American Horror Story: 1984

The last season of American Horror Story was subtitled 1984 and it was the most boring and ridiculous to date. I'd almost call it pathetic.

I really struggled with it because I love the series and am always looking forward to it, but watching this one turned into a chore, something I had to do just so I wouldn't miss out on any potential connections or revelations to the anthology as a whole.

When a serial killer begins terrorizing Los Angeles, a disparate group of friends decide to escape for the summer to work as counselors at a remote campsite in the woods called Camp Redwood.

Once there, they come to find out that the camp was reopening now after many years since a murderous spree forced it to shut down. Perhaps, they won't be able to escape a serial killer after all.

That synopsis is only for half the season, because when it looks like it's all over, it sort of rewinds and starts all over (via a gimmick) with another story about Camp Redwood. Eventually, the two are rejoined, but it's all very confusing and convenient and trite.

A good description for this season would be cheesy, and campy. So, if you like camp you might love it. If, like me, you do not, it's a drag.

Ryan Murphy is a very imaginative producer, but his penchant for casting people he likes in real life (like Lady Gaga or Stevie Nicks) doesn't always pay off. Lady Gaga was pretty lame (or even awful) in Hotel, while she was at least okay in Roanoke. Nicks seems to only really be written into a scene in order to give her a chance to sing one of her hit songs from back in the day. Plenty of more talented actresses would have fared a lot better in their roles.

This time around, accomplished Olympian Gus Kenworthy was hired to fill the role of the hot jock who shows off his stellar body. Don't get me wrong, he's a nice guy, does have a stellar body, and is super easy on the eyes, but acting isn't his forte. I don't want to be mean, but he just wasn't good in any scene. Even the smallish role he got here was too big. A cameo would have been plenty, really.

Hopefully the next season will be better.

Grade - Season 9: 3