Recurring AHS star Billie Lourd (playing Liv Whitley) features prominently in "American Horror Stories: Ba'al" episode 5. The granddaughter of the late great Carrie Fisher, Billie brought some amazing energy to this episode. Her character's qualms and misgivings around childbirth were well-executed without also sacrificing her humanity. She owned every scene she was in.
Performances were on point all round. From Chad James Buchanan's Rory and Virginia Gardner's Bernadette to Ronen Rubinstein's Matt Webb and Vanessa Williams's (not the singer) Dr. Eleanor Berger.
Along with Ali Adler this time round, it looks like Brad Falchuk and Ryan Murphy have written another winner.
Sanaa Hamri's direction felt at once cinematic and palpable. Music, though subtle, kept tensions taut.
The storyline for this episode was dark and fraught with ancient paganism. It was fantastic and ushered in 'balance', given the themes of episodes past in the "American Horror Stories" lineup. Even the opening sequence in this episode contained an almost 'fetal fluid' look, with definitely paranormal overtones.
Finally an episode that felt 'fleshed out', with a beautiful 50-minute run that packed all the right pacing and potential leading up to that killer ending. This was, by far, the best decision where anything 'AHS franchise' is concerned. More scene-time!
The entire concept of Ba'al, though not entirely true to the original lore, still served to scare. It was well-crafted, in more ways than one. The incantation sequences were genuinely chilling.
I was sure I'd find more than a few 'convenient' plot-points, but am glad to report that there weren't any. All reasons led back to sources, circumstances, and motives that made valid sense, which further shored up the credibility of the script for episode 5 "American Horror Stories".
That twist near the end... Unforeseeable, though I should've caught on. Good misdirection there.
Ba'al's actual entry was a treat for this horror-fan. Great costume-makeup-prosthetics, good gore, and noteworthy VFX.
Despite the sheer simplicity and cliché of some of the scene-elements, they somehow pulled off an entertaining episode, keeping "American Horror Stories: Ba'al" true to the spirit of 'AHS-style' horror.
Performances were on point all round. From Chad James Buchanan's Rory and Virginia Gardner's Bernadette to Ronen Rubinstein's Matt Webb and Vanessa Williams's (not the singer) Dr. Eleanor Berger.
Along with Ali Adler this time round, it looks like Brad Falchuk and Ryan Murphy have written another winner.
Sanaa Hamri's direction felt at once cinematic and palpable. Music, though subtle, kept tensions taut.
The storyline for this episode was dark and fraught with ancient paganism. It was fantastic and ushered in 'balance', given the themes of episodes past in the "American Horror Stories" lineup. Even the opening sequence in this episode contained an almost 'fetal fluid' look, with definitely paranormal overtones.
Finally an episode that felt 'fleshed out', with a beautiful 50-minute run that packed all the right pacing and potential leading up to that killer ending. This was, by far, the best decision where anything 'AHS franchise' is concerned. More scene-time!
The entire concept of Ba'al, though not entirely true to the original lore, still served to scare. It was well-crafted, in more ways than one. The incantation sequences were genuinely chilling.
I was sure I'd find more than a few 'convenient' plot-points, but am glad to report that there weren't any. All reasons led back to sources, circumstances, and motives that made valid sense, which further shored up the credibility of the script for episode 5 "American Horror Stories".
That twist near the end... Unforeseeable, though I should've caught on. Good misdirection there.
Ba'al's actual entry was a treat for this horror-fan. Great costume-makeup-prosthetics, good gore, and noteworthy VFX.
Despite the sheer simplicity and cliché of some of the scene-elements, they somehow pulled off an entertaining episode, keeping "American Horror Stories: Ba'al" true to the spirit of 'AHS-style' horror.