Club“I wasn’t imagining things, Matt,” the imaginary Shelby Miller (Sarah Paulson) says to her imaginary husband (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) halfway through the premiere of American Horror Story: Roanoke. Do you think I’m lying to you?”“Shelby. No, I believe you 1. I’m sorry.” He kneels at her side, crooning, “I believe you, I believe you.”The real Shelby (Lily Rabe) cuts in: “I felt so guilty, because I couldn’t tell Matt the truth.” AHS: Roanoke’s documentary framing device is more than a fun diversion from previous seasons. It’s an invitation to unreliability. Big News on American Horror Story. Includes blogs, news, and community conversations about American Horror Story. The American Horror Story Coven: Location Guide takes viewers inside some of New Orlean's oldest mansions and a possible fountain of youth in City Park. American Crime Season Finale: The Story Behind Regina King's Gruesome Discovery Has King earned another Emmy nom? American Gods Premiere: Bryan Fuller. From the beginning, we’re presented with two sets of characters telling overlapping stories. And what they’re saying doesn’t always add up. The blissfully happy couple—or so Shelby says—walks down a Los Angeles street, celebrating: Matt’s landed a big promotion the same day they learn Shelby’s pregnant. They stroll along, smiling, kissing. Out of nowhere, a young man brutally attacks Matt, knocking him to the ground. A gang initiation, talking- head Matt says, a freak random assault. I know it,” Shelby tells Matt’s ER doctor. And he does, just as easy as that—because this isn’t just a story, it’s a story within a story, prodded into shape by participants and producers alike. It’s a life experience being forged into legend. That’s just the kind of connection we have.” But there’s a vivid lack of connection here, and not only because the real Millers are telling their stories separately, straight to the camera. In the hospital scene, Shelby sits alone near the edge of the frame, a broad, blank expanse of wall behind her. From another perspective, she’s seen through an interior window. Even when the doctor appears with an update, she’s closed off, isolated. Shelby miscarries as she sits holding Matt’s hand. Maybe it’s from the shock of the assault or the violence of being pushed to the ground herself; maybe it’s a contrivance, the kind of compressed narrative that happens in reconstructed stories. But in the moment, it feels as if their eagerly awaited pregnancy is the price they pay for his recovery. After he recovers, they flee the city for the peace of Matt’s home state, where they find a bargain of a house. He doesn’t tell Shelby about the bloody pig he found on their doorstep, or that he buried it not far from their home.“Does your wife imbibe?” a police officer asks after Shelby reports being assaulted by pitchfork- and torch- wielding strangers in old- fashioned garb. And she does, oh, she does. Shelby’s fondness for wine is prominently on display throughout the re- enactment. She pours glass after glass, sips, and swirls—only when her husband is away. Watching Shelby splash wine into a glass already rimmed with lip- prints, the fictional Lee (Angela Bassett) asks, “Can I be real with you?” By definition, she can’t. The real Lee (Adina Porter) has a no- nonsense air, but she’s soft- spoken, even gentle. The re- enacted character of Lee is all tough talk and swagger. Lee’s backstory is just a mess: The shooting gallery, the wailing baby, the serial rapist who blows his head off with a smile are all throwaway grotesqueries designed to showcase Lee as a tough cookie who’s seen it all. But Angela Bassett doesn’t need this flashback within a flashback; she has the depth, range, and assurance to project “tough cookie who’s seen it all” without a lot of sensationalistic background. Everyone in this episode thinks everyone else is lying, or seeing things, or playing tricks. Lee and Shelby fight over Shelby’s novice cooking, over a mysteriously misplaced knife, over a wine bottle that rolls into Lee’s room, taunting her tenuous sobriety. When a noise interrupts their quarrel, Lee leads the way downstairs, where she and Shelby are drawn together in the shared light of a grainy home video playing in the cellar. He doesn’t share the eerie intimacy of standing in a dark cellar, wondering what intruder left the video running and where they escaped to. He can’t know the horror of finding the grand staircase festooned with stick dolls reminiscent of the figures from The Blair Witch Project. Alone together in the cellar, the two women are united; when they return with Matt, they’re as separate as three people in the same room can be.(Sarah Paulson, Angela Bassett, Cuba Gooding, Jr.)Whatever else American Horror Story’s reputation, its reliable stable of actors delivers. It’s just plain fun, and potentially revealing, to observe the documentary’s gaps and overlaps between person and character, and to spot the inconsistencies in their statements and their actions. In another, she blusters, “At the time, it made perfect sense. Humans respond to fear in two simple ways: fight or flight. There’s no shame in getting the hell out of the way.” She tactfully omits the part where she fled without warning her husband.