REVIEW - American Horror Story: Coven - S03E04 - 'Fearful Pranks Ensue'

Race hate is the vein which seems to pump evil through the heart of this season of American Horror Story.  Episode four opens in 1961 where a young black schoolboy is killed and hung in the trees on his first day of school by ignorant, old, white men.  I found this a particularly stressful scene and certainly one of the most powerful yet. It seems the most terrifying to watch are the ones which replicate real incidents in history.

Then the creepy opening credits roll on this Halloween spectacular and we are sent to butler Spalding’s room.  This maniac butler has wall to wall china dolls and likes to hum along and sip tea from a toy tea set.  Not unsettling at all!  He is disturbed from his macabre high tea by a crash and a noise. Heading downstairs he witnesses the moment where Fiona Goode takes the life of her perceived competitor, Madison.  If only that man could speak!  He could, many years ago... who took his tongue? We find out here.

The private moment between Spalding and Goode is disturbed by more noises, this time the painful wails of Queenie.  Queenie’s sexual encounter with the voodoo Minotaur turned into a vicious attack and she is very near death.  Can Fiona and Claudia save her?  Will Delphine finally understand her wrongs in previous lifetimes, and how will the witches retaliate to this attack?

The Coven is in disarray and all the witches seem to have muchos problemos in their private lives: Nan has lost contact with Madison and believes she is dead; Madison is rolled up in a carpet awaiting disposal; Claudia has a husband who appears to be the Craigslist killer; and Zoe has lost her Fraken-boyfriend.  

Madam Delphine's resurrection seems to have sparked a war that has Zombie’s descending on the house.  They are meant to be the evil undead but too much TV as a kid in the 80’s means that I found myself humming ‘Thriller’ when they came out of the graves and half expected a bit of a zombie dance off!

A great Halloween episode.  Can’t wait to see which creepy road these storylines take us to next.

Review by JoAnn Duff.

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REVIEW - American Horror Story: Coven - S03E03 - 'Burn, Witch, Burn!'

Coven is cranking up the creep in episode three.  This episode is full of flashbacks, flash-forwards and a nod to Psycho.  I wonder if there is a reference to a classic thriller in every episode?

Madame Delphine is still coming to terms with her 180 year slumber. As a heartless, evil bitch who enjoys slicing slaves to pass the time, she really is struggling with the present day.  Her reaction to seeing Obama as a black President would be funny if it wasn’t so disturbing.

Kyle the Franken-boyfriend is also a real mess.  Half monster, half boy, he is being healed very slowly by Misty Day in the swamps.  Poor Misty is lonely with only the swamp creatures and an old radio for company and quickly becomes overly attached to Zoe and Kyle.  She tells Zoe “ You can’t be your best self until you find your tribe.”  I think she has found ‘her tribe’.

The healing power of swamp mud, some Fleetwood Mac classics and enchanting spells from kooky Misty Day soon have Kyle’s scars disappearing.  Zoe seems to make yet another huge mistake by thinking it is the best idea in the world to send undead Kyle back to his mother.  In American Horror Story this is never a safe bet, and both Misty and Kyle are not too pleased with the decision. It’s soon revealed that prior to being dismembered in a bus crash poor Kyle suffered a Norman Bates style relationship with his mother.  Some kids just never have a chance.

Flash-back to Fiona Goode and her rise to become Supreme, flash forward to her failing body and grip on power.  Just when you think she is ready to succumb and hand over her reign there is a knife, a slit throat, and a dead witch.

After establishing the main characters, episode three really cements the main plotlines.  Cannot wait to watch episode four, but it will have to be watched in the daylight!

Review by JoAnn Duff.

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REVIEW - American Horror Story: Coven - S03E02 - 'Fearful Pranks'

The opening scene of episode two is a nod to ‘Deliverance’. Misty Day, a young girl suspected of witchcraft and burned at the stake, is still living in the swamps where she was murdered.  She has the power to bring the dead back to life and has no time for the cruel gator haters who receive a taste of their own medicine.

