krickets: (Default)
krickets ([personal profile] krickets) wrote2011-10-08 04:21 pm

american horror story

Dear, FX. You are totally creeping me out. And not in a good way.

I cannot tell you how excited I was for this show. So excited! Now that I've seen it, I cannot tell you how disappointed I am in it. So disappointed!

Despite the cast and the presence of Connie Britton, who I am obligated to love forever and ever, this show was way more vulgar than scary. I was only actually scared twice, during both basement incidents. It was very pretty and creepy-looking and had a lot of elements that could have totally worked for me, but because of all the overuse of language/sex etc. It just felt like they were pushing the envelope way too quickly "just because they can." On top of that, the plot was kind of all over the place. And it just seemed like a really bad version of The Shining plus Rosemary's Baby. Except Dylan McDermott is always naked. *eyeroll*

The sexual nature of this "haunting" or whatever we're calling it was so over the top. Enough already.

Patient X is (to me) obviously not just some regular kid. I think he's part of the house, or a ghost or something and he/it's trying to get into the daughter's pants. (That conversation with the father? I'm afraid my big dick won't work? What? Who wrote this dialogue? .... wait nevermind...) The mom gets unknowingly raped/violated by another ghost/entity/the house. The father is being seduced/sexually harassed by the maid/dead lady/the house. So basically, I said this in my blog and I'll say it again here: The house is literally trying to fuck the entire family.

I definitely feel like the wife was raped. Sure, she initiated the sex and it's definitely a fine line, but I tried to put it into "real world" context in order to make better sense of what I was feeling. Pretend for a minute the house is not haunted. Instead of "rubber suit guy" -- it's a home intruder that has come into her bedroom. The lights are off and she can't see who is in the room, (no need for a mask) and assuming it is her husband, she lets this home intruder into her bed and has sex with him. To me, that's rape, and so is what happened to her. Even if the thing she had sex with might not be exactly human.

And then! She gets pregnant! Why? The whole demon/parasite baby storyline has been done so many times and it's just tired and completely offensive. If I wasn't already convinced not to watch the show, that sealed the deal for me.

And almost worse than all of this, is how annoying almost all of the characters are. The kids at school, the patient, the daughter (ugh, worse than Julie Taylor), the nosy neighbor, the neighbor's mother, the maid, russel edginton, etc. The father was probably the most annoying of them all though, with his naked walks through the house and his post-masturbatory guilty cry-fest and blaming the fact that his wife got a dog on his infidelity. In my brain I guess I can understand how a husband could become jealous of a dog when your wife won't even touch you. But the dog wasn't a replacement for you, you dumbass. It was a replacement for the baby that you lost. And getting a dog is by no stretch of the imagination on par with cheating on your wife. Just... NO. SHUT UP. GO CRY SOME MORE. (Yeah, I really hated him.)

Maybe I wouldn't have hated it so much if I liked the characters more. Even Viv was not that likable. She was just the only likable one in the bunch and so by comparison she looks really good.

I kind of hate giving up like this after just one episode, but I've been doing that more and more lately so this is probably it for me with this show.

[identity profile] mollivanders.livejournal.com 2011-10-08 08:43 pm (UTC)(link)
This sounds really and truly awful. Horror is not my genre at all but I was hoping, with Tim Minear, it'd be worth it. Sad that it's clearly not :(

[identity profile] crickets.livejournal.com 2011-10-08 10:09 pm (UTC)(link)
And horror/fantasy/hauntings is something I usually would love.

I didn't even know Tim Minear was involved in this. Now I'm even more disappointed!

[identity profile] hypertwink.livejournal.com 2011-10-08 09:05 pm (UTC)(link)
nip/tuck as a horror story. LOL

But seriously, this has Ryan Murphy's douchetastic conceit all over it.

[identity profile] crickets.livejournal.com 2011-10-08 10:10 pm (UTC)(link)
See I never watched Nip/Tuck so I was not aware of what to expect. But of course I had seen Glee and I had a similar problem with the characters. (I watched about 4-5 eps of the first season before calling it quits.) I'm not surprised. I hate showrunners who's massive egos shine through their productions. It's one of the reason I stopped watching Sons of Anarchy and why I am never excited when I hear news about Ronald D. Moore being attached to new projects.

[identity profile] hypertwink.livejournal.com 2011-10-08 10:55 pm (UTC)(link)
That's like me and Russell T Davies.

[identity profile] crickets.livejournal.com 2011-10-08 10:56 pm (UTC)(link)
I don't even watch his shows and I know the name. It has a negative connotation in my brain. His reputation precedes him.

