In the spirit of Halloween, television networks have been relentlessly showing reruns of corny ‘80s horror films so much lately, it’s about time we had a quality horror show come back for a second season.
I think back to last year around this time, I was about to watch the first season of the FX hit series American Horror Story. I was hooked on the show from the moment I heard the first spoken line. “You’re going to die in there.” Those haunting words hardly prepared me for a series unlike anything I have ever seen before on television.
The storyline and the acting were so brilliant that I never wanted it to end. Thankfully, a second season was ordered. Now here we are again almost a year later. If you just now jumped on the American Horror Story bandwagon, you need not worry. Director Ryan Murphy completely reconstructed the series for its second season, so seeing the first isn’t all that important. I do recommend watching it if you’re looking for a good scare!
In the season two opener of American Horror Story: Asylum, singer Adam Levine of Maroon 5 makes his acting debut as Leo, a newlywed taking a haunted honeymoon tour with his beautiful wife Teresa (Jenna Dewan-Tatum, Step Up). The couple approach Briarcliff, a former tuberculosis hospital, turned insane asylum run by the Catholic Church in the 1960s. They walk inside the abandoned building and instantaneously you want to scream at the TV for them to get out of there because you sense something terrifying is about to happen. That’s when the writers decide it is time for a twist no one will see coming. Hint hint, this series is becoming famous for its random bouts of sexual innuendos.
When all seems to be going well for the newlyweds in Briarcliff, they discover a hatch on a door and decide to look inside. That was a bad idea. Something terrible happens to Leo and then all of a sudden, it’s 1964. Within the flashback, we discover the seriously disturbed individuals who lurked in the halls of Briarcliff manor. The day-to-day administrator is in the hands of Sister Jude who works under the general supervision of Monsignor Timothy Howard. Sister Jude despises their in-house medical officer, Dr. Arthur Arden, who is frequently seeing patients in the night — patients who die and are disposed of immediately.
Briarcliff’s latest patient is Kit Walker, aka Bloody Face, accused of murdering several young women but unable to stand trial.
The episode ends on a cliffhanger, the way the others did in season one.
I highly recommend this series to anyone who is tired of the same old television plots and is in desperate need of a good Fall 2012 show to get hooked on! I, however, had very high expectations for this second installment of American Horror Story and I remain on the fence. I cannot say I am as intrigued with this season as I was with the last, but only time will tell!
I will reiterate the fact that this show is unlike anything that has ever been on television before. Prepare for a good scare as you tune in for American Horror Story: Asylum!