; shootings at high schools). And yet, it all works somehow, in the same way Brian de Palma and Quentin Tarantino movies do --they know they are polished pastiches and are proud of it, and manage to keep the audience entertained all the way through.
It's also a rare case where the seemingly trivial title is completely appropiate --this is a uniquely American story in setting, tone, and implicit criticism.
The characters can't be discussed without spoiling too much, but it is worth mentioning that the house's many spirits include a gay couple whose relationship crumbled when they tried to adapt to heterosexual norms and an initially unassuming student with a crush on her teacher, who actually evolves into one of the most evil characters in the entire show (and she's got some serious competition!). It should be noted that this show has a very politically incorrect demeanor (notoriously, two of the living major characters are huge bigots, and it's an accomplishment on the scriptwriter's part that they remain interesting without ever being sympathetic).
The cast itself is surprisingly good, even if the lead couple tend to overact at times (this is justified in the last episode, once we learn the family's final fate). No matter how over the top the character's actions, most of the actors managed to pull it off in a naturalistic way (some of them gave their character a few unique visual ticks and speech patterns, which worked out wonderfully).
All in all, a pleasant surprise, through probably not for everyone.
The Harmon family (psychiatrist Ben, celloist vivianne and teenaged Violet) move to a new house in Los Angeles hoping to save their family bonds after a series of traumatic experiences such as stillbirths, spousal infidelity and attempted uxoricide. Unfortunately, they have inadvertently moved into what is quite possibly the most haunted house in the U. S. (it was the site of no less than twenty violent murders since the 1920's). It's haunted by all sorts of spirits, some relatively benign, some unspeakably evil and most just plain deranged. It's accompained by a living family that is no less dangerous than the spirits --and in fact has a lot to do with the house's blood-soaked past. The Harmons deeply seated neuroses will prove no match for the house's twisted plans for them...
I finally checked this miniseries after being initially weary due to the fact that this is a Ryan Murphy production --which means a morally corrupt cast that keeps making the worst possible choice whenever faced with a dilemma, and over the top, often exploitative trashy storylines (see: "Nip / Tuck", "Popular", "The new normal" and the famous "Glee"). Thus, I was expecting a sleazy guilt indulgence; and I did get it. What I wasn't expecting is that this show would be so well-plotted and so... entertaining, in the most demented way.
The story of the titular "Murder house" is a pastiche of pretty much every major ghost story / haunted house movie ever made [it's pretty fun to catch the nods to, among many others: The Amityville horror; The others; Rosemary's baby; The innocents; The haunting (both versions); Burnt offerings; Dark shadows (any of the million versions out there); Beetlejuice...], coupled with an exploitative appropiation of real-life horror (the Black Dalia case; shootings at high schools). And yet, it all works somehow, in the same way Brian de Palma and Quentin Tarantino movies do --they know they are polished pastiches and are proud of it, and manage to keep the audience entertained all the way through.
It's also a rare case where the seemingly trivial title is completely appropiate --this is a uniquely American story in setting, tone, and implicit criticism.
The characters can't be discussed without spoiling too much, but it is worth mentioning that the house's many spirits include a gay couple whose relationship crumbled when they tried to adapt to heterosexual norms and an initially unassuming student with a crush on her teacher, who actually evolves into one of the most evil characters in the entire show (and she's got some serious competition!). It should be noted that this show has a very politically incorrect demeanor (notoriously, two of the living major characters are huge bigots, and it's an accomplishment on the scriptwriter's part that they remain interesting without ever being sympathetic).
The cast itself is surprisingly good, even if the lead couple tend to overact at times (this is justified in the last episode, once we learn the family's final fate). No matter how over the top the character's actions, most of the actors managed to pull it off in a naturalistic way (some of them gave their character a few unique visual ticks and speech patterns, which worked out wonderfully).
All in all, a pleasant surprise, through probably not for everyone.