The eighth episode in the season brought back some of that much wanted American Horror Story otherworldly scare. Yet it still retained some of the human horror that took up most of the previous episode. The ridiculous mobile recording was pulled back a bit, yet in some cases the quality was even more contrastable to the professional shots.
This episode returned to some of our characters in the house hiding from the real-world ‘Butcher’ and to those held captive by the Polk Family. The horror is almost ever present between the two settings as the numbers have dwindled significantly.
Ghostly Attackers
The house, thankfully, still remains the hunting grounds of ghosts in the episode. The previous instalment almost undermined the time spent detailing the history of the house as it focused on the Polks and other human horror. Shelby and Dominic (who portrayed Matt in the previous season) are holed up in the house, scared to leave but scared to stay. They are chased by ceiling hugging ghouls and the pigheaded villain of earlier episodes. ‘The Butcher’ stalks the outside but they still want to try and escape.
There are some intense scenes as the pair hide in the bathroom, Shelby still injured from a previous event. They seem to be left alone there but they are still marked by their own demons. Shelby (Lily Rabe) is dealing with her actions in the last episode, driven mad by the circumstances. Dominic (Cuba Gooding Jr) is over causing trouble and is screaming at a camera thinking Sidney is sick enough to be still watching.
Saw like Gore
Rather dull but just as hard to watch are the events of the Polk family farm. Actors and real life Lee alike are treated to some cold revenge by the family. It seems despite their stereotypical bare shack and confederate flag they too have watched the assumedly network television show and don’t like how they were portrayed. They think they were made fun of. Some of the family think it’s unfair that they are not famous as themselves like Shelby and Matt. The Polks torture real-life Lee and terrorise her reenactment counterpart Monet and reenactment Shelby, Audrey. They continue to record their actions, this time with what looks like old Motorola flip-up phones.
That said, the amount of recording on phones has gone way down this time around, which was a relief. They draw on the egotism of fame when Audrey (Sarah Paulson) objects to this saying ‘I thought you liked having your picture taken’. The trio eventually escape, as the horror drives another person to murder and Lee confesses. Whether Lee (Adina Porter) actually killed her husband or is using this as a means of impressing or gaining trust of the younger more naive Polk is unclear.
As they return to the house, Lee makes a startling discovery and it is whining and winging Audrey’s turn to be the strong one, however short-lived that is. Another discovery shows just how self-centred she is. The women seem safe in the house but Lee wants to return to the Polk’s to get the incriminating footage back. They are about to leave when they meet the pighead at the door only to find it is somebody they know.
Good Effort
Overall it was quite a good episode. It balanced out the ghost incidents with the human mis-behaviour that occurred because of the strain of the haunting. One thing I found that took me out of the action was the beeping out of swearwords. Did this mean that the footage had been found, edited and then aired? It could simply be another way the TV show is criticising ‘reality’ TV when they say it is found footage. Let us know what you thought of the episode in the comments.
