Comments Off on Two-part ‘American Horror Story’ event in the spirit of Halloween

MELISSA KRENEK
Entertainment Editor

After the explosive third episode of “American Horror Story,” it is time for the Halloween festivities, a two-part event that starts off slow, but as always, ends with a bang.

As with every episode, the fourth begins with a flashback. Unlike previous episodes, this flashback is not from decades ago, but from 2010. The two characters, or victims, are a gay couple going through some obvious issues of infidelity and insecurity.

Again the camera shots are brilliant, giving the viewer enough foreshadowing to yearn for more. The one man is complaining about the type of apples placed in the tub for apple bobbing. A couple minutes later the camera pans out to a man in a black body suit who proceeds to submerge the man’s head in the tub. After several violent thrashes, the neck is snapped, and the man goes down. His lover walks in to find the intruder, and the camera cuts out.

The man in the black body suit appears in the second episode, simulating a sex scene with Ben’s wife, Vivien. The audience is given a little bit of information on this mysterious character in both these episodes; unfortunately, the picture is still hazy.

Though the show is always filled with the living dead, the writers made sure to let the viewers know that Halloween is the particular time that the living can walk among the dead, as in the ones that really shouldn’t come back.

Of course, the men from the flashback are back, ready to take over the house. They play the roles of potential buyers, and claim that the house needs to get rid of the newly-built gazebo in order to sell.

This makes the audience question whether this is coincidence or if the dead know that Ben buried his lover in that soft soil.

This also hints at whether Ben’s lover will return, and is foreshadowed by his wife revealing his secret of communicating with her.

The sexual tension continues to climb between Violet and Tate. A mix of violence and sensuality is shown when he scares her in the basement wearing the black body suit and leans in to kiss her. This scene is important for two reasons: it shows the violence in sex as well as points to the present relevance of the black body suit to the rest of the story.

If any of the viewers had grown attached to Adelaide’s character, they are in for a shock. This episode especially shows her mother Constance’s hatred for her. This is shown in the scene where Adelaide and her mother’s lover are sitting at a table talking about costumes. Her mother walks in and immediately scolds her, letting her know that they will not share men.

Once he leaves, Adelaide tells Constance that she wants to be a “pretty girl” for Halloween.

Later on in the episode, Constance surprises her with her “pretty girl” costume, which is a mask that covers her entire head.

This serves as a set up and pay off since Adelaide’s inability to see in the mask causes her to run across the street while trick or treating, not being able to see the car driving towards her.

The paramedics arrive to take her away, but Constance just wants to bring her home.

While this action is happening, Vivien and Ben fight over their unwelcome house guests, and Vivien begins to feel a sensation of a kick, even though the baby is eight weeks old, and this is impossible at that stage.

Vivien is rushed to the hospital, only to have a nurse look at the monitor and pass out cold. Both the characters and the viewers can’t help but think about what evil is now growing inside of her.

Because both Vivien and Ben are at the hospital, this means that Violet, their daughter, is home alone on Halloween. The doorbell rings, and she nervously looks through the peephole.

Instead of seeing excited trick-or-treaters, Violet is staring into the face of the grotesquely disfigured previous owner of the house.
In the last couple of episodes, the viewer finds out that the house made him crazy, and he decided to burn the house down and kill the entire family, burning half of himself in the process.

She calls her parents in fear; when they return, the door is open, and both Violet and the half burned stranger are gone.

Ben closes the door, looks around in panic, and hears the doorbell ring again.

Instead of looking through the peephole, for dramatic effect, the director has him open the door. There, standing before him, is Hayden, his dead lover. The camera zooms in on her ghoulish smiling face, and then fades out.

Most viewers are excited to see the second half of the episode, but some may be in for a bigger shock than anything “American Horror Story” can give them.
According to the commercials, Direct TV will no longer be airing FX, which means that many people who have just became obsessed with the show may have to watch it online only.

For FDU students, this might be a blessing, since the reception causes a loud boom during all dialogue. No matter what cable companies try to do, anyone who watches this show for even a second is hooked, especially during this horrifying week.

To view Krenek’s review of the series episode by episode, select the tag “American Horror Story,” or type it into our search.