American Horror Story: The Curse of Ryan Murphy

Four seasons on from the premiere of what once was one of the most original and captivating new shows to come out of the US, American Horror Story may have lost its magic.

On the 8^th of October, American Horror Story hit it’s 4^th season, and it seems as though it has not escaped the fate bestowed upon it by the curse of Ryan Murphy.

I’d like to make it clear that I am not bashing Ryan Murphy as a writer, director or series creator, as I quite obviously still watch and care about his shows. But it’s undeniable that his recent success stories (let’s pretend The New Normal never happened) have suffered a strikingly similar destiny. At face value, Glee and American Horror Story may appear to have little in common besides Murphy himself, but after the original cast’s graduation at the end of the third season, Glee’s viewership and quite frankly, quality, began to dwindle enormously as the writers ran out of fresh ideas.

The same appears to be happening to AHS. Once an innovative take on the ever-popular horror genre, it’s looking more and more like a parody of it’s original brilliance with every passing season. For me, this began in season three with the re-introduction of Taissa Farmiga as Zoe and her inevitable coupling with Evan Peters’ Kyle after their outstanding chemistry made the Violet-Tate relationship one of the best plots of the first season. Although I was initially excited, as the season progressed, the writing of their relationship felt increasingly forced, contrived and eventually annoying as it tried to recreate the romance of ‘Murder House’.

Flash-forward to ‘Freak Show’, and while the benchmarks of American Horror Story are still there, panic-inducing suspense, stunning cinematography and excellent acting, the show is already exposing it’s utter reliance on it’s stellar cast of series regulars and Oscar winners. The characters seem underdeveloped and the writer’s expect the audience to understand some deep-rooted relationship between them with no real guidance. The subtlety of the ‘freaks’ reference is completely non-existent, with lines patronisingly screaming “If you’re an outcast, you’re the best!” through the screen saved only by Evan Peters’ delivery.

Quite plainly, the show might as well be named ‘American Horror Story: Keeping Up Appearances”. The presentation, shock value and performances serve to maintain an illusion that the show is fresh and unique, while the writers scramble to recapture what made previous seasons so damn good.

However, the clown scares the bejeezus out of me.