The author of this article is written by @Luo Baikou
A movie theater is running away from popcorn
No inventory of this century's horror episodes will miss the phenomenal american horror story (hereinafter referred to as "American Terror").
In 2011, "Fear of America: Murder House" turned out to be the starting point of this long-lived series. Because of the extraordinary reputation, director + screenwriter Ryan Murphy led the original team to launch "American Terror 2: Mental Hospital" the following year.
Ryan Murphy
Unexpectedly, it broke the spell that most sequels must collapse, and it actually received more praise than the previous one.
From 2011 to 2019, Ryan Murphy's team shot a total of 9 seasons of "American Terror" every season. Each season revolves around a different theme, such as witches, deformed people, cults, and more.
The first three seasons have been brilliant, and the last six seasons have been uneven, but the level is above the good line, accumulating a long-term fan base.
Affected by the epidemic, the "American Fear 10", which was supposed to be launched in 2020, was postponed until August this year.
Probably to appease eagerly awaited fans and to celebrate its tenth anniversary, the spin-off drama American Horror Story Collection (hereinafter referred to as "American Horror Collection") aired last week.
Unlike the main film series, American Terror is a short story concatenated with a short story that tells a short horror story every 2-3 episodes.
It sounds good, but the response after the broadcast was mediocre.
I believe that every "Mei Di" fan will issue the same feeling as Xiao Wan: the special chapter that gathers the essence of ten years, just this?!
Don't worry, let's take it slowly.
The first two episodes of The American Terror tell a story about a murder house. This murder house first appeared in "Fear of America 1" and is a well-known murder house.
There are countless murders in the murder house, and those who die here will become ghosts that cannot be left in life. And the form of ghosts is no different from that of people, and it is difficult for ordinary people to distinguish.
In "American Terror", a gay couple moves into the murder house with their daughter Scarlett. They took a fancy to the commercial value of the place and tried to transform it into a haunted house for profit.
Like most ghost movie routines, living in a haunted house is not a good thing, either bumping into a ghost or having nightmares. Normal people have already moved, but the protagonist group insists on staying.
Scarlett found a black rubber coat at home, which made her find her inner sadistic desire like opening up the second vein of Ren Dou.
The vinyl coat has a great origin, and it is the equipment of the bad boy Tate in "American Fear 1". Once the rubber coat is worn, the hood is worn, no one loves it, and the dark personality is released freely.
"Quicksilver" Ivan Peters has been a popular actor in "American Terror"
The vinyl coat also changed Scarlett's life.
She was humiliated and bullied by a small group of girls at school because of her sexual orientation. In suicide and counterattack, she chose the latter.
As a middle school girl, Scarlett does not dare to kill people, but wearing vinyl can release the evil in her heart and face the most secret desire to kill in her heart.
So Scarlett put on her gear and led her classmates into the murder house to kill them one by one.
Those who die here will never be able to leave the murder house, and their classmates are no exception. Their ghosts harass Scarlett day and night, exhausting her physically and mentally.
Scarlett is saved by Ruby, a female ghost who committed suicide in the murder house many years ago, she is fierce and cruel, and no other ghost dares to bully her. Ever since she began protecting Scarlett, the ghosts of her classmates have never dared to get close.
Over time, Scarlett falls in love with Ruby, and the two become lovers. Ruby wants to persuade Scarlett to die so that he can live with her forever.
In order to make Scarlett determined to stay, Ruby also killed her two fathers, who also became ghosts who could not leave.
But Scarlett still prefers the freedom of the outside world. She left her parents and loved ones and agreed to go home every Year on Halloween for a reunion.
At this point, the story ends. What do you think? Is it mediocre enough?
Even if it applies the key settings of "American Terror 1" and moves out of the murder house that is as kind as the hometown of The American Terror fans, it still does not tell a moving story.
The signature of the "American Terror" series is not just horror. It is good at writing strange feelings, and uses everything to create visual wonders and stir the audience's senses. In the dark atmosphere, there is often a faint sense of friendship, such as the petals hugging each other in the gutter.
Lines from "Fear of America 1"
For example, in "Fear of America 9", it tells the story of a group of young people's camp horrors, and the serial killers reappear in the rivers and lakes, and everyone kills the camp and becomes the ghosts of the coiled here.
But after the real killer surfaced, everyone found the sad past of the suspected murderer. He toiled for half his life and finally found peace in his family. The tranquility and warmth of the ending dissolve the previous killing and trepidation.
The first story of "American Terror" is unqualified in the performance of horror and strangeness, which is neither scary nor touching.
It repeatedly uses the lowest condiment in horror movies: jump scare. Although it is accompanied by carefully selected sound effects, the ghosts or people who suddenly come into view have no effect at all.
The play sets up two same-sex couples: Scarlett's two fathers are gay men, and she and the female ghost are a lesbian pair.
But we see that dads' relationships are fraught with jealousy, dishonesty, and infidelity. If they are not both ghosts, they will most likely divorce.
The relationship between Scarlett and the female ghost is somewhat inexplicable, similar to the hug between two children who have not received strong love from their original family.
The lines are swirled around in the life and death contract and the sea oath mountain alliance, but there is no spark between the two actresses, and they just follow the lines in a stunned state.
It doesn't make any sense for "The Beauty of Terror" to set the protagonists as LGBT people, even if it is changed to heterosexual.
Such a deliberate, suspected of rubbing hot spots, and unnecessary place to install same-sex plots, can be described as a deliberate consumption.
In fact, Scarlett's relationship with the female ghost is like a sexual transformation of Xiao wa and Tate in "Fear of America 1". The latter, whether it is emotional development or actor acting, is a crushing victory.
In addition to lovers' relationships and vinyl killings, "Beauty Fear Collection" collides with "Beauty Fear 1" in many places, such as school bullying, psychologists and so on. Stir-fried cold rice over and over again, even old fans can't tolerate it.
The reputation of "American Terror Collection" has been lost, exposing the contrary interests of the creator and the audience.
As an audience, as soon as you hear the combination of horror + short film, you can't help but get excited. After all, horror shorts are the test questions that test a choreographer's creativity and mastery.
With the understanding of the "Mei Dread" series, everyone naturally thought: "The Dreaded Collection" should be a short film collection like "Yin and Yang Demon World" (also known as "Lost in Time and Space"), and each story plays the genre creativity to the extreme.
Compared with the "American Terror" with a whole season and a story, the small and beautiful "American Terror Collection" is more in line with the contemporary audience's chasing habits.
But the main creative team just wants to sprinkle water, help the audience review the first 9 seasons, and then warm up for the 10th season.
As a result, the "American Terror Collection" with a tribute to itself became a work of fried cold rice. Judging from the currently exposed cast, there are many supporting characters in the "American Terror" series, and subsequent episodes are likely to let them play the same role to connect the American Terror Universe.
Old acquaintances are waiting for a cameo
In addition to the murder house, "American Terror" may also go to mental hospitals, camping parks and other places to relive old dreams.
Once a work begins to pay tribute to itself frequently, it means a lack of creativity. And "American Fear", which has been filmed for a full nine seasons, has gradually shown fatigue that is not enough.
Perhaps, the mediocrity of "American Terror" is only to pave the way for "American Terror 10". As for whether next month's latest season can hold out big moves and support it, let's wait and see.
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