Of vamps and vampires
THE American Horror Story franchise is renowned for its avant-garde approach to storytelling. With hordes of viewers transfixed by the horror-thriller genre – hence the popularity of shows like Supernatural, Constantine and The Strain – co-creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk fast-became demigods with their contributions.
What has set them apart is their decision to keep the plots different and, as such, deliver compelling shows. The twisted visuals and outlandish characters heighten the fascination.
In the horror anthology’s run so far, Freak Show is the only one that didn’t quite hit the mark for me. Let’s just say, wallowing in the lives of the bearded lady, her lobster-handed son, the three-breasted hermaphrodite and conjoined twin sisters got very disturbing, very fast.
Of course, that is what the creators do best: they shock and transport viewers into a world where all things bizarre, dark, depraved and twisted reside.
This brings us to season five, Hotel, where vampirism is explored in a seductive light. And this particularly hypnotic theme has become the holy grail for writers in the TV sphere. It has served The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Being Human and True Blood well.
As expected, the creators don’t settle for mediocrity in their storytelling. In fact, they push the envelope further.
This season is touted as one of their darkest outings to date.
And they have a stellar cast of regulars and fresh faces to bring their narrative to life. The big talking point, of course, is Lady Gaga making her acting debut as Countess Elizabeth.
Renowned for her theatrics, manifested in her red-carpet arrivals as much as during a stage performance, she proves to be a showstopper.
Her character is quite the couture queen. She exudes confidence. Countess Elizabeth is feared and fascinating at the same time. And, best of all, she is a forceful actress – actor fiancé Taylor Kinney (Kelly Severide from the Chicago Fire TV series) would be proud.
Remember Hostel? Well the opening scene exudes the same hair-raising feel.
Two foreign young girls arrive at Hotel Cortez in Los Angeles for a celebrity culture vacation. and that is the hook of this series.
The writers ingeniously explore the different journeys, leaving viewers surprised, shocked and, at times, empathetic.
Amid the sex, drugs and drama, there are interesting guest appearances from Naomi Campbell, Ariana Grande and Stevie Nicks, too.
In a recent interview with Collider.com, Murphy noted: “The interesting thing, for me, about the show, is it’s almost a personality test when people come up and tell me what their favourite season or favourite character is.
“I do feel the pressure for this incredibly talented cast, as I know Brad does, to try and give them something different, something that is challenging. And one thing that I always do with the cast every year is I always say, ‘What have you always wanted to play?’ So this is a cast very involved in a lot of those decisions.”
Just to keep things interesting – there is a sex scene between Lady Gaga’s character and that of Angela Basset.
All in all, there’s a lot of debauchery as vampires and ghosts trigger primal fears and unleash those inner demons in Hotel. Checking in, is not just an option – it is highly recommended.
airs on M-Net Edge (DStv Channel 102) on Mondays at 10pm.