Familiar, yet new, AHS Season 6 returns

By Isaiah Gomez

Review: 4/5

The wait is finally over, and every single person watching the premiere of American Horror Story Season 6 went in completely blind.

And, oh boy there is a lot to say.

First, the only teaser that did end up matching with this season’s storyline (out of all the 24 official teasers) was “Wind chimes.” In that clip, a woman in a nurse’s uniform snaps strings that have human teeth tied to one end with threatening scissors. The teeth do make a bit of a cameo in the first episode.

Let’s start by saying that without a doubt, no one could have predicted the direction that AHS creator Ryan Murphy chose to tell the narrative. The episode itself unfolds through the lens of a mock paranormal/horror documentary format. The ‘“real life” people that went through the story are asked to speak about their experience, and then actors reenact the story in a dramatic undertone.

It felt as though I was watching something that was accidentally airing, something that I shouldn’t be seeing. But the hype began the moment the first actor appeared. Lily Rabe returns as the character Shelby, while Sarah Paulson returns to reenact Shelby’s experience. Other returning cast members include Adina Porter, who played the boring client to psychiatrist Ben Harmon in Season 1, as the character Lee, while the lovely Angela Bassett plays the reenacted Lee. Kathy Bates returns as a Roanoke colonist, and Denis O’Hare is back as the crazy guy in a found-footage tape. The only two new faces are Holland as Matt, and Cuba Gooding Jr. as reenacted Matt.

Not giving too much away, this episode already has a season 1 vibe, with a couple that goes through a miscarriage and decides moving away would be the best idea – but, end up moving into a new mysterious house. It isn’t long before strange happenings begin to make Shelby feel threatened, so Matt decides to have his sister Lee (an ex-police officer struggling with sobriety) move in to watch over Shelby and keep her safe while he’s at work. Lee and Shelby have never gotten along, they both almost tear each other apart when something else looms over them; something far more dangerous, as if it’s out of some type of nightmare.

The new house they choose to move into seems to be built on top of the colony of Roanoke, a lost colony that died inexplicably during the first settlements of the New World. Honestly, I absolutely enjoyed every minute of this new take, although some aren’t too pleased with the new format.

Nonetheless, this creepy, clever and interesting episode shows AHS in a bit of a new light, and one can only imagine the dark twists this season will take. Watch every Wednesday at 9 p.m., only on FX.