Is it possible that Ryan Murphy and Company have re-claimed the AHS magic of the first 2 glorious seasons Murder House and Asylum here in Season 10? We've got 8 more episodes to find out as the second episode aired the same night as this premiere episode CAPE FEAR and both were brilliant. I also seem to recall 1984 getting off to a smashing start only to flame out down the stretch. Also, unlike prior seasons where even though the narrative flipped at the midpoint but the entire season was still connected, we already know that Season 10 is split into two halves going in, the first 6 episodes set in this cape town/vampire story, with the last 4 episodes set in death valley with a focus on aliens. But at the end of the day, it's still a 10-episode season so that the overall quality of Season 10 will be defined by both it's first and second halves much like previous ones. But so far, the first half looks like a winner.
This premiere episode introduces the Gardner family to the AHS universe. Harry Gardner (excellently played by Finn Wittrock) is a struggling TV show writer who transports his wife Doris (superb Lily Rabe) and daughter Alma (child phenom Ryan Kiera Armstrong from IT2) from New York to a remote seaside New England community so he can focus on a script for the Pilot of a new series. Also, Doris has the arduous task of renovating the house that they leased for the winter. The Gardners are shown their new digs by the local realtor Martha (scene-stealing Robin Weigert).
On their first day in town, Harry runs into a collection of oddball and weirdos, including the town homeless person Tuberculosis Sally (the brilliant Sarah Paulson), the town gigolo Mickey (surprisingly good Macaulay Culkin), the ineffectual police chief (solid Adina Porter), and a duo of bourgeoisie authors Belle Noir (the great Frances Conroy) and Austin (the chameleonic Evan Peters). Plus, there are these scary looking pale creatures that terrorize the family and Harry ends up killing one after a home invasion on their second night.
The main plot of the episode involves Harry having writer's block and needing inspiration and he gets it from Austin in the form of mysterious black pills which he takes to motivate him to get the Pilot written. This magnificent premiere pays homage to iconic films such as The Shining, Nosferatu, and Interview with a Vampire as well as other works that I'm sure will get nods to as the season progresses. In addition to the great casting, the dialogue is very witty and snappy and the vibe is a perfect mix of horror and camp reminiscent of the iconic Murder House. Great start to hopefully a great season.
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