Zoe Benson on the other hand may be a good witch, maybe even the next Supreme, but she is absolutely useless at keeping secrets. She tells the police who come knocking on the door that they are all witches before they have even had the time to take a sip of tea.  If Zoe is to survive then she needs to get smart, close ranks with her fellow witches and  protect each other.  Luckily Fiona Goode is on hand to take control of the situation.

Madison shows the first sign of any kindness (well, a creepy, witchy kindness) by placing a spell in a morgue and creating a Frankenstein boyfriend for Zoe.  Is it better off to be dead, or alive but at the whim of these young, rebellious witches?

Luckily Fiona Goode, the Supreme, is on hand again and in no mood to let this situation escalate.  She is also pretty good at harbouring secrets of her own by keeping the resurrected Madam Delphine La Laurie stashed away in her quarters.  

Already we begin to see that Fiona is desperate to hold onto the witchcraft crown for a little longer and to be young and beautiful forever.  She can feel the age creeping up every time she looks in the mirror and it will be interesting watching her connive, trick and take what she wants and needs to desperately retain her youth and beauty.

Angela Basset’s character the Voodoo Queen is fully introduced in this episode, just as beautiful as she was in the 1700’s.  She returns with her Minotaur lover from episode one and are preparing for a battle in the darkness.

Oh and did you know?… Stevie Nicks is a white witch?!

Review by JoAnn Duff.

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REVIEW - American Horror Story: Coven - S03E01 - 'Bitchcraft'

American Horror brings out the big guns in the first two minutes.  Kathy Bates  plays Madame Delphine La Laurie, a character based on a real and terrifying murderer from history. She is living in a luxury mansion in 1834 New Orleans with her three odd daughters, yet despite their apparent wealth they are living in misery. Madame Delphine is crass, evil and completely psychotic, a part made perfectly for the amazing Kathy Bates.

Madame Delphine believes that smearing blood on her face can restore her youth: blood taken torturously from slaves (‘her pets’) which she keeps in her attic.  She also performs horrific mutilations and torture, but this seems just for her sadistic pleasure.  A chamber of mutilations, degradation and abject horror... all this before the opening credits roll!

Flash forward to present day and Zoe Benson (Taissa Farmiga) is a seemingly normal teenager about to have sex for the first time.  It takes a shocking turn when her boyfriend begins to bleed form every orifice and dies in agonising pain.  Turns out poor Zoe has an affliction which means pleasure for her is excruciating pain and death for her lovers.  

Zoe is a witch, carrying a dwindling bloodline from Salem.  As a result she is sent away to  Miss Robichaux’s School For Exceptional Girls.  Here the old cast gather as new characters and some great new talent too: Emma Roberts plays Madison, a narcissistic young movie star; Gabrielle Sidabe is Queenie, a human Voodoo  doll; Jaime Brewer is Nan, a clairvoyant; and Jessica Lange literally reigns as Supreme.  

And so American Horror Story Coven begins...

Review by JoAnn Duff.

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REVIEW - Bates Motel S01E01

When I first heard about this television series based on Alfred Hitchcock's immortal cinema characters I was extremely sceptical, but placing the show on a cable network gave it "American Horror Story" potential and casting some outstanding actors filled me with even more hope that this could be a good thing. The pilot has just aired in the USA on A&E and was I impressed? Sort of....

Bates Motel centres around a boy Norman (Freddie Highmore) and his mother Norma (Verma Farmiga) as they escape their sordid past to buy a motel in a new town and move on with their lives together. The pilot episode introduces these characters in a new way, we have never seen the character of Norma before, she was always a figment of our imagination or a gooey mummy (ha!)

Norma is an incredibly over-bearing mother, who uses her love as a way of controlling Norman into doing what she wants and disguising this as love. This was one of my favourite parts of the show, this is emphasised so much through cooking him an outstanding meal when he gets from school, but not allowing him to get involved in the school track team or go to the library and study with new school friends. The pure and unadulterated love between the two of them is commendable.

This is highly due to Highmore and Farmiga who are outstanding in these roles, Farmiga had an extremely hard job on her hands, and she is mesmerising, I could not look away whenever she was on screen, her portrayal and redefinition of this iconic character is nothing short of commendable. Highmore shines as equally as Norman, fulfilling the socially awkward, Norman who is dearly devoted to his mother.

