GENERAL INFO:
Creators: Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk
Producers: 20th Century Fox Television
Channel: FX
Starring: Jessica Lange, James Cromwell, Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Zachary Quinto; ft. Chloë Sevingy, Lizzie Brocheré, Lily Rabe
TV Rating: MA SLV
Genre: television, horror, drama, psychological thriller, insane asylum, aliens, mutants
Scare score: A-
Rating: A
Plot overview: In present day, horror honeymooners Teresa (Jenna Dewan) and Leo (Adam Levine) and pursued and killed by multiple men dressed as Bloody Face. Just as it is revealed that these are teenagers wearing masks, another Bloody Face turns the corner and begins to attack them.
Back in 1964, Sister Jude (Lange) begins to lose her senses as someone is clearly blackmailing her about the young girl she killed while drunk driving before her days as a devout nun. Through the kind Doctor Thredson (Quinto), Lana (Paulson) learns that her girlfriend on the outside might be in grave danger. Due to this threat, Lana finally trusts alleged murderer Kit (Peters) who is plotting with close friend Grace (Brocheré) and also nymphomaniac Shelley (Sevigny) to escape during a scheduled movie night which is meant to distract the patients from the oncoming nor'easter. The once-innocent Sister Mary Eunice (Rabe) has clearly been affected by last episode's failed exorcism and is now showing demonic qualities. Lastly, the troubled Dr. Arden (Cromwell) continues his sick and sadistic medical practices on various patients.
Sorry this is a bit delayed, but wow! What an episode. I was pretty much on the edge of my seat during the whole thing, finding myself both thrilled by all of the action that was thrown at us as well as the fact that these various plots actually had things in common. Before I start, let's take a moment to give kudos where kudos are due, namely to me, Horror Buff, for correctly identifying the characters' accents and pinpointing the location of Briarcliff to 'rural' Massachusetts, namely somewhere near Framingham as we saw in the newspaper left on Sister Jude's desk. Maybe I should leave this blog behind and start up a life as a dialectologist. Then again maybe not. Onto the horror.
This episode allowed us to settle down a bit, exploring the psychological depth of different characters further while still tossing us some thrills (such as Bloody Face, some sort of mutant human monsters, and - oh yeah - an alien). We've been presented with the new mystery of who could possibly be blackmailing Sister Jude - could it be the newly possessed Sister Mary Eunice, or is it perhaps all in Sister Jude's mind? Either way I think it's safe to say we are finding more pity in our hearts for Lange, for while she isn't necessarily likable she certainly is getting what was coming to her and then some.
This was a huge episode for Cromwell, who had to do some interesting and difficult things as an actor. I'm not quite sure why he felt the need to deface the statue of Mary (which they make really creepy in the opening credits), but I guess he had some stressful events leading up to that point. Primarily we see that he is also being played with by Mary Eunice, therefore becoming equally caught up in a psychological puppet game with Jude. Furthermore, maybe some of his sadism comes from his own inadequacies?
Well it's another failed escape attempt for Kit, Grace, Lana, and especially Shelley (too soon?). I sense that their plight is turning into a sort of hellish One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, am I right? Hopefully they find some better way out that doesn't lead them through the forest of cannibalistic mutants. Speaking of which, I'm assuming it's only a matter of time before we learn more about them. Creepy, and props to the makeup crew.
Is anyone else starting to worry about Dr. Thredson? I watched enough Scooby-Doo as a kid to know that a body can only meddle too far into something before it really gets serious. Quinto is a big-billed name this season, apparently almost as much as Lange, so while I don't think he'll be killed off very simply, I am concerned about what his fate will be.
I am really happy with the acting this season. While the plot is still young, and the various subplots are getting more complicated and bizarre (again, that alien), I'm generally a fan of the different characters. I always enjoy when we are made to sympathize for people who might very well be murderous, terrible people (what do we know about Grace, really?) And while Lily Rabe's Spanish accent isn't the best attempt we've ever seen from a demon, she does seem to be having a lot of fun portraying a possessed nun! Really, I think we are watching all of these actors enjoy doing this show, which always makes me wonder how scary it feels while filming compared to the final product.
Final critique: Before this week's episode starts introducing some Holocaust plots, let me say I am very happy with where this season is going thus far. The horror itself is still a bit all over the place, but I guess that still gives the writers lots of directions to take the upcoming episodes - so long as they cover any loose ends. I enjoyed the light/ dark contrasts in this episode as well as several striking camera angles that utilized some interesting diagonal shots. Aside from providing lots of thrills, this episode honestly just got me excited for more. Keep it coming.
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