(Colby French, Cuba Gooding, Jr.)The first episode, directed by Bradley Buecker, is full of showy flourishes. Two conspicuous aerial shots have a perverse symmetry. In the first, Shelby stretches out in the dark circle of the hot tub. Later, Matt finds a slaughtered hog stretched on the porch, just below the dark circle of a porch light. The sequence of Matt setting up the surveillance system is both jaunty and voyeuristic. An otherwise plodding conversation between Matt and the local cop is intensified by lurid lighting as the cruiser’s flashers splash the yard with blue and red, blue and red. AHS’s direction can be so eloquent that it’s easy to overlook how little the story is saying. Follow American Horror Story on ShareTV. Watch full-episodes, get show updates and episode/character guides (3,252 fans). American Horror Story. Let’s face it—the fall TV lineup isn’t complete without new episodes of American Horror Story, and after months of rumors, teasers, and. Right now, the entirety of AHS: Roanoke’s success rests not on its loose collection of haunted- house and historic- ghosts tropes—we’ve been there, and there, before—but on the ambiguity and unreliability conjured up between reality and retelling. It’s possible that in the mockumentary, creators (and writers of this episode) Ryan Murphyand Brad Falchuk have hit on a format where AHS’s famous vagaries of plot and character are a virtue, not a liability. At least in the premiere, the extra layer of pretense paradoxically strips away the arch artifice that is the show’s signature. I can’t tell yet if that’s a welcome change or a dire mistake. Stray observations. It takes a lot of nerve for Shelby to answer Lee’s “We look out for each other” with “Yeah, except for you! You take and you take and you take!” when Lee has arrived on short notice at her brother’s request to keep his frightened wife company.“Where were you when Matt was lying in that hospital bed, unconscious, fighting for his life?” is a meaningful question, and it would bode well for the season if AHS: Roanoke has a meaningful answer. If it’s just one more empty accusation made in the heat of anger, that’s a lot less interesting. Matt drinks alone, too, and it’s just as conspicuously presented. A mini- bar bottle of vodka glug- glugs into a chunky glass center- screen as he laughs at the hotel TV. Matt’s sentiment—“I was in a complete panic. My family was in danger and all I could do was watch”—rings true for anyone who’s sat by helplessly in a disaster. But there’s a more sinister subtext to those words for black Americans, one echoed by Matt’s practical preoccupation with filming the mysterious, unmotivated assaults and intrusions on his home, and by his certainty that the police won’t help.“They just want to freak us out so that we’ll leave.” “Well, it’s working!”“Lee judged my yoga, and my gluten allergy, and my two years of college.” It’s not the attributes, but her smug asperity: Lily Rabe has faultlessly reproduced the person I discreetly avoid at a party. American Horror Story: Coven Location Guide. Filmed in New Orleans, this season of “American Horror Story” takes viewers to some of the city’s oldest mansions, a notorious haunted house and possible fountain of youth in City Park. Compiled by Anne Wheeler Scroll down for a map of all the locations, and see our Facebook album with pics of Emma Roberts and Evan Peters spotted in New Orleans here. Enjoy our complete American Horror Story Coven: Location Guide. EPISODE 1: BITCHCRAFTMiss Robicheaux’s Academy aka Buckner Mansion. Jackson Ave. The mansion was built to outdo his ex- business partner’s well- known Stanton Hall mansion in Natchez, Mississippi. The Buckner Mansion has galleries on three sides, an amazing honeysuckle motif cast iron fence and a triple ballroom. The mansion served as a home to the Buckner family until 1. Soule Business School moved in. Soule was the best business school in the South until it closed doors in 1. The mansion is now a private residence, available as a vacation rental for the tidy sum of $2. According to the show’s Facebook page “Extreme precaution was taken to not damage the 1. It’s a popular photo spot in the Garden District though, so join the other fans parked in front for a photo opp. Buckner Mansion in a promo for the show (via American Horror Story)The plaque outside the gateway Tau Omega Alpha Fraternity House aka Round Table Clubhouse. St. The building has served as a clubhouse for The Round Table Club since 1. The Round Table Club was founded in 1. The club is still active, hosting lectures each Thursday evening, from October through June, and is available as an event venue for weddings and other social occasions. The adjacent Audubon Park is an active production site for “American Horror Story: Coven,” as evidenced by the large hospitality tent located on the park grounds. The tent is visible from St. Charles Avenue and the park grounds. Lalaurie Mansion aka Madame Lalaurie’s House of Horrors. Royal St. The mansion was finished in 1. Madame Lalaurie owned the property in her own name and lived in the house with her husband and two of her daughters. The story goes that a fire ravaged the Lalaurie Mansion in 1. Bystanders broke down the doors and found several mutilated slaves imprisoned in the attic and at least one chained to a stove in the kitchen. After the tortured slaves story circulated throughout New Orleans’ high society, the mansion was ransacked by a mob. Madame Lalaurie fled the city, likely to an apartment