In its fifth season, American Horror Story has lost its appeal and traded psychological suspense for Lady Gaga-led, gimmicky jump-scares.

In 2011, a show peeked through the dusty frame of mainstream television, and brought something fresh to late night: horror. Before Ryan Murphy twisted his mind from Glee to something much darker, it seemed as though horror and suspense could only gain traction on the big screen. Audiences were thrilled when all their terrifying dreams were realized with the creation of American Horror Story.
The first season, Murder House was an exciting debut with psychologically thrilling twists and storylines of the spirits inhabiting the house that all seemed to flow together seamlessly from one episode to the next. It took the classic concept of a haunted house and amped it up with the added effect of trapped souls being able to physically interact with the family living there, to the point that they are often mistaken for real people.
It was a show that turned heads (sometimes literally,) and brought nightmares to life in one manifestation or another with each new season. However, after the second season, Asylum, the brilliant plot bursting with well-rounded characters and terrifying scenes, seemed to be falling apart.
Coven began with promise, but then was ruined when everyone who died could magically be brought back to life again, without a real purpose to the story.
Freak Show’s hype was about the same, but it overcompensated by aimlessly killing the characters who offered the greatest scare factor.
And so came the fifth season, Hotel. The audience excitement built waiting for new star Lady Gaga to come on the scene and the endless possibilities that the theme of a haunted hotel would have to offer (The Shining, anyone?).
The season fell flat the moment it started.
In what seems to be a growing trend for AHS over the years, this first episode was over the top in the worst way. At least 13 storylines were laid out, so many of which feel flat, unrelated or just unmemorable. What I gathered from the premiere is that this season is going to be about three things: blood, drugs and assault.
Gaga and her sidekick get off on orgies that end in slit throats and drinking the blood of their victims. Everyone in this hotel also seems to be hooked on heroin or some other hard drug. Assault is another addiction for this season, specifically taking the form of a skin-masked hotel dweller who rapes tenants with a sharply pointed, drill-like strap-on until they pass out from the pain. AHS, I don’t appreciate this as a scare tactic.
What once seemed to be a thrilling work of strong writing to truly illicit fear and psychological suspense for the audience has morphed into drawing people in purely by shock-value reliant on unnecessary gore. It’s hugely uncomfortable and socially problematic scenes equate to cheap jump-scares. The authenticity of the horror has been cast aside, leaving only mediocre story. A waste of the talented cast and beautiful cinematography.
Perhaps Hotel will sort itself out throughout the season and prove to be another work of genius from Ryan Murphy. But from what has been shown thus far, that’s not the case. Unless the writers take a step back, reach deeper into their imagination and re-watch the first season to remember what horror really looks like, this great idea will fall prey to mainstream television themes and lose its way entirely.