Ahoy, Spoilers Ahead! It's The Big Breakdown
We open with a young couple Leo and Teresa, (played by Adam Levine and Jenna Dewan Tatum) heading into an abandoned Waverly Hills type of sanitarium called Briarcliff, for the express purpose of having sex. She's the horror fan who loves to get her freak on in haunted places. He's the supportive and loving husband wanting to accommodate his wife and film their encounters. That's right, they're married. Does the Sex Equals Death rule not apply? Things aren't looking good for the pair so far.
Flashback to 1964 and a young gas station attendant, Kit (Evan Peters), about to close up for the night. Perfect for a serial killer, right? Wrong, Kit's friends show, wanting to take him out to rough some guy up. He declines and heads home to his wife. We find out he has secrets of his own and when he sees headlights, he grabs his rifle. You don't go for the gun if you're feeling safe and normal. He and his wife get attacked and as the lights come we flash to the sanitarium where a young reporter, Lily (Sarah Paulson) sneaking in on a cover story to get the scoop on a serial killer being brought in, a hell of a guy known as Bloody Face (think Ed Gein) He apparently enjoys torturing and decapitating women, then wearing their faces. Mmm...Tasty! Shock to the system, it's poor Kit who's accused of these horrific crimes. WTF?
Here at the asylum we meet the sadistic Sister Jude, played by the incredible Jessica Lange. She's the nun in charge who believes that mental illness is just a cover up for sin. Yeah, she's a nasty cocktail of religious Nazi.We have her underling, Sister Mary Eunice played by Lily Rabe, a woman who is frightened of her own shadow and willing to do anything to keep out of the way of Sister Jude's wrath. Jude apparently believes in corporal punishment and has a collection of fine spanking implements in a closet decorated with crosses. How perverted is that?
The main challenger for dominance at Briarcliff is Doctor Arthur Arden, a shaved bald James Cromwell. He believes in the torture and murder method of unlocking the secrets to the madness in his patients. Quick, sign me up for a session on his couch. Jude's pissed that she can't gainsay him because he's been appointed by Monsignor Tim (Joseph Fiennes), Jude's boss and secret crush. So she sets her bitch, Mary, up to be ol' Doc's toady and report to her. He's got poor Mary hopping and sending her to dispose of bloody body parts out in the woods, where something eats human flesh. I tell you this show twists in on itself like strings of Christmas lights.
Here at the asylum we meet the sadistic Sister Jude, played by the incredible Jessica Lange. She's the nun in charge who believes that mental illness is just a cover up for sin. Yeah, she's a nasty cocktail of religious Nazi.We have her underling, Sister Mary Eunice played by Lily Rabe, a woman who is frightened of her own shadow and willing to do anything to keep out of the way of Sister Jude's wrath. Jude apparently believes in corporal punishment and has a collection of fine spanking implements in a closet decorated with crosses. How perverted is that?
The main challenger for dominance at Briarcliff is Doctor Arthur Arden, a shaved bald James Cromwell. He believes in the torture and murder method of unlocking the secrets to the madness in his patients. Quick, sign me up for a session on his couch. Jude's pissed that she can't gainsay him because he's been appointed by Monsignor Tim (Joseph Fiennes), Jude's boss and secret crush. So she sets her bitch, Mary, up to be ol' Doc's toady and report to her. He's got poor Mary hopping and sending her to dispose of bloody body parts out in the woods, where something eats human flesh. I tell you this show twists in on itself like strings of Christmas lights.
Spoilers Over!
To say I am addicted is an understatement. I watched last night like I watched all last season, cringing with a pillow in fascinated dread. This show is wicked and the only way it could possibly get better is by having Louise Fletcher make an appearance as Jude's Mother Superior. Nurse Ratched vs Sister Jude, the ultimate smackdown. I would sell a kidney to see that. Hmmm...Dear Ryan Murphy...
If you love horror at all, you must watch American Horror Story.Wednesday nights at 10, 9 Central on the F/X network for those of us stateside.