The show is set in the modern world, even though the novel and film were set in the 50's and this is meant to be a prequel. Now before I got any further I did some research and the show's creators Anthony Cipriano and Dameon Lindelof that this is simply inspired by these characters, not a direct prequel. It is important that you understand this, as I was picking it apart until I found this out.

Horror wise is this show too much? Sort of...the main drama in this episode happens when the old owner of the hotel breaks into the Bates residence and assaults and rapes, yes that is correct rapes (quite unnecessarily!) Norma Bates who gets some help from Norman, ties him up and stabs him to death. They hide the body in a bath and wrapped up in sheets from the beds and carpet.

Keep in mind that this is only the pilot, a lot of explaining had to be done about these characters, who they are and how this show is going to actually work, and they achieved this quite well. It has a lot of potential and now that the premise has been explained, I am looking forward to were the show is headed and getting further into the psyche of Norman Bates.

Some great nods to Psycho and Hitchcock are placed all throughout the pilot, the original black and white Psycho is playing when the episode begins on a tv in the background, the bath and window shots are also great winks.

Visually this show is stunning, the motel and house are an exact replica from the original film and the CGI and stage sets are an achievement in television. Norman and Norma dress from the 50's, while everyone at school, outside etc is set in modern day clothes. This can get a little confusing but it oddly works, also the use of mobile phones and door bells are just a little odd and seem out of place.

If you are a fan of American Horror Story, or just like drama/horror shows this is definitely one to check out. I will definitely be checking back in each week to see were this series takes goes. Bates Motel is showing on A&E Mondays at 9pm.

Review by Alaisdair "Arrow" Dewar

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REVIEW - American Horror Story S2E08

‘I will never look upon Father Christmas in the same way again…’

Even Briarcliff becomes festive in its own way with a special guest appearance from Ian McShane as a deranged Santa serial killer who terrorized families before Christmas on a murderous rampage.

Having been sentenced to Briarcliff the deranged Santa is sent to solitary after he bites off the face of an unsuspecting warden at the worst possible moment, when the local press and photographer are on hand to catch the whole sorry saga. As punishment Sister Jude sends him to solitary for ten long years.

Sister Eunice is so delightfully evil you see her revel in the devils mischief with more passion in each episode. As she spirals out of control Sister Jude, who has realized that she has become possessed calls on a most unlikely partner to help her, Dr Arden. He accepts the partnership and promises to get Sister Jude back into Briarcliff. It’s a risky move on Sister Jude’s part, can Dr Arden really ever be trusted?

While a new storyline emerges in this episode another is resurrected. Dr Thredson (Bloodyface) isn’t dead after all and cruises darkly back into Briarcliff much to the surprise of Kit and Lana. Kit manages to lock him in the store room but for how long and what price he will pay for it we will have to see.

Meanwhile it seems the huge climax and end to episode 7 has been swept under the carpet and wrapped up all too quickly. The shooting of the creature that leapt into the kitchen which was witnessed by the guard needs to be addressed. It is with a swift ending to the poor guards life.

This episode is fully concentrated and rightly so on the amazingly creepy performance of Ian McShane. The downside to focusing an episode on a one off guest character means that not much moves forward with the main plotlines. A great episode nonetheless, the quality of production and the sheer talent of the cast members keep the more irrational, ludicrous storylines ever watchable.

Review by JoAnn Duff

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REVIEW - American Horror Story S2E07

“A Dark Angel has arrived within the walls of Briarcliff. Sister Eunice is not impressed.”

A favourite from season one, Frances Conroy arrives in the Asylum and her character is fascinating and beautiful to watch, she is here to claim a key player and to tempt some of the others ‘to the light’. Sister Eunice is intrigued and threatened by this new dark force.

Following on from the last episode, Grace and Kit are sentenced to a barbaric sterilisation for being caught in a compromising tryst which simply will not do at Briarcliff. With Thredsons taped confession and his remorse shown to Sister Jude before she left, Kit is spared the castration and turned over to the cops for interviewing. Grace is not so lucky. She is put under the surgeon’s knife, but the knife this time does not belong to Dr Arden.

