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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Anger Management picked up for 90 more episodes!

Proving that a mental breakdown cannot hold anyone back, Charlie Sheen has bounced back into the spotlight with his new tv show Anger Management on FX. 


The show has become such a hit internationally that the cable network has renewed it for 90 episodes! That's right 90 episodes! 

The episodes will be filmed over the next 2 years on a tight schedule, but released a lot slower than it sounds according to producer company Lionsgate.

“Charlie Sheen is one of the great comedy superstars of our generation, Bruce Helford is an exceptional showrunner and FX has been a visionary partner who recognized the show’s tremendous potential from the outset,” said Kevin Beggs, President of the Lionsgate Television Group. “We’re thrilled that our team has created another powerful and enduring Lionsgate brand that will resonate with audiences around the world for many years to come.”

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