American Horror Story

American Horror Story has gripped its audiences with four disturbing, gory, and thrilling seemingly disconnected anthologies… although I have my suspicions they’ll eventually link together. The fifth season is set to air on October 7th and director Ryan Murphy has released some sneaky tidbits of information to build excitement, and a little bit of terror…

Wait, watch this tiny teaser first.

https://youtu.be/Z3jVkmqPbPw

 

Also, before we get any further, I need to break some bad news to those who engrossed themselves in the previous four anthologies. Jessica Lange will not be returning in AHS: Hotel. I know, I didn’t understand either. Jessica Lange doesn’t star in the franchise, she is the franchise. Take a few moments if you have to; get it together. I’m just going to assume it will still be amazing, Ryan Murphy hasn’t really let me down so far… except for too much singing in AHS: Freak Show. Try and forget about Lange and enjoy the character descriptions they’ve let loose from their chamber of secrets..

Sarah Paulson as Hypodermic Sally

 

Although Sarah’s characters have been strong women, her characters are always relatively nice in the scheme of sordid individuals surrounding her. Her new character, however, is a “somewhat dark” drug addict that is “unlike anything [she’s] ever done on the show”, said Paulson at the Summer TCA Panel. She went on to tell EW that Sally “will put a stiletto in your face if it means she can get what she needs. But she’s also like a broken rag doll”. Awww. She also revealed she has a clear enemy in Kathy Bates’ character Iris, which leads us to…

 

Kathy Bates as Iris

 

Bates runs the hotel, a role that may have gone to Jessica Lange if she hadn’t deserted us. She is Matt Bomer’s character’s mother and works at the hotel to see him every day, even though he despises her. She told EW “Iris is overprotective with a capital O, especially now since her son is ill”. The old girl gets raunchy in this season with romantic relationships with characters played by BOTH Wes Bentley and Denis O’Hare. I love it.

Okay teaser break

https://youtu.be/POvpQSr0uEM

 

this one’s the best.

 

Lady Gaga as The Countess

 

That’s right, Lady Gaga is exploring her little monster. Murphy can’t get enough of the young star, with multiple dedications to her on his other project Glee, and has decided to add her to his new cast of misfits. She is the glamourous but deadly owner of Hotel Cortez who lives off a diet of sex and blood. Yep. She kills with a fashionable but deadly chain mail glove which you can kind of see in this creepy trailer.

https://youtu.be/ykHDWpBxX7A

 

Matt Bomer as Donovan

 

Bomer’s character is as promiscuous as Iris, citing “interesting relationships with the ladyfolk in his life”. He had a 20 year old relationship with The Countess but craves a domesticity that isn’t possible with her limitless hunger.

 

Finn Wittrock as Tristan Duffy

 

I feel legitimately uncomfortable seeing Wittrock’s face after his creepy American Psycho-esque portrayal of Dandy in AHS: Freak Show. He plays a model who is always looking for “his next high” which manifests itself in The Countess. Wittrock says Tristan is “hypersexual also. It makes him a prime candidate for the Countess’s charms and he is very willingly seduced and then turned by her”. I can’t go by without commenting on how much he looks exactly like Adam Lambert in this role, which I guess is good for helping me to not associate him with Dandy the serial killer…

 

Angela Bassett as Ramona Royale

 

Like Bassett herself, Ramona is supposed to be “a fabulous actress of the day”. Interestingly, Ramona doesn’t actually live at the hotel like the others, but visits often. She is yet another of The Countess’ romantic conquests and teams up with Donovan to seek their revenge.

 

Cheyenne Jackson as Will Drake

 

As the photo suggests, Jackson’s character is a fashion icon who is “trying to reestablish himself” so he moves from New York into the hotel in LA. He brings his son Lachlan, but is soon dragged into the siren’s song of The Countess. He also visits the Murder House from the first season! Yay anthology connection!

 

Wes Bentley as Detective John Lowe

 

LAPD Detective John Lowe moves into the hotel to investigate a series of murders committed by the Ten Commandments Killer, who arranges victims according to the biblical dictates. It’ll be like watching Se7en all over again. Bentley reveals his character is suffering from a “great loss in [his] family”, a family that includes…

 

Chloë Sevigny as Alex Lowe

 

All that’s known about Sevigny’s character so far is that she is the wife of John Lowe and a paediatrician. The fashion designer was phenomenal in AHS: Asylum, as well as her Golden Globe winning performance in Big Love, so I have high hopes. You can read more about Sevigny’s role as a Style Icon in real life in Fashion Industry Broadcast’s Style Icons Volume 8.

 

Denis O’Hare as Elizabeth Taylor

 

Yep.. but he’s not actually playing the iconic actress, who you can read about in Fashion Industry Broadcast’s Style Icons Volume 4, but a character who is inspired by her. He revealed that he shaved his head, and other body parts, to play the employee who works in the hotel’s bar, The Blue Parrot.

 

Evan Peters as James March

 

Did I scare you by waiting this long to announce Evan’s role? Don’t be ridiculous, there’s no way teen girls would stand for his absence from the series. He is one of the rare few to star in every anthology, and his characters looks to impress audiences once again. Like other AHS seasons, the time-frame bounces around and goes back to the 1930s when James March was the builder and owner of the hotel. Peters says “he’s designed a hotel to cater to his specific needs, which tend toward the dark evil”.

This series promises to be more focussed on horror. Murphy quotes the CTV footage of Elisa Lam displaying erratic behaviour moments before her death in The Cecil Hotel in LA as part of the motivation behind this series, so you can expect is to be darker, bloodier, and more grisly. I’ll leave you with a compilation of the final 3 teasers, but don’t watch them alone in the dark…