Author / Spirit
After two years, the tenth season of American Horror Story has finally arrived!
The "American Fear" series was originally a year-round series, which was delayed for a year due to the impact of the epidemic, but after more than a year of running-in, "American Terrorism 10" proved with a score of 8.3 that this series still has the ability to "continue to output".
In fact, the reputation of the "American Terror" series is not stable, the first season of "Murder House" was written as a brainless family ethics horror film, but fortunately, domestic audiences rarely contact this "large-scale" horror series, so the Douban score was temporarily maintained at 7.9. However, the second season of "Mental Hospital" received a high score of 8.7, and it is the most perfect season in the series.
After eleven years of filming, the evaluation of each season of the "American Fear" series has been uneven, mainly due to the fact that the team in each season is adjusting and changing, and the story of each season is also independent.
Overall, this series of ratings are above 7.3, and the worst reputation is the ninth season of "1984", which is also very exciting and has won the love of many audiences.
The reporter of the new drama watch (ID: xinjuguancha), a loyal fan of the series, watched three episodes in a row after the tenth season aired, and wanted to analyze the "evergreen" secret of the series.
"Haunted House" mode
Brad Snyder proposed ten script models in his screenwriting theory book, Save the Cat 2, the first of which was the "Haunted House" model. These ten models are the most suitable modes of drama for commercial films under Hollywood industrial production after reading countless films, in other words- it is absolutely beautiful to write like this!
The "Haunted House" model is a common horror film writing method in Hollywood, and "The Shining" and "Cabin in the Woods" all follow this model. This pattern requires three elements: a confined space (such as uninhabited islands, secret rooms, forests, etc.), a demigod and a half-man (he knows some secrets that others do not know), and an original sin (why the victim is punished).
The "Fear of America" series applies this model to the creation of the series, the first season of "Ghost House" is an old house with hidden secrets, the second season is a mental sanatorium in England, the third season is a mysterious witch school... Season 5 is the Mysterious Inn... Season 10 is also a house and town full of mysterious powers.
The "Haunted House" is characterized by a fixed scene or space that seems to be manipulated by mysterious forces, and it is easy for the protagonists to enter and difficult to get out. Just like the hotel in "The Shining" is located on the mountain, due to heavy snow, the protagonists can only stay in this hotel. The house in "Fear of Beauty 10" is not due to objective conditions that prevent the protagonists from leaving, but because of the male protagonist's "desire" for writing and has to stay in this house.
The element of "demigod" exists to tell the audience what the "mysterious power" is and what the protagonists are entangled with. Generally such people are similar to "wizards", "doctors" or children who can see "dirty things" from a young age, such as the little boy in "The Shining", the exorcist who tells everyone the secret of the "haunted house" in "Lurking", and martin whose ancestors found the secret in "Cabin in the Woods" who smoked marijuana.
The "Dread" series also arranges such characters, the first season is a strange girl who can predict the future, the fifth season is the countess with secrets and her lover, and the tenth season is a female madman with tuberculosis... They exist to create mysteries, uncover secrets, and cause panic among the audience and the characters in the play.
As for the "original sin" is a must in all horror genre works, in the Western concept, these people suffer because they have committed mistakes before, such as several protagonists in "The Cabin in the Woods" represent one of the original sins of the "Seven Deadly Sins", and only the pure and good "virgin" is spared from death.
Each story in the "Fear of America" series is independent, the protagonists face different punishments and their original sins, and the tenth season is about the terrible desires of human nature, which has become the theme of this season.
An analysis of human desires
Each theme of the "Fear of America" series is different, but essentially about "desire", the third season of "Witch Gathering" is because Fiona wants to obtain the secret of eternal life, which triggers the struggle between the two factions of witches; the eighth season of "Revelation" people fight for "survival"; the tenth season of the male and female protagonists are all desire for career, in order to create inspiration at the expense of taking drugs.
Season 10 is about Harry, a writer who takes his daughter and his pregnant wife on a vacation to the town, and when the family first sets foot in town, something weird happens.
First, the carcasses of animals appeared on the road, and then they encountered a mysterious man chasing them, but after calling the police, the police told them that they were addicts. Later, Harry met two other writers at the bar who had lived in the town for many years because the magical town always inspired them.
Back at home, Harry was attacked by a vampire. Just as Harry decided to leave the land of right and wrong, he suddenly received a call from the writer saying that there were "good things" for him. It turned out to be a black pill, not a stimulant or a hallucinogenic drug, but a mysterious drug that can make people smart, and as long as he eats it, he has a steady stream of inspiration. Harry ate a slice of the letter suspiciously, only to have a tense and exciting picture come to mind the next day.
This drug was originally capable of turning people into vampires, and although it could gain inspiration for a short time, it would turn into a walking dead over time.
Harry's daughter, the little girl who played the violin all day and dreamed of becoming a musician, secretly ate a slice of it after learning that her father had such a miracle drug, so the whole family became vampires.
This story seems to be a vampire theme, but it actually writes about the desires of human nature, and it is desire that turns these people into vampires. The so-called "drugs that make people smarter" are actually metaphors for drugs, and these writers use drugs for inspiration and eventually become the walking dead.
Use "horror themes" as a metaphor for reality
If you think that the "American Terror" series is simply telling a horror and bizarre story, then underestimate the pattern of this American drama.
In fact, every story of "American Terror" is a reflection of reality, very close to Current Affairs or History in the United States.
For example, the actor who died in the first season of "Murder House" is the famous "Black Dahlia" case in American history, and the young American actress Short was dismembered, and this case has not been solved so far.
The third season of "Witch Assembly" is actually a metaphor for the persecution of "witches" from 1480 to 1780, which is also the darkest history of the Middle Ages, where many women of good families are beheaded and burned, and the scene is very tragic.
The deformed people in the fourth season of "The Deformed Show" have realistic prototypes, such as "Lobster Man", which has real prototypes, and there were reports on the news in the United States at that time.
The fifth season of "Hotel" is based on the serial murder case in the United States, based on HH Holmes, who is the most intelligent criminal in the United States, who built a building specifically for killing people, this building is like a "murder maze", there are darkrooms, trap doors, in short, these designs are to facilitate his killing. According to his own account, he killed about 250 people, but only 9 were actually confirmed.
The sixth season of "Loianok" is based on the American folklore "The Loianok Incident", which satirizes the events of the 16th century When the British attempted to colonize North America.
The tenth season of "Two Sides" is based on "drugs", if it were not for the epidemic, it may be able to catch up with the hot current events of "New York marijuana legalization".
The reason why "American Horror Story" has gained widespread attention is not only popular in North America, but also has a stable audience around the world, because through its large-scale, terrifying, and bloody shell, the audience can still feel its powerful thematic spiritual power, the irony and reflection on history, and the reflection on human nature.
The story of "American Terror" continues, and the thirteenth season is already scheduled, which shows the "evergreen" prospects of this series.