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I was turned on to this show by my Mom, yes my Mom and my wife and I have been catching up on Netflix.
We are done with the first season and it was really good. My wife doesn't like blood and guts so she would actually shield her eyes when that stuff was going on but overall she liked it.
We are now on to season 2 the Asylum and so far it has been bloodier and overall darker so she has been closing her eyes even more.
We are up to episode 5 in season 2 and though it is a good show we don't think it is near as good as the first season. It was fun to find out how entwined the characters were.
It is also fun in season 2 to see the same actors turn up from season 1.
We will keep watching but does season 2 get better or bloodier? How about season 3 ?
I didnt care for season 2 much at all (the wife liked it more than I did). If I had to rank them they would be 1,3,4,2. I also dont recall season 3 being nearly as gory as the second season.
You might want to check out our other threads on AHS (but beware of seeing spoilers).
In my opinion (and that of many posters in the other threads) Season One was the best, the jury is pretty divided on Seasons 2 and 3, and most people who had become AHS fans really are disappointed with Season 4.
I loved Season 1 (Murder house) because there were so many intertwined stories and so many layers of haunting, I even took notes to keep them all straight.
Season 2 (Asylum) was dark, but had some funny (dark comedy) elements thrown in, plus a bizarre yet enjoyable fantasy musical number (not sure if you got to that yet). This was fun because it only happened once, but in season 4, they totally overdid the musical numbers and they got really annoying. I enjoyed Asylum, but thought they had enough "horror" with serial killers, ghosts of killers, the angel of death, the demonic possession, and the evil Nazi. They didn't need aliens. I don't remember anything "bloody" like I'm grossed out and have to cover my eyes. Yes, it's dark, yes, it's creepy, yes, some of the scenes were disturbing, but I don't recall blood and guts.
Season 3 (Coven) was my second favorite. We had ghosts, ghosts of killers, witchcraft, voodoo, the devil, plus some dark humor. It was also "tighter" in that all the separate story lines got wrapped up by the end (like season 1 but unlike season 2 which left too many loose ends). Again, I'm not recalling much blood-and-guts kind of violence. But maybe since I'm not really bothered by special effects like that, I just don't remember. To me, the devil stuff is more disturbing. I do recall more psychological horror in that season. Yes, some blood and guts (stitching a dead body together to make a hot young Frankenstein monster), but I don't remember getting grossed-out.
Season 4 (Freak show) has been a huge disappointment. Multiple disjointed storylines that don't tie together, and that are not "horror." We had one ghost in a couple of episodes, but he's gone now. We have killers, but they are human killers, not supernatural. Sure, psychopathy might be "scary" but it's not "horror." We also have multiple musical scenes that are annoying and have nothing to so with the story. Then we have multiple graphic sex scenes that have nothing to do with the story and seem to be put in only for shock value. Also, multiple graphic violence scenes that seem to just be for shock value. But what annoys me the most is that the "freaks" are people with disabilities, deformities, and birth defects, and this is supposed to be a "horror" show. It's almost like we're supposed to feel horror or fear about unfortunate people who have physical defects. I really wish they could have inserted more supernatural stuff into this season, but we're like 2 shows from the finale, and no such luck.
I tend to think that with good horror, it's the story and atmosphere that scares you. You don't need blood and guts to be scary, and the blood and guts are just for shock value. Season 1 achieved that, in my opinion. Same with sex scenes. A scene can be very erotic and include no nudity or crudity at all, but just make you feel it in your head (and body). But Freak Show has become all about the gratuitous sex scenes that seem to be just for shock value, and the blood and guts and gross-outs just for shock value.
I do like the same actors coming up in multiple seasons as different characters. AHS is still original in that way. And one creative thing this season was a tie-in to a couple characters in Season 2 Asylum. But apart from that, there's nothing really original this season. I can find gratuitous sex, gratuitous violence, musical numbers, and soap-opera-drama in a million other shows on TV.
I totally agree about horror being more about story and atmosphere. Jump scares and gore for shock value are signs of lazy writing. They have their occasional place, but when the writers delve to deeply into it, they lose me. I liked S1 the best because it built an uneasiness and tension that kept you wondering and on edge at what would happen next. S2 they almost had the same thing going but got a bit too gimmicky by delving into the horror movie trope toybox. I got halfway through S3 before I stopped watching, and I plan on binge watching it on Netflix to catch up. The show just lost the grip on me it used to have.
Season 1 definitely had the "creep" factor that hasnt returned yet. I liked the Coven story probably more so than most. We are only a few episodes into season 4 so the most I can say is "it doesnt suck". Hopefully season 5 brings it back around.
Season 1 & 2 were great, with Season 1 being just a little better than 2. Season 3? Just wasn't feeling it. Felt like I was watching Charmed or a darker version of Sabrina the Teenage Witch or something.
Murder and Asylum were by far the best seasons of the show. Coven while entertaining was weak in my opinion. Freak Show was the 3rd best. I'm just wondering where the show runners will go for season 5. They've done haunted houses, looney bins, witches and freak shows. What else is there?
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