Everyone knows that October is the month of the pumpkin spice latte and celebrating all things that go bump in the night. So, in honor of this festive autumn month, I’ve decided to compare and contrast the two shows that I’ve anticipated the most. While preparing for the fifth season of FX’s series, American Horror Story, I noticed FOX and the creators of AHS had concocted another series for those with a love of the macabre.
Scream Queens is a show about students being terrorized by not only the ruthless upperclassmen, but a devil masked killer tries to add a comedic twist to the otherwise terrifying coming of age story. Scream Queens aired on Tuesday, September 22, and I wanted to like it, I really did. But its forced humor and clichéd use of the “Masked killer goes after the diversely stereotypical group of model looking college kids,” plotline made it a struggle to sit through. Now I know the whole point of the show is to poke fun at all the laughably horrible college based horror flicks released in the past two decades, but the satirical sitcom falls as flat as its one dimensional characters.
But the disappointment I felt with that disastrous pilot so subsided, because 15 days later American Horror Story returned. And I must say, it definitely redeemed itself, after a less than enjoyable fourth season. With its shockingly graphic and sexually charged plotline, I was left bug eyed and craving more.It was the intricately written characters and the cast who played them were a big reason as to why the first episode was so successful. This season the writers added Lady Gaga, Wes Bentley, Matt Bomer, and Max Greenfield, while keeping regulars such as Cathy Bates, Evan Peters, and Sarah Paulson. To say that the premiere, was one of the best episodes of the series, is an understatement of epic proportions. From the trippy-time jumping scene changes to Lady Gaga’s dramatically fierce debut, AHS has truly set itself up for greatness this season. All in all AHS: Hotel leaves you disturbingly engaged at the end of its premiere, whilst Scream Queens’ pilot leaves you wishing you were watching AHS instead.
