Created by: Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk
Nazis, nuns, & aliens, Oh my!!
Original release date: October 17, 2012 - January 23, 2013 for FX.
Streaming now on HULU.
Full disclaimer... this is 100% our first time watching AHS: Asylum in its entirety, this is not our first attempt at watching season 2. Our first attempt at watching Asylum had Los Spooky Bandito 1 running for the hills by episode 6. The creep out factor is on another level. This is everything you
would never expect to happen, but does, in horrific glory.
AHS: Asylum is set in 1964 New England, U.S.A. During a time of racial unrest, lack of wanting to understand mental illness, and eugenics. Each of these hot topics are addressed in such a way it's hard to rip yourself away. Take what you don't understand or fear then lock it away. Mix in some Catholicism. Then make it suffer, in the cruelest of ways.
Jessica Lange's season 2 performance as Sister Jude alone makes up for where Murphy and Falchuk completely lost the plot. Also returning this season Zachary Quinto (Dr. Oliver Thredson), Evan Peters (Kit Walker), Lily Rabe (Sister Mary Eunice), James Cromwell (Dr. Arthur Arden), and another favorite of ours, Francis Conroy (Shachath). Newcomer Sarah Paulson makes a lasting impression as Lana Waters, a lesbian reporter after the biggest story of her career in her first season with the American Horror Story series. As well as special guests Adam Levin (Leo Morrison), Jenna Tatum* (Teresa Morrison), Ian McShane (Leigh Emerson), Chloe Sevigny (Shelley), and Dylan McDermott (Johnny Morgan) showing off their exceptional acting talents. Each will surprise you with their authenticity.
When the first episode starts off the rails, it needs to continue at that pace. Shock value isn't everything in horror. If you can't follow through with the story without bringing in a child as a plot point, just don’t. Even one born in an admirably fucked up creation plot twist within the season. This plot point will inevitably lead to fuckery coming full circle, bringing it all to some glorious end. This seems to be the foundation to finding the epic coup de grace of the Asylum story. So many missed opportunities.
Visually, we found this season stunning. From the alien abduction scenes and the alien/abductee interactions. AHS: Asylum was filmed in Hidden Valley, California at the old Orange County Courthouse. Perfect setting. From the beautiful long driveway to the splendor of the exterior of the building; even the woods hold foreboding anxiety before you even understand where you are. Bravo. We felt for each character on a visceral level. We felt sick. We felt desperate. We even felt the drugs these "patients" were forced to endure. We felt forgotten. From the cells to the food to the kitchen, even the washrooms. All of this felt completely authentic to the time period.
Final Thought: Would we watch this season again… probably not. It was just that unsettling.
*As credited on IMdB, AKA Jenna Dewan-Tatum and Jenna Dewan.
