Season 3 of “American Horror Stories” goes one better and becomes the perfect Halloween treat (review)

American Horror Stories delivers five uniquely alarming horror stories that explore liminal spaces, clones, goblins, and more.

“You know, we invented hell.”

There was a lot of promise in there American horror stories – an episodic anthology horror series – when it was first announced as a companion piece to American horror story correct. American horror stories The first season was a lackluster effort that strangely felt forced to unnecessarily tie its stories into it American horror story. The The second season has addressed many of these issues, and while it's still imperfect, there are some real gems in the mix, such as: Twilight zoneImitation of “Facelift”. The The third season was an even bigger improvement, arguably containing no duds (although the AI ​​assistant “Daphne” is a little derivative). More importantly, American horror stories finally seemed to have found the right rhythm and the right creative team to do this series justice. Additionally season 3 dwarfed the modern seasons American horror story and felt like the purest version of what Ryan Murphy wanted to do with the horror genre. The remaining five episodes of the new season not only build on that success, but are also some of the best episodes the anthology horror series has ever made – and perfect Halloween fun.

Both American horror story The series has explored almost every horror subgenre and horror trope you can think of at this point, but this series of them American horror stories Episodes boldly embraces the recent fascination with frontier horror – particularly the Backrooms phenomenon brought to life on 4chan and popularized by YouTubers Kane Parsons Short films. Parsons is hired to direct a feature film adaptation Backroom for A24but it's exciting to see American horror stories Overcome them and add your own eerie touch to this surreal, hostile purgatory.

“back room” is a tragic tale of obsession directed by David Yellowwho isn't a complete horror novice – he presided over 2011's Polarization The Lazarus Effect – but his main job is working as a documentary filmmaker, with food being his specialty. This makes yellow a particularly unique choice for American horror storiesbut his skills as a documentary filmmaker give “Backrooms” added bite. The strong episode is really able to take on the cinéma vérité faux reality aspect that is essential to this type of story. It's a move that really pays off, and it's satisfying that one of the first mainstream celebrations and adaptations of Backrooms Horror is such a success, rather than soullessly chasing a viral trend.

This collection of episodes continues the theme of missing people, broken families and fading self-confidence with “X“”The thing under the bed,” And “clone.” Matt Spicer Directed by “X,” a powerful black-and-white episode about a medical conspiracy and a nurse's efforts to locate a dangerous, missing patient, the situation becomes decidedly more supernatural. Spicer is another new voice for American horror stories Family who previously worked on poppy titles with dark edges Doll face, About Becoming a God in Central FloridaAnd Ingrid goes west. Spicer thrives in this environment and proves that he has very natural impulses as a horror director. There are several sequences from the episode that feel like they came straight from an episode George A. Romero Film.

“Clone” is the kind of story that feels two steps removed Black mirror and appears to be the weakest of these five newcomers. The Max WinklerThe directed rate has the regular one American horror story An employee investigates the potential of a tech billionaire who creates a robot clone to fill in for him after he is unable to perform his duties following a horrific accident. What begins as a privileged life hack soon turns into a long battle for survival as the robot counterpart begs for autonomy and dominance. There are shades of M3GAN, Worriedand the many other technology-based horror films that have been produced in recent years. “Clone” finds its strength in its central questions of identity and how it fits more closely with a horror-centric version of “Clone.” Variety than it is a reef Ex Machina.

Much like “X” and “Clone” deconstruct familiar ideas, “The Thing Under the Bed” and “leprechaun“Subvert fairly standard storytelling tropes that zigzag exactly when you expect them to zigzag. “The Thing Under the Bed” begins as a melancholic bedtime story that gradually becomes more layered and turns into a nightmare that proves that monsters lurk in far more places than just under the bed. “Leprechaun” might be the most unhinged and surprising entry of all. An outright bank robbery becomes infinitely more complicated when the titular creature is set free. There is a lot of seasonal horror American horror story And American horror stories failed to grapple with that, and this is honestly one of the most creative takes on a Leprechaun story that any series could achieve without being unnecessarily tied to St. Patrick's Day.

“Leprechaun” and “Backrooms” were both written by Joe Baker (The latter was written together with Jon Rabin Baitz). Baken and Baitz are the co-creators and co-authors of Ryan Murphy's grotesque (as well as Odyssey), but Baken also wrote the two strongest episodes of the first half of American horror stories third season, “Beast” and “Tapeworm.” Baken's scripts continue to shine and it would be a shame if that were the case American horror stories End because he's someone who really understands the right tone and energy for a pulpy horror anthology series that's still deeply disturbing.

It also doesn't hurt that these episodes continue American horror stories Tradition of absolutely stacked casts. Guest stars in these five episodes include: Michael Imperioli, Henry Winkler, Victor Garber, June Squibb, Debby RyanAnd Jeff Hiller. Everyone is obviously having a lot of fun here, but Winkler, Garber and Hiller all deliver particularly memorable and heightened performances that understand the task. While not over-the-top, Imperioli delivers a rich, aching performance that becomes the necessary emotional anchor for “Backrooms.” If nothing else, American horror stories With its guest stars, the film always brings joy, even if the horror and storytelling of these episodes are unsatisfactory for some viewers.

American Horror Stories Season 3: Part 2 is a surprising highlight of the Halloween season that features plenty of trick-and-treaters. It's everything horror fans want from an anthology series, completely lacking the usual Murphy chatter and excess that can drag his series down. These five episodes are full of haunting images, rewarding surprises and devastating conclusions that will keep viewers coming back to these twisted tales again and again.

All three seasons of American Horror Stories are available to stream on Hulu.