Lady Gaga puts the horror in American Horror Story
People who say Lady Gaga is acting more mainstream than ever these days may want to check out her appearance on American Horror Story: Hotel, which airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on FX Canada.
The pop star made her highly anticipated debut on the disturbing drama as a glittery demon vampire-type person who really likes murdering people and having sex. Preferably at the same time.
If you find the notion too disturbing to watch this horrifying show (we can’t blame you) but want to know what happens anyway, here’s the deal about Lady Gaga’s character. The gist: Lady Gaga plays the Countess, who according to Entertainment Weekly, is “a glamorous socialite who attends art openings and fashion shows and maintains her looks not from a steady diet of kale but from imbibing human blood.”
Showrunner Ryan Murphy says not to call her a vampire: “I prefer the term ‘ancient blood virus,’ ” he told EW.
The Countess lives on the top floor of the very haunted and terrifying Hotel Cortez, which isn’t an ideal hotel stay unless you want to be attacked, murdered or dismembered. Origin story: Viewers see a flashback to the hotel in 1991, when a drug addict named Donovan (Matt Bom- er) had an overdose. We see the Countess appear from nowhere and cradle Donovan in her arms as his mother, Iris (Kathy Bates), sobs.
“Your boy has a jaw line for days,” the Countess says, tracing his face with her glove. Flash forward to present day, and Donovan is somehow still alive and living with the Countess. Hobbies: Considering the Countess has a light-up sign in her hotel room that says “Why aren’t we having sex right now?” . . . you can probably guess.
In her first scene, she and Donovan dress up in fancy clothes, go to a theatre and lure an attractive couple back to their room. It quickly turns into a murder-orgy. While they’re all having sex, the Countess and Donovan stab the unsuspecting couple and bask in all the blood. Dialogue after the scene: Countess: “I know you didn’t feel like going out tonight.”
Donovan: “It’s not the getting ready. It’s the cleanup.”
Countess: “Call housekeeping.” Personality: Impatient. We gather this because Iris (she’s also the surly hotel concierge) kidnaps some Swedish tourists. When one escapes, the Countess stops the tourist in her tracks and slices her throat open, leaving her bleeding out on the floor.
“This can never happen again,” the Countess tells Iris, eyeing the blood.