Meanwhile Sister Jude goes to Mr. Goodman the Nazi hunter with a fingerprint on a brandy glass so that she can prove the Dr’s Auschwitz past. When she arrives she soon finds that someone beat her to him and has stabbed him in the throat. With his last breaths he tells her that ‘a nun, one of yours’ was responsible. No-one can blame Sister Jude for what she does next, which is to crumple into a messy heap and swig a bottle of whisky dry. She is in a real mess. Chatting to the angel of death in a booth in a roadside café is probably rock bottom for anyone.

Lana is still the unluckiest woman alive (and at times she wishes she wasn’t). A momentary chance of escape pays off for her and a last ditch attempt at freedom is rewarded. But is it out of the frying pan and into the fire?

Kits love for Grace knows no bounds and once he knows she is still going under the knife he risks his life to bust out of the police station, face the ‘creatures’ and return to the asylum to break her out and go on the run together. In true Asylum style the last 60 seconds are full of suspense and not the ending you expect at all.

Dark Cousin gives a brief rest from terror, blood and gore and the slick production of this episode and the introduction of the graceful yet macabre angel of death keep this series fresh and just as intriguing as the first episode.

Review by JoAnn Duff

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REVIEW - American Horror Story S2E07

A Dark Angel has arrived within the walls of Briarcliff. Sister Eunice is not impressed.

A favourite from season one, Frances Conroy arrives in the Asylum and her character is fascinating and beautiful to watch, she is here to claim a key player and to tempt some of the others ‘to the light’. Sister Eunice is intrigued and threatened by this new dark force.

Following on from the last episode, Grace and Kit are sentenced to a barbaric sterilisation for being caught in a compromising tryst which simply will not do at Briarcliff. With Thredsons taped confession and his remorse shown to Sister Jude before she left, Kit is spared the castration and turned over to the cops for interviewing. Grace is not so lucky. She is put under the surgeon’s knife, but the knife this time does not belong to Dr Arden.

Meanwhile Sister Jude goes to Mr. Goodman the Nazi hunter with a fingerprint on a brandy glass so that she can prove the Dr’s Auschwitz past. When she arrives she soon finds that someone beat her to him and has stabbed him in the throat. With his last breaths he tells her that ‘a nun, one of yours’ was responsible. No-one can blame Sister Jude for what she does next, which is to crumple into a messy heap and swig a bottle of whisky dry. She is in a real mess. Chatting to the angel of death in a booth in a roadside café is probably rock bottom for anyone.

Lana is still the unluckiest woman alive (and at times she wishes she wasn’t). A momentary chance of escape pays off for her and a last ditch attempt at freedom is rewarded. But is it out of the frying pan and into the fire?

Kits love for Grace knows no bounds and once he knows she is still going under the knife he risks his life to bust out of the police station, face the ‘creatures’ and return to the asylum to break her out and go on the run together. In true Asylum style the last 60 seconds are full of suspense and not the ending you expect at all.

Dark Cousin gives a brief rest from terror, blood and gore and the slick production of this episode and the introduction of the graceful yet macabre angel of death keep this series fresh and just as intriguing as the first episode.

Review by JoAnn Duff

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REVIEW - American Horror Story S2E06

‘All of a sudden the monotonous replaying of ‘Dominique’ in the stark rec room at Briarcliff feels like a night at the Four Seasons.'

I watched this episode back to back after ‘I am Anne Frank (2)’. I jumped at my own shadow the whole way through and felt so unsettled that I had to calm myself by watching an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond to bring me back to safe TV. I’m a tough cookie when it comes to horror but this episode got into my head and under my skin.

Dr ‘ex Nazi’ Arden is getting sloppy, leaving devoted, devilish and increasingly busy Sister Eunice to pick up the pieces and tie up all his loose ends. The power scales now tip in her favour and you know that soon enough Dr Arden will be putty in her evil porcelain hands. She also finds time to spend with a young protégée. A girl who would not be out of place in ‘The Ring’ whose mother is so scared of her murderous tendencies and lack of emotion that she abandons her at Briarcliff.

