American Horror Story - 1984

Die achtziger Jahre sind derzeit sehr beliebt. Nächstes Jahr kommt sogar Wonder Woman 1984 heraus. Eine Ära voller Aerobic, regenbogenfarbener Schweißbänder, permanenter, verspielter Musik... die Jugendlichen von heute sind sicherlich schockiert über die Art und Weise, wie die Jugend von damals angebändelt hat, die ohne Handys usw. auskommen musste. Und selbst wenn der intellektuellere Teil des Publikums dazu neigt, 1984 mit Orwell in Verbindung zu bringen, ist es für AHS ein Synonym für ein Sommerlager-Gemetzel. Die Ästhetik der Plakate erinnert an die besseren Cover der tschechischen Buchreihe "Stopy hrůzy", und genau das ist die Atmosphäre der neuen Reihe. Insgesamt schafft es AHS 1984 immer wieder zu überraschen. In den ersten Folgen werden die Ereignisse jener dramatischen Nacht fast in Echtzeit erzählt, und in der zweiten Hälfte der Staffel erfahren wir, was dazu geführt hat und warum. Natürlich sind die alten Bekannten wieder da, Emma Roberts und schließlich auch Lily Rabe. Einige der Witze sind geradezu genial, aber die Gloriole schwebt am meisten über den Szenen im Videoverleih. (01.12.2019)

*SPOILER ALERT* – It was clear from the announcement of the subject matter that this would not be an ordinary slasher parody, yet the author's approach pleasantly surprised me. As a retelling of 80s teen horror, it is at once a first installment, an over-the-top sequel, a parody of itself, an unexpected origin story, and a nostalgic return years later. And yet, that's still not enough for me. The dense atmosphere that is usually inseparable from American Horror Story only arrives in the final act, and instead we're watching something that resembles a slightly whispered, underdeveloped season of Scream Queens. The storylines go for shock value unnecessarily often, the twists don't surprise because they have been overplayed since the very beginning, and even though I was pleased that the character I was least interested in at the start (Jingles) became my favorite to watch, I was left with almost nothing at all from Camp Redwood. I am grateful at least for the well-executed, pointed, and surprisingly moving finale, which gently closes the entire story into its own box. The fact that my head was almost hurting from all the inept spinning in that moment is another matter. (21.11.2019)

Yet again, I was far from satisfied. Judging by the course of the last two seasons, the creators of the series have run out of creative ideas, of which they had quite a few in the beginning. Unfortunately, they kept coming back to their "go-to" strategy from Roanoke (if there’s no atmosphere or tension, at least let the blood flow). In the ninth season, the writers supposedly wanted to pay tribute to the 80's horror classic, in which case I find it hard to understand why they didn't shoot something with a horror atmosphere. I wasn’t entertained, but, knowing myself, I'll watch the tenth season anyway (if I live to see it) to see if I can take it. (31.12.2020)

The season of American Horror Story: 1984 shows that it is possible to make an original slasher movie. It does not necessarily mean that everyone is going to like it. However, this one is imaginative, the killers are not bad, and most importantly, there are characters that I really liked. Plus, visually, it is very 80s, although it is a bit over the top. (31.01.2020)