AHS - Roanoke (Revisiting) *

 I really noticed that I LOVED this first episode of the Roanoke season as I was revisiting it on Netflix. This was the season that I felt disappointed when it took that typical Murphy/Falchuk left turn in a bizarre twist, shifting everything you were watching into a jarring direction. But this first chapter does have familiarity; horror fans certainly see the tropes here, but I guess I dig these particular ones. The LA locals transplanting themselves into rural Virginia after an assault, adopting an old country home seemingly plopped in the middle of nowhere, fearing they are being harassed by "hillbillies", where the spirits of long dead folks emerge to raise hell horror overload is just right up my alley. The house creaks, has long halls with cornered walls that could hide creepy manifestations, features this ungodly pig squeal that seems to wake you up from a deep sleep, and has enough rooms (with this curving stairwell that gave me awesome "The Haunting" vibes) to hold any number of spooky sounds that noise the creeps out of you. I fucking dig this house. I enjoyed the decision (in the first of the season) by the AHS team to have "reenactments" of events with narration from those involved in the story being told to us before the left turn mid-season. 

This is the first review for the Episode 1

Those Blair Witch vibes are epic

Okay, so The Blair Witch Project (1999) is an obvious inspiration for Roanoke when it starts. How could you not look up at the image above and not think about that immediately? I didn't mind it at all. I did remember hoping (at the time) that the season would not just outright steal from that film, but the idea of this mismash of different horror tropes certainly didn't bother me. Paulson and Gooding, Jr. as the reenactment Shelby and Matt, interracial couple while narrating is Rabe and Holland (two of those actors right now I could watch in almost anything) as the "real" Shelby and Matt are four dynamos Murphy and Halchuk can cast over and over and I'll never be disappointed. And the episode sort of gives us that replication of Paranormal shows, where we listen to those who possibly went through these events while what transpires could be viewed as preposterous exaggerations presented as "based on actual events".

You continue to see American Horror Story progress the profanity, tease of nudity and softcore sex, and graphic violence. I always endorse that because it allows the series to remain quite effective on premium services such as Netflix and Hulu. I don't fault FX for allowing Murphy and Falchuk to go crazy, often going right up to that line. Now in this first episode, besides a sex scene between Gooding and Paulson and some mixed in cursing, Roanoke hasn't went too extreme yet. And that's okay. This was more set towards suspense and those old dark house chills my heart hugs as a horror fan.

The first episode introduces a sister into the mix, played in the reenactment by one of my favorite actresses, Angela Bassett, and in narration by Murphy/Falchuk favorite, Adina Porter, as Lee. Lee is the ex cop struggling with sobriety, warding off booze and pain pills, not particularly fond of Shelby, considering "yoga instructor" as a laughable job description. So the episode really stresses the tension between them while Matt tries to serve as arbitrator hoping to ease their disregard for each other. The AHS stock family has so much talent to cast in any of their horror seasons, so no matter how much or how little I might care about particular stories and characters, you get some really good performances. So the obvious fish out of water formula where outsiders arrive in the country and feel out of place and uncomfortable due to the location and locals they don't trust is just too ripe for the picking. I don't think anyone wouldn't expect for the AHS writing team not to exploit that. As much rural folks might have urban anxieties, it works the other way around, too. And Matt, being an African-American man from LA, does address the prejudice concerns, though, the nearby neighbors who wanted the home that Matt and Shelby reside and lost out due to being outbid turn out not to be the "terrorists" that eventually surround Shelby in the woods. While I'm not an advocate for overcooked jump scares with the pounding score, there is this very effective hit and run where a woman appears in the middle of the road at night much to Shelby's horror. And the victim with the top of his head cut off is just a rather surprising jolt, with a pulsating ground that Shelby discovers when in the middle of the woods that really builds a lot of surreal, supernatural content right at the conclusion. I did think the first night this premiered this was a hell of a start. But as it continued, I sort of fell out of love with Roanoke. I don't think I even finished it.