AHS’s newest season is probably the most unique of the series. First, there was Murder House (2011), considered one of the best seasons, next to Asylum (2012). The proceeding seasons weren’t regarded as highly, particularly Freak Show (2014)—although that’s my personal favorite, but I suppose that’s my inner hipster-contrarian.
The seventh season’s premise is a TV show within a TV show; “My Roanoke Nightmare” is a documentary television series about a small family being terrorized by both crazy inbred hicks, a pig man, dead colonialists, and a demonic presence called “The Butcher," played by Kathy Bates. The “real” couple, the Millers, played by Lily Rabe and André Holland, are interviewed and tell detailed accounts of their short stay in their run down mansion. Reenactments take up more than half of the first few episodes, the “fake” millers played by Sarah Paulson and Cuba Gooding Jr.
The first five episodes, about the documentary series, are probably the creepiest and the most addictive. The introduction of the pig man, alongside its squeals and oinks in the distance prove that pigs are scary. And amongst AHS fans, there are several theories floating around that this pig man connects to an episode of Murder House, where the guy from “Modern Family” has an irrational fear of a pig-version of Bloody Mary (say her / its name three times in the mirror and voila—you dead).
The interviews of the real Millers provide a dramatic spin to the show, whereas the reenactments are pure creepiness. There are grisly images, and a few jump scares. AHS seems to be king in jump scares coupled with split-second shots of horrifying images, i.e, Chloë Sevigny’s transition in Asylum.
Possibly one of the most annoying parts of the first few episodes is listening to the reasoning of the Millers’ staying in the house, despite the numerous break-ins and sightings of the pig-man. If they had left at the first signal of there being a pig-man, like the oinking deep in the woods, their marriage would be saved and 20+ people would still be alive.
Bates’ character, The Butcher, is similar to the role she played in Coven, Delphine LaLaurie—both are women who are the heads of murderous gangs that have a knack for nauseating torture. Honestly, AHS’s saving grace is Kathy Bates, an Oscar nominee and winner.
The rest of Roanoke is about a spinoff of “My Roanoke Nightmare;” the show-within-a-show was so popular and highly-praised, the producers decided to make a new show called “Return to Roanoke: Three Days in Hell” where the actors from the reenactments and the actual victims come together for a reality show, with the typical hidden cameras and alcohol. Sh*t really hits the fan when it turns out there actually is a murderous family of inbred hicks living down the road (who also grow a drool-worthy amount of weed and snort coke before killings), and that the pig-man also exists.
This is where the season basically goes downhill. There isn’t anything creepy in these episodes, and you grow to hate most of the characters. They become uninteresting and take the reality TV spoof too far. Not to mention, Angela Bassett’s talents are absent because the writers decided, yet again, to have her play a stereotyped role of an African-American woman (seriously: Coven, Hotel, and Roanoke take such a step back in the writing of WOC characters, it’s offensive).
The final couple episodes really jump the shark when an elder Lana Winters, the journalist from Asylum, interviews the only living Roanoke survivor, Lee Harris, the sister of the husband in the Miller family. And the show goes further down the toilet when a spoofed version of “Ghost Hunters” enters the Roanoke house and, surprise, gets killed. I think this actually happens a couple of times—fans of “My Roanoke Nightmare” see the house for themselves and get killed. The ending is so disappointing that it’s difficult to pay attention to, and you actually end up happy that so many people died during the making of this show.
It’s even more of a disappointment because it started off creepy and intriguing, with moderately good acting. The Miller characters were interesting, especially Lee Harris’ story of substance abuse and the custody battle with the overly protective father of her daughter. But her character is quickly dismantled when she ends up a fame-whore, pleading for her daughter’s attention over national TV, and she is dragged into the pile of half-assed crappy characters that make up Roanoke.
The sixth season starts off great, but basically leaves the audience high and dry. Honestly, the only two reasons I kept watching was A) I hoped it would get better and B) I would consider it an accomplishment to have gotten through that trash, and I did.
