Did anyone else watch last night? I won’t spoil it for those who recorded it, and I don’t think I’m giving anything away when I say I believe Mr. Murphy’s trolley has finally jumped the track. I can’t say I disliked it exactly but it has a totally different feel than any of the previous incarnations, and not in a good way. Gone is any sense of fun; just dark, dark and more dark. After having looked forward to the premier and setting aside time to actually sit down and watch, which I rarely do anymore, I got kind of bored after the first fifteen minutes and started doing other things, tuning back in here and there because I knew there would be an encore directly after. When that came on I started to watch it again and it seemed slightly better, but by this time it was late and I did not want to fall asleep watching / listening to that.
As always, the production values are top rate. The sound track kicks ass and the sets, costuming, makeup, etc are tremendous. You could in fact say they’re too good; they sure disturbed the hell out of me.
I know viewership, at least around here, has waned but I’m super curious to hear if the whole thing struck anyone else as odd as it did me.
I’ve always had to watch at least a couple of episodes before I could get into it. They seem to be borrowing from Silence of the Lambs, The Shining, True Blood, The Hunger, and probably gruesome tv shows like NCIS that I don’t watch. I know I’ve seen the ‘unhappy detective separated from his family’ before. Maybe when the other cast members join up it will seem more … familiar. It certainly was a gross, gory start!
The sets are spectacular, the woodwork in the hotel alone is amazing. Kathy Bates is wonderful, as usual.
Too early to tell about Lady Gaga, though she looked great. Wish she had eyebrows, though.
I thought it was ok; not spectacular but first episodes rarely are, they’re just introducing everybody and setting a scene.
That said, yes I agree that the one element that seems to be missing compared to previous seasons is “fun,” though that’s not necessarily that odd, I guess (did Asylum have any “fun” components?). We haven’t met every"body" in the Hotel yet, so I’m sure there will be some goofy or funny characters around to lighten things up from time to time.
Overall, I liked it and thought it was kind of typical AHS in that it takes some established tropes and mashes them all together, and they happen to be some of my favorite ones. The hotel, obviously reminds one of The Overlook with the geometric rugs and stark colors, red chairs, etc. Creepy kids in hotel hallways are always good, of course. “The One Room” that no one can/should stay in (also evocative of The Shining, 1408 which I finally just watched recently, and others). A lot of the art deco design (and particularly the fonts on the sign over the front desk, door numbers) also remind me of the weirdly unsettling environments in Bioshock. I think it’s pretty impossible to make a haunted hotel story without ripping off The Shining, so I’m just glad they didn’t tiptoe around it pretending it doesn’t exist and just right away showed you that crazy carpet and the red furniture, sorta like “Yeah, we know.”
Actually, I could do with a bit more Shining and a bit less of the others. Or maybe what’s bugging me is that it went straight over the top without letting us savor the ascent, such as in the very first scene when les bitches une and deux cut the, uh, “guy” out of the mattress . Too soon for that sort of thing, IMO.
Yeah, I can understand that; less sense of foreboding buildup and more just jumping straight into it. I think rather than play around with the trope of “there’s something off about this hotel” they just sort of gave that one the quickest of nods and then just got on with the scary stuff. After all, we know there’s going to be crazy stuff going on, so let’s just get on with it.
My problem with that scene, though was
that it went from that to “ok let’s just take another room and completely forget about whatever that was.” What did they do with that guy? Where did he go? How did they get away? Yeah, no way that would be happening, no matter what. I think Kathy Bates was extorting them with something (that they would be arrested for something?) but I didn’t quite catch that I guess. It seemed like with these two that there were a couple of scenes where something awful happened to at least one of them and then the next scene was like it didn’t…
Yeah, but what was it she said? “You’d be arrested for evasion” or something? I couldn’t figure out what that was supposed to mean. No idea why going to the police would be scarier than staying.
Well, as usual, I’m in the minority around here I guess because I loved it. I thought it was a better premiere than last season, most likely because last season was my least favorite. It was haunting, shocking, insane and beautiful - everything I hope for in a horror show. I don’t understand OP’s point about lack of “fun.” It’s a horror story - not exactly what I look for when I want some fun.
[spoiler] - Are GaGa and her Beau actually a sick form of vampire? Is that why the little kids are feasting on humans? It would explain how the detective’s son and heroin lady are still around.
Anyone else notice all the references to the ten commandments? The sex crime was brutal, but my first thought was “thou shall not covet thy neighbors wife” and all the other commandments that are part of the opening credits
Is the mummy/drill bit dildo guy a real being? Or just a figment of imagination that represents addiction? [/spoiler]
you’re not alone - we loved it as well - plan to rewatch tonite - as for your last question, I think real - remember the crime scene picture(s) the cop was just reviewing?
