Advertisement

Which American Horror Story season was best?

Photo credit: FX
Photo credit: FX

From Digital Spy

American Horror Story followed up Roanoke's success in 2016 with Cult being another strong outing, despite playing it much straighter than season six's twisty meta narrative.

Ryan Murphy's show set the standard for anthology storytelling with its story-per-season model (you know, the one True Detective famously failed to duplicate) – and we've been inspired to look back over the show's history and risk the wrath of the Satanic horde by ranking all seven seasons.

7. American Horror Story: Hotel (Season Five)

The fifth season of AHS was always going to be a hard sell thanks to the absence of Jessica Lange, and, as a replacement, Lady Gaga isn't quite up to the challenge. She's not terrible, but as a (musical) superstar she predictably demands more of the season's spotlight than was necessarily justified.

Hotel feels like the most confused of the show's seasons, and subsequently underuses what is still one of the most star-studded casts in television, although it was great to see Evan Peters given a chance to ditch his usual tortured young man shtick and mix it up as the Hotel Cortez's sadistic founder Mr March.

6. American Horror Story: Freak Show (Season Four)

The fourth season of American Horror Story begins to seriously join the dots of the show into a shared world, especially with the reappearance of Sister Mary Eunice, Pepper and Arthur Arden/Hans Gruber. And there's a lot of Finn Wittrock's Dandy in the buff, if that's what floats your boat.

Unfortunately, Freak Show kicked off a trend for increasingly unfocused storytelling, as well as a move towards gore over scares. The anachronistic musical numbers (such as Jessica Lange singing Lana Del Rey and Bruno Mars) were more annoying than charming. And although Twisty the Clown was genuinely disturbing and fascinating, his time with us was all too short.

5. American Horror Story: Coven (Season Three)

AHS's answer to X-Men (a school of superpowered misfits!), the third season was a lot of fun, with plenty of standout moments. The addition of Angela Bassett and Kathy Bates was inspired, and the interweaving of real-life figures like the Marie Laveau and the Axeman of New Orleans was very entertaining. And did we mention Stevie Nicks?

The problem with Coven is that it runs out of steam as it goes. Ryan Murphy seems to lose interest in the majority of his cast and sidelines them before the story has played out. The potential for anyone to come back from the dead killed off (no pun intended) most of the suspense, and ultimately it wasn't very scary.

4. American Horror Story: Roanoke (Season Six)

Arguably an episode too long, with the epilogue of Chapter 10 adding relatively little, Roanoke remains nevertheless the the most coherent and enjoyable season of American Horror Story since 2012/13's Asylum.

Ryan Murphy's new twist was to divide the latest AHS offering into several sub-seasons, allowing the show to go meta and play with its own backstory as never before. The whole thing was beautifully constructed, fiercely relevant, and packed with fantastic performances.

3. American Horror Story: Cult (Season Seven)

Despite a shaky start, Cult grew in strength throughout the season due to putting Peters's menacing cult leader Kai Anderson front and centre. Chilling and charismatic in equal measure, Peters's performance is his best yet on the show, with Cult also seeing him pop up as other notable historical characters like Charles Manson.

It was also the season that the show remembered it was actually a horror show with several disturbing moments, such as episode three's cold open that saw a couple trapped alive in coffins and the terrifying clown costumes worn by Kai's followers. Add in cameos from fan favourite Twisty the Clown and the brilliant Frances Conroy, and you have AHS's strongest run since Asylum.

2. American Horror Story: Murder House (Season One)

Murder House obviously set the standard, with the tale of a haunted LA mansion capturing people's attention enough to eventually spawn another five seasons of AHS (and counting).

It was deliciously weird and unsettling, with memorable characters and design – who could forget the rubber man and the things in the basement? It introduced us to Evan Peters and had America's sweetheart Connie Britton chowing down on bloody offal.

The pacing was a little slow, and the end was a bit twee and Beetlejuice-esque for our taste, but it certainly left us hungry for more (lightly sautéed brain).

1. American Horror Story: Asylum (Season Two)

The true strength of American Horror Story is in its batshit insanity – and in those terms it definitely peaked in Season Two. Those looking for a tight narrative should look away now, as the glory of Asylum was that it threw everything at the wall – aliens, demonic possession, serial killers, Nazi doctors – to see which would stick. The result was a sumptuous mess.

Sister Jude is certainly the most nuanced and – ultimately – endearing of Jessica Lange's four characters, while at the same time showcasing that actress at her most terrifying too. The season is generally the scariest, and we dare you not to feel uncomfortably claustrophobic as Paulson tries to escape from her unjust incarceration in Briarcliff Mental Institution. The thought of it still gives us the willies.

Lily Rabe and Chloe Sevigny stood out as the (initially) innocent Sister Mary Eunice and troubled inmate Shelley, and Asylum also manages to do what AHS frequently fails at – by delivering a satisfying conclusion.

And it gave us this moment of genius, for which we shall forever be grateful:


Want up-to-the-minute entertainment news and features? Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @digitalspy Twitter account and you're all set.

You Might Also Like