Holy Blood Suckers! Last week’s season 5 premier of American Horror Story opened with an introduction to the tenants of the Hotel Cortez. The hotel, which is better known as hotel hell to the unfortunate souls who’ve checked in, has a new owner, but not everyone one is happy about the new boss. What changes to this majestic relic will Mr. Drake make and, who was the original owner? Meet me in the lobby. The bellboy will show us to our rooms.
Blood
While Sally sews the drug addict from last week inside the mattress, screams rise from the basement as the wee ones suck on the blood of the remaining Swede tourist. No chocolates on your pillow tonight, Dearie. The girl’s lifeless body is dumped down the laundry chute with the rest of the unfortunate check-ins.
The Countess gets her morning smoothie from the transfusions given by the wee ones. Donavan wants to stay in, but the Countess (Lady Gaga) wants to go hunting. She goes alone and we are treated to one of Gaga’s song, but it leaves us hungry for more. Sure, the music is there, but I want to see her do the song.
The writers of American Horror Story like to lead us down a dark tunnel that we know will lead to nothing but pain, and yet, we follow. We try to make sense of the story that is unfolding before our eyes. Who are these monsters that have taken shelter in the decaying hotel? Why should we care about them?
Sally tells John that she’s not a prostitute, but the needle marks down her arms give a different testimony; her pimp is heroin. Her attempts to get John to go off the wagon fail, but she does learn about the crime that made him give up drinking and about his son’s abduction.
Vogue
The new owner, Will Drake (Cheyenne Jackson) is hosting a fashion show inside the lobby and Sally isn’t invited, which royally pisses this ghoul off. Claudia (Naomi Campbell) is from Vogue Magazine and, one of her bad boy male models is our ever crazy Freak Show Dandy (Finn Wittrock). The Countess and Donavan are better decked out than anyone there. I love the clothing, the setting and, the mood of this whole season so far.
John’s daughter, Scarlett, who arrives at the hotel to spend time with her dad, is taken on a tour of the hotel by Drake’s son Lachlan. He shows her the tiny glass coffins and one of them holds her little brother, Holden. Lachlan tells her not to say anything to her father.
James Patrick March
Can a building be bad to the bone? There are homes that hold a negative power even when empty. As a ghost investigator and psychic, I’ve encountered homes that felt wrong as soon as I entered them. What makes a house bad? Sometimes, it’s the land the house sits on. Was there a war fought on the land. Gettysburg has lots of haunted buildings. Too many needless deaths, too much blood soaking into the ground can make an entire area haunted.
Sure, nasty entities can haunt a home and that certainly gives out the bad vibes a person can sense on entering the home, but can the acts of a mad man make a home or hotel evil? Triston is the first to meet Mr. March (Evan Peters), but it is Iris who tells John and us the story about the original owner of the Hotel Cortez. This is a different character for Peters to play; a mature man, cultured and debonair and, I like it. Evan Peters is a nasty and dangerous man this time around and now we know who was behind the gas mask in episode one.
Holden
Scarlett sneaks away from her police guard and goes back to the hotel. She wants to find her brother, but he’s not in the glass coffin. When she does find him, she shows him a family picture. Does he remember her or his parents? She really doesn’t understand what’s going on or why her brother hasn’t aged, but she does manage to take a picture with little brother.
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John
After hearing Iris’s tale of the murderous, sadistic serial killer, Mr. March, John is now able to connect those old crimes to the ones being committed now. The Ten Commandments Killer is copying March’s crimes. John receives a package at the police station. It’s a bloody Oscar award. Is it from the killer?
Conclusion
We were treated to 90 minutes of AHS tonight which was fine by me because there is a lot of background story to catch up on. After five seasons of watching American Horror Story, I find myself looking at the cast as old friends who arrive each season in a new guise. Will they be the good guys or bad? It doesn’t matter because we enjoy their acting no matter what role they’re given. I like the constant comparisons to The Shining, especially those long hallways that lead to nowhere.
Tristan Duffy has been turned into a blood sucker by the disco loving Countess who then gives him the rules: don’t drink from the dead or sick people; the sun won’t kill you, but it will make you weak; keep away from silver and wooden stakes; don’t fall in love; don’t be reckless. With Tristan as the Countess’s new boy toy, Donavan is out and he’s not a happy vampire.
We did get a special treat tonight with the appearance of Madchen Amick as Mrs. Ellison, as mom who doesn’t believe in vaccinations. Her son now has the measles and as the doctor tries to warn her, measles can be fatal. Madchen Amick is one of the people from Twin Peaks fame. She played the abused wife on the show. I’m hoping we’ll see more of her on this show.
I wasn’t sure how Lady Gaga would fit in with the AHS family, but she is holding her own. The only disappointment was that we didn’t get to see Lady Gaga do her thing and sing.
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