[identity profile] lit-chick08.livejournal.com 2011-10-08 09:29 pm (UTC)(link)
I was also really disappointed in this. I love Connie Britton and I love Dylan McDermott, and, though I think he tends to blow his load with the first season and then end up directionless, I usually like the beginning of Ryan Murphy's shows. I loved Nip/Tuck (for the first few seasons) and I loved Glee (for some episodes). But this was just...I almost wanted to go to all of the actors I love (Connie, Dylan, Frances Conroy, Jessica Lange) and go, "What the fuck were you thinking?!"

[identity profile] crickets.livejournal.com 2011-10-08 10:12 pm (UTC)(link)
LOVE CONNIE BRITTON. I was tempted to jump through my screen and drag her all the way back to DILLON TEXAS! (/forrest gump delivery)

[identity profile] lit-chick08.livejournal.com 2011-10-08 10:16 pm (UTC)(link)
Did you hear Connie confirmed that a new Friday Night Lights movie ia a go? They're trying to line up a bunch of the original cast for it.

[identity profile] crickets.livejournal.com 2011-10-08 10:17 pm (UTC)(link)
What?


You mean original cast from the TV show cast? REALLY? I need to look this up.

[identity profile] lit-chick08.livejournal.com 2011-10-08 10:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Sorry, yes, original TV cast. Scott Porter was quoted as saying he hopes Street can be in it bc he'd love to have more scenes with Riggins, the love of my life.

Carina MacKenzie had a story up about it a few days ago.

[identity profile] crickets.livejournal.com 2011-10-08 10:22 pm (UTC)(link)
I totally follow her on twitter and didn't see anything about it. Pardon me, I am just going to go cry tears of joy and eat chocolate while watching this video on repeat:

[identity profile] lit-chick08.livejournal.com 2011-10-08 10:24 pm (UTC)(link)
I also follow her on Twitter and it was totally buried in a random tweet about Hart of Dixie (which I only watch for the beauty of Scott Porter.)

[identity profile] crickets.livejournal.com 2011-10-08 10:25 pm (UTC)(link)
What is your twitter account?

Also watching Hart of Dixie, mostly because it's stress-free and Scott is adorable in it. He's like Jason Street II.

[identity profile] lit-chick08.livejournal.com 2011-10-08 10:27 pm (UTC)(link)
My twitter is @EtownMegz

I love how stress-free HoD is; it's like Gilmore Girls in that I know it does not have the capacity to emotionally wreck me.

I loved Street. I loved just about every character on that show, but I especially loved daddy!Street

[identity profile] crickets.livejournal.com 2011-10-08 10:35 pm (UTC)(link)
Agreed. He was one of my favorites. Absolutely.

[identity profile] pada-something.livejournal.com 2011-10-09 01:57 am (UTC)(link)
... your icon though. ♥

[identity profile] elise-509.livejournal.com 2011-10-08 09:51 pm (UTC)(link)
ITA. It was terrible. I don't like Ryan Murphy much anyway, but this was overwhelmingly bad in so many ways. I watched it because of Connie Britton, because I love her, but no...can't even do it for her sake. Very much x'ed off my watching list.

[identity profile] crickets.livejournal.com 2011-10-08 10:13 pm (UTC)(link)
TERRIBLE!

Thank you! I feel so vindicated knowing that I'm not the only one on my flist who agrees. I looked around online for reviews to see what other people think and so many people are like "i have a new favorite show guys!" and I am just like "What?" *throws up hands* I give up!

[identity profile] hamarakissa.livejournal.com 2011-10-08 10:37 pm (UTC)(link)
I watched the pilot, but I didn't really watch it. Like I listen and watch things as I'm doing homework :x Unless it's a show that I absolutely LOVE then I take the hour and watch it :)

I don't remember what I wrote for this - if I wrote anything :\ But now as I'm reading your stuff I'm gonna go back and watch it again. The creepy little girl neighbor is creepy and the neighbors mom is a bitch. All the sexuality is WAY over the top but that's what I expected coming from Nip/Tuck backgrounds. The rape scene is just wrong! Especially because it's some bondage creepy demon thing which is way overused and the fact that she's pregnant :| Lame storyline there. Nothing in this series scared me or made me jump. Then again, I watch too much horror/thriller films and unless it's super well done - it won't scare me. The daughter is super annoying but so is that kid who's the patient of the father and the father is just a pathetic excuse for a man. :x

I'll give it to another episode and I'll rewatch this (if I can).

[identity profile] crickets.livejournal.com 2011-10-08 10:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Way over the top, yes. I was completely dumbstruck because I never watched Nip/Tuck. I'm just glad that I didn't watch it with mom and dad, I'll just say that. Haha.

Father = pathetic excuse for a man. I will agree on that as well.

Good luck!

[identity profile] far-to-nowhere.livejournal.com 2011-10-09 01:47 am (UTC)(link)
I don't blame FX as much as I blame Murphy--and his ego. The show was REALLY expletive with all their violence/sex which was just distasteful. I am the last person who minds either of those things, but I don't like when they use it as a WOW factor. If it helps the storytelling and explains the characters or the world they're in, then I'm all for it. But they really just tried to fit it all in all the time. Sons of Anarchy does the language, violence, and sex much better and not all the freakin' time.