This episode though has far more important business to attend to. That being the revelation that Kit is not the Bloodyface Killer. Mild mannered Dr Thredson is revealed as a mixture of all terrifying serial killers in American history, fact and fiction. Ted Bundy, Leatherface, John Wayne Gacy and Hannibal Lecter all rolled into a super intelligent, completely deranged, horrifyingly delightful character who can change personalities on a knifes edge.

Lana Winters is in really big trouble. Dr Thredson has rescued her, but he has other plans. She cannot return to her life as she knew it but Thredson has recreated a gruesome version for her. She is trapped with Thredson in one of the creepiest homes on earth. Thredson is looking for ‘mummy’ and has a penchant for sleeping with dead women and then skinning them. Not really the flatmate you want, and all of a sudden the monotonous replaying of ‘Dominique’ in the stark rec room at Briarcliff feels like a night at the four seasons.

Back at Briarcliff though it seems Dr Arden has finally got his wish to have Sister Jude out of the picture. She seems to leave with dignity but old Sister Jude has a trick or two up her sleeve and you know she won’t leave quietly.

The origins of Monstrosity is one of those episodes which doesn’t let your senses stop for a second and reveals some key questions while leaving many more left to be asked. If Bloodyface is in his mid-20’s in the 1960’s who the hell is Bloodyface today?

Review by JoAnn Duff

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REVIEW - American Horror Story S2E05

The saga continues for poor ‘Anne Frank’. Just as sister Jude pours all faith and belief into Anne’s story, her husband arrives at Briarcliff to take her home. She is not Anne Frank after all but a young wife and mother called Charlotte with severe postnatal depression according to a rather speedy diagnosis from Dr Thredson.

Dr Thredson seems so monotone, calm and balanced while hell happens around him that you quickly begin to wonder if he is a good guy at all. He professes to be able to save Kit from the death penalty if he can prove his sanity, and promises to break Lana out of the asylum that night. But the longer he stays on the screen the more unsettling he becomes. Your gut proves you right in the last third of the episode with a revelation which will leave you in disbelief.

Jessica Lange deserves an Emmy nomination for this episode alone. We see her become more fragile, old and lonely as her ivory tower begins to crumble from its very foundations. Sister Jude closes in on Dr Arden’s Nazi past it is and she turns to her beloved Mon Senior for support but is rejected and the Mon Senior wonders if Briarcliff is too much for her. The Mon Senior knows far more than he lets on.

Chloe on the other hand has problems far worse. Nazi Dr Arden has begun his devils work and testing on her as a human guinea pig. She is unrecogniseable and has become a poor tortured creature that I can barely look at on the screen. You find yourself wishing for her misery to end.

Sister Eunice continues creeps around in the shadows as the possessed El Diablo and is a gripping character to watch. You wait and wonder who becomes her next toy to play with.

I am Anne Frank (2) Brings American Horror Story Asylum right back to true form. Slick production, A-list acting, fast pace, and horror beyond your wildest nightmares.

Review by JoAnn Duff

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REVIEW - American Horror Story S2E04

A new inmate has appeared at Briarcliff and she claims to be Anne Frank. Is she another asylum whackjob or did she survive?

Just when you think that American Horror Story – Asylum can’t get any more bent and twisted then episode four bursts onto the screen. You are plunged into pure horror and cold, dark scenes which have you hiding behind the cushions on your couch within the first five minutes.

Psycho Dr Arden’s web of lies and evil is unraveling. The pace of the plot slowly but surely ticks and tocks towards his undoing which can’t come soon enough for viewers I’m sure.

A new inmate has appeared at Briarcliff and she claims to be Anne Frank. ‘Anne’ spots Dr Arden in the rec room and claims that he was a Nazi Doctor who performed depraved surgical practices on women back in the Auschwitz camps. Is she another asylum whackjob or did she survive?

There is also more of the gruesome boxing Helena style scenes which are pretty tough to watch as well as the odd fleeting glimpse of the Devil possessed Sister Eunice which is disturbingly refreshing given all the terror elsewhere in the asylum.

