Warning: spoilers ahead!
American Horror: Freak Show is the fourth season in the American Horror Story anthology.
Credit: FOX
Set in 1952 in Jupiter, Florida this season follows the story of one of the last remaining freak shows of America as it struggles for survival.
The first two seasons of AHS (Murder House and Asylum) were a brilliant nod to classic horror with a Twilight Zone twist.
Despite the glowing reviews, third season American Horror Story: Coven was sketchy and, at times, felt a little style over substance. Freak Show was promising us the terrible and the odd, a new twist in the tale that promised excitement, fear and wonder.
We're more than halfway through the series now but it's felt like a bit of a patchy ride so far.
Before I don my 'critical AHS fan cap' here, let's look at what's worked so far.
Twisty the Clown (John Carroll Lynch) with his lumbering, huge body, ragged clown suit and those empty dead eyes was terrifying. Jessica Lange's Elsa Mars as the aging Freak Show femme fatale, wrapped in silk and tragedy is the perfect horror show ringmaster.
Spoiled, psychotic rich kid Dandy Mott's (Finn Wittrock) story is more intriguing than any of the other Freak Show characters. He's unhinged and deranged, his mask is slipping and now he's donned a new one - that Twisty grimace. Mott's scenes are always filled with anticipation and danger - we never know which way he's going to turn.
So what's missing? The writers have all the ingredients for the perfect horror season but there are cracks, which started to emerge in Coven.
Coven introduced singing and performance into the American Horror Story mix, which broke the horror harmony. Stevie Nicks' guest appearance pleased many fans but forced the viewer to consider another layer, a musical layer, which hadn't been introduced in previous seasons.
Freak Show has developed this idea and creator Ryan Murphy has given us even more music in this latest season. So far we've seen conjoined twins Dot and Bette (Sarah Paulson) perform Fiona Apple's 'Criminal', Elsa take to the stage with her own unique renditions of David Bowie's 'Life On Mars' and Lana Del Rey's 'Gods And Monsters' and Jimmy Darling (Evan Peters) perform a predictable rendition of Nirvana's 'Come As You Are'.
The main problem with this soundtrack is that, aside from the titles of the songs and their lyrical content being vaguely related to the plot, they have no place in a 50s Freak Show.
With the styling and atmosphere, we're immersed in 1950s Jupiter and then we're suddenly jolted into another era with these songs. With a melodic 50s overhaul, these performances may have made a little more sense, so far, it just feels a little disjointed.
It's no secret that creator Murphy is a huge music fan and particularly loves Bowie - music featured heavily in Nip/Tuck, and we all know Glee, of course. However, here, it just doesn't sit well. Experimentation within the genre is good but not to the behest of its overall atmosphere and style.
The eerie theatrics of episodes three and four in recent weeks have also highlighted another chink in Freak Show's armor. Wes Bentley's Edward Mordrake was stiff and subpar - from the awful accent to the 'comedy horror' styling. It all felt like a bit of a joke and broke the atmosphere created in previous episodes.
American Horror Story: Freak Show is continuing the inconsistency that began in Coven, juggling several flimsy plots that fall below the standard seen in Murder House and Asylum.
Twisty the Clown's story was tragic and intriguing but being taken out that soon may have been a mistake. Characters can always come back in ingenious ways though, so here's hoping - one thing AHS is great at is surprising its audience.
The series overall, however, is an entertaining an interesting look at how we view the horror genre. What I didn't sign on for though, was Glee dressed up as gore.
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Tagged in American Horror Story