by Christianna Tran ‘20

 FX’s “American Horror Story” is a long running-show known for its disturbing, outlandish, and gory plots and twists. Every year FX puts out a new season with an entirely new story and characters. For its latest rendition, FX released “AHS: 1984,” loosely based around the popularity of cliche slasher movies that came out in the 1980s.

 This season centers its story around a group of young adults who decide to sign up to be counselors at a newly reopened Camp Redwood. However, as most slasher stories go, the events that happen in the short time that the counselors are there end gruesomely bloody. 

 The season portrays the 80s very well. With its vintage styles, clothes, and music, “1984” is very exciting. The new introduction tape for this season is also something worth praising. Not only does it reflect the slasher theme, it also has a series of retro videos and synthy sounds all strung together to create something truly creepy and nostalgic. 

 The plot of the show is definitely engaging. Big reveals, cliffhangers, and various twists keep the show interesting and leaves many viewers craving the next episode. Characters are likeable, which makes it easier for any viewer to get captivated in this season.

 Another highlight of the season is that it returns with many actors from previous seasons. Emma Roberts, Billie Lourd, Cody Fern, Leslie Grossman, Lily Rabe, Dylan McDermott, and Finn Wittrock all play large roles excellently, expressing each emotion without being over the top. New faces also make appearances in the show such as Angelica Ross, Matthew Morrison, and Zach Villa. Nevertheless, “1984” does leave out a lot of fan favorites such as Evan Peters, Jessica Lange, and Sarah Paulson, thus causing the season to seem emptier compared to its others.

 But the biggest problem that the show cannot overcome is that “1984” lacks what many of the previous seasons had: depth. In the first few episodes the show establishes back stories for almost all of their characters and even provides the history of Camp Redwood to hook viewers. However, many of these back stories have little-to-no influence on the plot or how the characters behave and interact with each other. Those with trauma-filled backgrounds have no redemption in later episodes.

 The plot is also sprinkled with unexplained problems. Later into the season, it is revealed that there is a curse on Camp Redwood that confines everyone who dies on the property as ghosts for the rest of time. This curse, however, is never explained and at the end provides absolutely no hope for those who died at the camp. Furthermore, the plot has many unexplained events such as the character, Benjamin Richter, who seemingly disappears for years and then returns with no explanation on where he has been.

 The season ends happily for a few characters, which is rare for “AHS,” but the ending is rushed and formulaic. The final episode completely skipped time, leaving out highly anticipated events that the previous episodes lead up to, only for some of the events to be explained in flashbacks. It felt as if the final was just showing scene after scene to mark off a checklist of what has happened in the many years missed. In addition to this, many of the characters of this season have boring endings. For example, Brooke Thomson, played by Emma Roberts, is built up to be the main protagonist of the show, but has a small, unsatisfying role as she ends up living as simple suburban housewife.

 Grade: C-