in Paris, never to be seen again. The mansion remained in a ruined state until 1. The building eventually became a furniture and barber shop, girls’ high school, music conservatory and, at some point, the Haunted Saloon and luxury apartments. The mansion was converted back to a private home and has been owned by the likes of Nicholas Cage, who lost the property due to back taxes in 2. A few years ago, several graves were found on the property, but Madame Lalaurie’s whereabouts are still unknown. Texas energy trader Michael Whalen is reported to be the new owner of the home. See nola. com’s interview with his interior designer and photos here. THE REAL MADAME LALAURIE AND OTHER LEGENDS FROM AMERICAN HORROR STORY: COVEN On a recent weekend, the house was modestly decorated for Christmas and it wasn’t uncommon to see two or three ghost tours stopped in front at night. Gallier House aka the exterior of Madame Lalaurie’s Mansion. Nan stops at the Lalaurie mansion during the witches walk. Exterior shots used in the show are the Gallier House, a mid 1. National Historic Landmark, and operated as a historic house museum. The house was built by prominent New Orleans architect James Gallier Jr. The house is open to the public for tours. Hermann- Grima House aka the interior of Madame Lalaurie’s Mansion. In the episode’s opening scenes in Madame Lalaurie’s parlor, the Hermann- Grima’s yellow walls, red curtains and crystal chandelier are noticeable. This house is an 1. Federal mansion, designated as a National Historic Landmark, and also operated as a historic house museum. The Hermann- Grima House has the only 1. French Quarter and has been painstakingly restored to depict the lifestyle of an affluent Creole family in 1. New Orleans. The house is open to the public for tours. Parlor at the Hermann- Grima House. Kathy Bates as Madame Lalaurie. Popp’s Fountain. 30 Zachary Taylor Dr. Popp, a prominent businessman, donated money to City Park in 1. City Park Bandstand. He died shortly after the bandstand’s dedication and, upon his death, his descendants donated additional money to the park to build a fountain in his memory. The fountain and a promenade supported by 2. Corinthian columns was dedicated in 1. The Works Progress Administration added tile walkways and landscaping and contracted Enrique Alvarez to sculpt a bronze fountainhead in the design of leaping dolphins. Popp’s Fountain was restored in 1. Hurricane Katrina. The fountain flowed again in 2. Vacherie Restaurant from the Witches Walk 8. Toulouse St. Marie, at the corner of Toulouse and Dauphine Streets, Vacherie consists of a restaurant, bar and cafe. Its little gold sign was readable when the witches walk through the French Quarter. The restaurant is named for a small community situated on the banks of the Mississippi River west of New Orleans in Plantation Country. Chef Jarred Zeringue grew up there, and his menu is inspired by his hometown. The cafe serves breakfast, sandwiches, salads and carryout items. The restaurant’s dinner menu includes items like Gritcake and collards, fried green tomato and shrimp remoulade poboy, boudin- stuffed deep fried hen and Oysters Rockefeller with French bread. The bar also serves up a good selection of starters, along with cocktails of course. The bar and cafe are open seven days a week, while the restaurant serves dinner Monday through Saturday. EPISODE 2: BOY PARTS New Orleans Adolescent Hospital where Zombie Kyle Rises Again. State St. Uptown. This hospital was once a pre- Civil War plantation brickyard and shoddy cottage fronting Tchoupitoulas Street. The site became the New Orleans Marine Hospital sometime in the mid- 1. Public Health Service Hospital and New Orleans Adolescent Hospital. The site is enclosed in a brick and iron fence with manned gaurdhouses. It’s also overgrown and home to several feral cats since the New Orleans Adolescent Hospital left in 2. Frankenstein boyfriend scene in episode 2. It was announced earlier this year that Children’s Hospital has acquired and wants to reopen the old hospital, but not timeline for reopening has been set. Update: In the comments, someone let us know that the interior morgue scenes were shot in the basement of International High School at 7. Carondelet Street. Maison Vitry aka Marie Laveau’s Cornrow City Salon Corner of Dumaine and N. Prieur streets in Treme. Maison Vitry is a splendidly decaying manor located in New Orleans’ Treme neighborhood. The house was built in 1. New Orleans’ Golden Age: 1. The house is furnished with an eclectic mix of antiques, lots of gold- leaf and truly reflects the decaying splendor that is New Orleans. The house is available for rental at $3. We’ve seen Maison Vitry in many episodes now, including when Fiona visits Marie Laveau at her salon/voodoo parlor and Cordelia does the same seeking help with her fertility problem. Chubbie’s Fried Chicken where Queenie worked. General Meyer Ave. Later, in the second to last episode titled “Go to Hell,” she goes back to the restaurant and is visited by Papa Legba, who tells her that frying chicken is her “hell” because it was the worst time in her life. Crescent City Connection where Zoe drives Zombie Kyle to the swamp The Crescent City Connection (CCC) spans the Mississippi River, connecting the east and west banks of New Orleans. The CCC is the furthest downstream bridge on the Mississippi River and