The most uncomfortable scenes are not that of blood and gore but of poor Lana Winters who is put through horrific 1960’s aversion therapy. The mental torture is far more difficult to watch than the blood and gore that seems to ever more present with each episode.

There are some further developments in some of the characters which haven’t had much airtime of late. Assumed ‘Bloody Face Killer’ Kit (played brilliantly by Evan Peters) is cracking under the pressure of the asylum as his trial looms and he also discovers his partner in crime Grace isn’t so sane or innocent. There are no flash-forwards to the present day in this episode; this one keeps you strictly within the walls of Briarcliff in the 1960’s along with the rest of the inmates. Not a great place to be for anyone.

I hope that the next episode comes back stronger and that Asylum isn’t lost to ludicrous plots and storylines. It happened to a great series like Lost. I hope it doesn’t happen here as I am really enjoying the series. If only I can be brave enough to see it through to the end!

Review by JoAnn Duff

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Introducing Cancellation Cantaloupe

That's right! The Cancellation Cantaloupe is here to bring you the weekly updates on shows that are cancelled, renewed or in danger of any of the above!

Wielding his mighty axe this week, CC headed over to ABC to confirm the freshman series Last Resort and 666 Park Avenue will NOT be receiving any more episodes past their initial order of 13. ABC has cancelled the two drama's due to abismaly low ratings and will be moving in another direction for next years new shows. 

In cable land FX have confirmed that the hit show American Horror Story will be returning for a third season and will star Jessica Lange. The Ryan Murphy show has become the top rated on the network and is an international hit. 

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REVIEW - American Horror Story S02E03

At the asylum, a storm is coming. Sister Jude believes that the inclement weather can bring adverse changes to her sanitarium and so decides to air a movie to keep the inmates occupied while they ride out the storm.

Episode 3 is a chance to take a small breather. This episode is a slower pace but more of the individual characters storylines unfold. It’s less gruesome but there are still ‘jump out of your skin moments’ and the change of pace doesn’t make it any less entertaining.

‘Nor’easter’ opens with some dark clouds heading right towards Briarcliff. There are flash backs and flash-forwards to the still (barely) alive Adam Levine character but not much is given away.

Back at the asylum, a storm is coming. Sister Jude believes that the inclement weather can bring adverse changes to her sanitarium and so decides to air a movie to keep the inmates occupied while they ride out the storm. In true American Horror style the movie she chooses is the 1932 movie The Sign of The Cross which has religious and sexual undertones.

While the movie blares and flickers on an old projector, in the background and in the darkness the night unfolds. Three inmates, a lesbian journalist, suspected serial killer bloody face and a nymphomaniac take the storm, distraction and darkness of the evening as a chance to run and make their escape. What they find in the woods however is far more terrifying which is apparent when they prefer to run for their lives straight back into the relative safety of the asylum than risk coming up against ‘the creatures’ in woods.

Zachary Quinto is so flat and deadpan as Dr Thredson that I am beginning to suspect he is not all he seems in this series at all. No-one can be that calm under such strange, dark, demonic situations. Meanwhile, upstairs in staff quarters Dr Arden starts to unravel into a complete psychopath.

While all this is happening Sister Eunice who has been possessed by El Diablo stares eagerly at the movie not noticing the missing inmates and relishing in the parts where “the Christians get eaten”. She also tempts sister Jude with red wine and after more revelations about her past Sister Jude succumbs to the devils drink for comfort.

As the storm gets stronger and the skies get blacker the pace builds suddenly and quickly with a disturbing ending, which is very Boxing Helena-esque.

Although some of the scenarios are a little far fetched, even for American Horror Story, Nor’easter lets you breathe just a little but you are left with many more questions and dying to see episode four!

Review by JoAnn Duff

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REVIEW - American Horror Story S02E01

If you like your drama dark, intense and a little twisted you will love what Asylum has to offer. 

Episode two, after a genius season premiere is kind of like an instant number one hit. Everyone raves about a track that sits at the top of the billboard charts for weeks on end, but the pressure really is on for a follow up track that will be just as good. If it isn’t, there rarely is a second bite at the cherry.