I mean it isn’t fun in the sense that it feels like relentless scene after scene of gore and perverse images. None of the characters so far are relatable or likable or a pleasure to watch. I felt like there was no story or meaningful dialogue. In short, it felt like an extended music video, and a derivative one at that. As I mentioned, I didn’t watch it in its entirety so I’m sure I missed some things that I will probably appreciate upon a second viewing. I’ve enjoyed all the previous seasons and I want to like this one too. It’s fun to have a show to look forward to every week and talk about, etc. . .
I got sucked into AHS with “Murder House,” which was just so very creepy. We are now bordering on torture porn…and yet, I’m still watching and enjoying!
The thing I couldn’t figure out last night:
Where did that last scene with the detective and his daughter take place? Was it the same place the first set of people were found? Or someplace different? I got a little confused with the text from or about his wife and then the phone call from the creepy guy.
[spoiler]He got a text from his wife (he thought) that took him to that location (where the 2 bodies were hanging) - it was a separate location, unconnected (at this point) to the hotel - after the wife kicked him out -he went to stay at the hotel, where he has seen Holden (thier son), but doesn’t realize its really his son.
we haven’t directly met creepy voice yet - [/spoiler]
It did very much feel like a music video, the first wordless scene with Lady Gaga especially. But I kinda liked that. I loved the introductory scene with Lady Gaga and Matt Bomer, and the scene where the bald drag queen took the detective to the room, with her dress floating around. I loved seeing the hotel, it’s some place I would stay in if it was real and not a murder hotel.
I feel like AHS has to be graded on a different scale than most TV shows. It goes so over the top, and just throws a bunch of stuff at the wall and sees what sticks. I started laughing when Hotel California played at the end, it’s just so on the nose.
I’ve watched all the other seasons, I will likely keep watching this one.
Are you kidding? It had this scene, which is just about the most memorable and fun thing ever on the series.
As far as “Hotel” goes - tons of great video elements, any of which might make for a great MTV video from the 80s (and boy does this new season LOVE the 80s!), but no story whatsoever. This show was never strong on narrative and every season tends to fall apart and eventually crash & burn, but this season seems to just begin in the midst of incoherency.
Thank you, Mr. Draper.** Sam Lowry** speaks the truth when he says that AHS has always kind of thrown things at the wall and seen what sticks, and I’m perfectly fine with that because there is usually some kind of coherency in the background there somewhere, but in this incarnation it just feels like very little time was spent on actually conveying any sort of message besides " aren’t we edgy!". It’s just not good story telling.
I agree. I must have missed several points, and it was not for want of attention.
Based on what I have read elsewhere (and here), I understand that the detective’s son is one of the creepy/ghoulish kids in the hallway, but I must have missed whatever piece of info revealed that. I caught that his daughter mentioned her brother in the restaurant scene, but it was not clear to me why he was not around nor why/when whatever happened to him took place.
Also, one of the previews I’ve read said it is revealed at the end of the first episode that the Hotel Cortez acquires a new owner. I totally missed that.
Thanks for that clip, Don Draper. It reminded me how much I enjoyed Pepper.
The first time the detective sees the kid in the hallway - he thinks its holden and gives chase - the kid ‘disappears’. (at this point, we don’t know the detail about the detective and kid to know why its important.)
Midway thru the episode - we have a flashback sequence to Detective and family at the park - Holden gets on a Carosel (yellow footed horse) and Detective walks with him as the ride starts - then detective gets distracted with a text/phone call - when detective gets back to ride, an empty horse is shown and detective starts looking for kid.
So -kid is snatched at the carousel under detectives nose.
at the end - When Lady Gaga took the new kid to the hidden play room, she specifially said Hi to holden.
Near the end of the episode, Will Drake (Cheyenne Jackson), a designer from New York, and his son, enter the hotel with a realtor. They inform Iris (Kathy Bates) that he’s the new owner, (which causes panic in all the current residents) and are taken upstairs to the penthouse (where they will live) to meet the current owner - Countess (Lady Gaga) who then leads the son to a secret room where children are kept, distracted by candy and video games…it is there Countess says hello to Holden, and we learn that he is indeed the detective’s missing son.
Now then, I’ve read comments that suggest a total lack of story telling. Maybe it’s just me, but I was rather impressed with how much story telling they managed to pack into the first episode, and still keep the shock/gore/horror factor turned up to ten :
[spoiler]We learned all about what kind of person the detective is: his home life, his son being abducted, what kind of dedicated father he is, his case history, etc etc.
We learned the backstory for Iris and her son - the heroin addiction and why she stays at the hotel; also how Countess fell for him and keeps him close so they can go out together and seduce fresh blood. This was what led me to think they’re all vampires.
[/spoiler]
Now, all that being said, let’s remember it’s only been ONE episode. There are many more to come, and several other characters we’ve yet to meet.