TV review: ‘American Horror Story: Freak Show’

Delaney Norton, Hi-Times Editor-in-Chief

“American Horror Story” is an FX horror anthology by “Glee” creator Ryan Murphy. While much of the cast from previous installments of the series makes other appearances, the setting of each season is completely independent and unrelated to the last, allowing new viewers to easily pick up the show.

That being said, “Freak show” is the fourth and current season — it’s also the season I wouldn’t recommend as an introduction to the series. I say this because returning viewers are used to  the over-the-top cinematics of the show and  come to expect them. It’s not the most casual watch. I’d say it’s somewhere between a mind-numbing horror movie and a soap opera where subplots appear out of thin air for shock value alone. I don’t mean to sound critical — this is the stuff that makes it entertaining.

“Freak Show” is set in 1952 Jupiter, Florida, at one of the last remaining freak shows of the time. The story centers on a staff of carnies struggling to keep their show in business. I will say that the recurring cast members, who have taken on the cliche tropes of a freak show, don’t perform nearly as well as those specifically cast for the parts, who have lived their normal lives with handicaps.

I think it’s a strange take to give the character’s “humanity” by their complete paranoia of others. It’s hard to empathize with something taken to that degree, but it’s usual for “American Horror Story” to have no unflawed sides.

The scariest character by far is the murderous clown “Twisty.” He’s so good at terrifying people he has attracted a Norman Bates-esque apprentice. Twisty seems to have nothing to do with the plot, which is even more unsettling.