That was the anticipation held for episode two “Tricks and Treats” after the horrifically entertaining ride which was episode one. The solid characters, second to none performance by Jessica Lange and a rich, macabre, twisted storyline left the bar set so high I was hoping not to be disappointed as the season rolled out.

“Tricks and Treats” hits you right in the stomach from the opening scene of terror, confusion and just enough gore. I don’t want to spoil the storyline too much for those who may have not seen any Asylum episodes yet, but we leave “The Creatures” lurking in dark foggy forests and asylum patients which were strangely disappearing in the last episode right into Briarcliff’s large oak doors and into the damp, dark core of the asylum where you witness an exorcism, creepy doctors and flashing glimpses of not so holy past lives. All with a nod to great thrillers such as The Exorcist and The Green Mile.

Episode two barely lets you come up for air for the whole hour so hold your breath! The storyline is fast paced but you don’t lose the thread of the story, each character is twisted, interesting and terribly flawed. You can’t look but you can’t look away. The rest of the season has been set up well and the story lines seem to take you one way then abruptly another. You feel empathy for a character and then they do something to jar your conscience and make you think again. Are they good? Are they bad? Are you bad for liking them? Are they even alive?

If you like your drama dark, intense and a little twisted you will love what Asylum has to offer.

Review by JoAnn Duff

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REVIEW - American Horror Story Season 2 Episode 1

American Horror Story has an extremely successful debut season, bringing true horror back to television and adding in some sexy cable extras, saw the formula rise to international success and praise from the toughest critics.

This season instead of continuing a story, the show has done the next best thing and re-invented itself in a whole new haunted house, new characters and story. Set in an abandoned asylum a pair of newly-weds are on a honeymoon horror tour of the most haunted places in America. Leo (Adam Levine Maroon 5, The Voice) and Theresa (Jenna Dewan) head to Briarcliff, the abandoned asylum in search of the famous serial killer Bloodyface. 

After an unfortunate accident, we are whipped back to 1964 when the Asylum was fully functional and holding some insane criminals. The main protagonist is led by Sister Jude (Jessica Lange) a strict yet dark nun who is in charge with Sister Eunice (Lilly Rabe) and the experimental doctor with power issues Dr Arden (James Cromwell). All worthy characters for a new season, Lange as always is fabulous and showcases her acting abilities and is built for the horror genre. Rabe displays a wide-eyed innocence and willingness to submit to authority, she does this with such ease and believability. Cromwell is a great addition to this show, bringing the science element to it, with a complete disregard for women in authority.

Using the mental asylum as the centre of the story, has allowed the directors to really mess with the audience's mind. There are a lot of surreal moments in this episode when you question if it's real or not. It is done so flawlessly and sharply that it is hard to tell what is real and what isn't.

I don't want to reveal any spoilers or talk too much about the plot, apart from the fact that it is a completely different show to last season, it has built on some strong roots and with a higher budget, and cleverly mapped out plot this season is already greater than the previous.

American Horror Story is showing at 10 on FX

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The New Normal - REVIEW

Ryan Murphy has had a lot of success in television over the past few years with hits like Glee and American Horror Story, it is now time for him to turn to the sitcom territory with the New Normal.

The New Normal is the newest comedy on the NBC comedy block, in the style of NBC comedies like 30 Rock, Parks & Recreation and Up All Night.

The comedy is centred around gay couple David & Clay (Jayson Blair and Justin Bartha) who are trying desperately to adopt a child of their own. Fortunately for them Goldie (Georgia King) and her daughter Shania (BeBe Wood) are living with her grandmother played by Ellen Barking, a racist homophobe who has a tight grip on her great-grandaughters life.

Finding a balance between 6 diverse and crazy characters is no easy feat, and as proven with Glee Murphy manages to find the perfect blend of characters. Intertwining some socially confronting subjects and mixing them with comedy is a fine line and this show manages to find a happy medium in between the two.

The New Normal has already premiered online, you can watch it below, look out for new episodes on September 11 on NBC.

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