American Horror Story: Freak Show
Monsters Among Us (Ep.1)
My Take: Season 4 of American Horror Story has begun and takes the viewer into the world of a freak show. Set in and around Jupiter, Florida in 1952, we meet Elsa Mars (Jessica Lange), the proprietor of the sideshow that features Lobster Boy (Evan Peters), his mother the Bearded Lady (Kathy Bates) and Siamese Twins (Sarah Paulson) just to name a few of the main characters that were introduced in the first episode. Elsa has set-up her failing sideshow and attractions in a field near Jupiter much to the dismay of most of the townsfolk (bored housewives like Lobster Boy…a lot). Elsa’s business is suffering but hope that she can make it profitable again comes in the form of Siamese twins Dot and Bette played by a 2 headed Sarah Paulson. Did I mention the clown because the clown is fucking scary and maniacal. There’s a reason people don’t like clowns and this one embodies all that fear and disgust that makes them terrifying.
Nightmare fuel
Adding to the unwanted freak show near their town, there have been a few murders and 2 people -a young woman and a boy – are missing. Clowns=evil. We also get a glimpse of Elsa blackmailing a young woman whom she brought home, got stoned and then the woman and Elsa’s people have some fun. Once the woman sobered up, she was horrified at what she let the freaks do to her but she is faced with telling the police and having her exploits exposed because it was all filmed.
Final Thoughts: The opening episode of Freak Show was Ok. I don’t care for the accent that Jessica Lange slips in and out of, I didn’t care for her musical number of what sounded like a David Bowie song from 1970’s (was it one of his songs?) and overall I wasn’t impressed with some of the writing/dialogue/acting. I liked the killer clown. He is creepy and totally menacing. We’ll see how the series progresses as more characters are introduced and hopefully the story develops and the acting gets better. These are good actors but some of them are to clichéd or overacting in their approach to their characters. I’m very interest and afraid to see how the clown fits in with the rest of the story; he seems removed from the sideshow and its occupants. Freak show episode 1 was merely a Meh introduction.
Dawning Creates 