And she was raped. You don't have to explain it--she was raped.

I HATE that little psychotic patient/student boy and all these weird psychotic popular girls? Like, who's like that? And the husband IS shit written. I don't care WTH he says anymore, his whole 'dog' speech was ridiculous. But I don't know, I haven't met a grown man male character Murphy hasn't ruined.

I wouldn't mind the extravagant horror if maybe--the characters were more grounded in reality. But apparently whatever city they're in EVERYONE is f-ed up. I thought the infidelity, and her miscarriage would lead to some simple good storytelling but no--they screwed that up pretty quickly. And the girl apparently goes to the weirdest high school ever and met a super psychotic boyfriend to make things more ridiculous. So the fact that she also cuts herself pisses me off too because it's a serious issue amongst teens but it seems like another drama WOW factor. And the neighbors are crazy, because why the hell not.

Ugh, this show was dumb. 0% good storytelling. I'm going to give it another episode but yea the fact that someone other than me thought all these things, makes me feel better. And definitely makes me think that nothing is going to change throughout the season.

[identity profile] crickets.livejournal.com 2011-10-09 05:34 am (UTC)(link)
I read some interviews/articles/reviews about the show and the way the actors/reviewers/etc. talked about that scene, it didn't seem to me that they were calling it rape. And was kind of shocked that the fact that this was a rape scene was never discussed so I thought maybe I was just viewing it in a different way. But yeah, in my mind, right from the start, that was a rape. But I based on what I'd read either a) that didn't seem to be consensus or b) it was the consensus but nobody was saying it.

It really was distasteful. I remember not liking Glee very much when I first watched it, and I feel like the show runner may be a part of the problem. You're right about his ego, it pretty much shines through like a beacon. Adding these things in for a wow factor is exactly what it seemed like. (How many times can we say the words "cock sucker" in the span of 20 seconds in the most offensive context possible, because women aren't degraded enough, right?) So yeah, NOT A FAN.

And for me it definitely boiled down to the characters. They were unrealistic and for the most part just plain irritating. I can deal with dark subject matter but not when the characters suck this much. Just... no.

[identity profile] pada-something.livejournal.com 2011-10-09 01:57 am (UTC)(link)
i even downloaded it, but ended up deleting after your post. lol

[identity profile] crickets.livejournal.com 2011-10-09 05:35 am (UTC)(link)
Well I'm glad to know you trust my opinion. It seems to be the consensus though, based on the comments here.

Just... WTF? I do not get it! How did this get picked up?

[identity profile] hondagirll.livejournal.com 2011-10-09 05:07 am (UTC)(link)
The house is literally trying to fuck the entire family.

Seriously. It disturbed me. And made me change the channel. So that is one more show off my list.

[identity profile] crickets.livejournal.com 2011-10-09 05:36 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah I almost watched this with my family too. Spared but only by chance. That would have been fucking awkward.

Yeah. This just leaves me with one less show to watch. I can handle that!

[identity profile] rabiya-al-basri.livejournal.com 2011-10-09 07:17 pm (UTC)(link)
"I was only actually scared twice...Maybe I wouldn't have hated it so much if I liked the characters more."

I was reminded of Price taking a potshot at his show during his latest secret circle recap. LOL.

"Yikes, this was scary! I realize that a higher-profile horror show just started, but The Secret Circle honestly had me more frightened. Something to do with mounting tension and likable characters? I don't know, I'm not a scientist."

[identity profile] crickets.livejournal.com 2011-10-09 09:21 pm (UTC)(link)
Hahah, wow. I actually love that comment. (Still haven't watched all of the latest ep of the secret circle though.)

[identity profile] rabiya-al-basri.livejournal.com 2011-10-11 04:08 am (UTC)(link)
I thought it was a step up from the 3rd ep, which left me pretty dry. But I am still kind of waiting on the show to shake things up between the six young characters--at the moment they don't have a group, they have two non-overlapping love triangles where the relationships are only fleshed out in the ways that they are boring/the only relationships that are fleshed out are the boring ones. We did have a little Cassie/Faye bonding this ep, which was good, but not enough.

...Hmm, maybe what I mean is more that I see
ext_67111: (Default)

[identity profile] holycitygirl.livejournal.com 2011-10-10 02:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Word. Big word. I agree with you wholeheartedly.

[identity profile] crickets.livejournal.com 2011-10-10 07:09 pm (UTC)(link)
That seems to be the consensus. I am expecting to hear that it's the new hit of the fall and has been preemptively picked up for a 2nd season any day now. I feel like this is the kind of thing that people will love regardless of its badness. Reason #243 I don't get people.