the busiest bridge on the lower Mississippi. The original span of the bridge was built between 1. The bridge has been used in several films and television shows including, “D. If the trio were driving across the Crescent City Connection in real life, they would instead wind- up in the land of pho restaurants, strip malls and Target. Royal Street at the end of episode 2 Royal Street is a block off of, and runs parallel to, Bourbon Street, from Canal Street to Jackson Barracks at the edge of Orleans Parish. Royal Street is home to posh antique shops and art galleries, selling centuries- old treasures, with prices much too rich for the averages tourist’s blood. But the window shopping is exquisite. Royal Street of today could easily be confused with Royal Street of 2. Buildings along Royal are still graced with gorgeous wrought- iron galleries and balconies, making it easy to fancy seeing Madame Lalaurie, who lived at the corner of Governor Nicholls, or Marie Laveau passing behind a partially shuttered window. In this episode, Fiona and Madame Lalaurie are shown sitting against a building on Royal Street, and then walking up the street toward Canal in the closing scene. Same view down Royal Street. EPISODE 3: THE REPLACEMENTSCure where Fiona has a martini at the bar 4. Freret St. Uptown. Cure is a hip (it doesn’t have a sign!), fancy- pants bar located on New Orleans’ up- and- coming Freret Street. Cure is constantly topping “best” lists for its innovative craft cocktails and cool atmosphere. The bar’s menu offers an ever- changing list of artisanal cocktails, and the shirt- sleeved bartenders can concoct anything to suit your pallet. Be sure to try the labor- intensive, but best in the city, Ramos Gin Fizz (tip your bartender well for this one), the daily $5 punch or seasonal White Witch. At the beginning of episode 4 and in episode 5, Cure appeared once again and seems to be Fiona’s favorite spot for a cocktail. Atchafalaya Restaurant where Fiona and Madison have brunch 9. Louisiana Ave. Atchafalaya is housed in an old shotgun house, beautifully renovated to reflect the building’s history. If the first three episodes aired so far are any indication, a certain element of each of this season’s first five episodes will be connected to one of the past five seasons. Let’s go back to the season premiere two weeks ago. That episode kicked things off with Shelby and Matt buying an extremely cheap home in North Carolina, only to get warnings from some strange folks that they were making a mistake by moving in. This is almost exactly how Season 1 of “AHS” kicked off, as the Harmons bought the Murder House in L. A. Though Briarcliff was a mental ward rather than a convalescent home, the concept of a facility for the mentally ill being run by sadists who abuse their patients is one that this episode shares with Season 2, “Asylum.”In this week’s episode, Shelby, Matt and Lee get an unexpected visit from Cricket, a medium who reveals to them that their house is being haunted by the spirits of the lost Roanoke Colony. Cricket is played by Leslie Jordan, who has only appeared in one previous AHS season: “Coven.” Cricket also mentions that he found out about the disappearance of Lee’s daughter while eating at Cafe Du Monde. That’s a popular cafe in New Orleans, the city where “Coven” took place. Also Read: 'American Horror Story': Best Fan Theories About the Upcoming Twist. If this pattern holds up, then we should expect that some element of next week’s episode will call back to Season 4, “Freak Show.” Fortunately, we have an idea of what that element might be. Murphy has promised that this season will explore the ancestry of Dandy Mott, one of the major villains of the fourth season of “AHS.” After that, we might see episode five make some reference to “Hotel” before we finally get to the big sixth episode. The enigmatic promos leading up to this season all focused on the number six, with one commercial even calling back all of the past seasons. With such an emphasis being put on numbers and the past, it seems appropriate that the sixth episode of the sixth season be a pivotal moment for the series. In the meantime, hardcore fans can put their knowledge of the series to good use by following the paper trail of references that “AHS” is leaving for them. Long- running reality shows often have . That got us to thinking: . Her idealism is broken hard by the abuse she suffers in Briarcliff, but she ultimately comes out on top through sheer determination. FXEvan Peters as Tate Langdon, . We attribute this to his strong performance as the clingy teen killer Tate, who is proof that you should always be skeptical of the . Taissa Farmiga got one of the best scenes in . After being possessed by the devil, she's transformed from a demure, devout young nun to a sexually charged manipulator. And don't even get us started on her horrible demise. FXAngela Bassett as Marie Laveau, . The fact that Laveau was an actual 1. TV. FXFrances Conroy as Myrtle Snow, . Eccentric, biting, and devoted to the Academy, she proved to be both a mother figure and one of the most violent characters in season 3. Just ask the Council members who condemned her to death. FXZachary Quinto as Dr. Thredson is now the creepiest character Quinto has ever played on TV. His compassionate exterior was merely a front that allowed him to manipulate Lana and Kit and to hide his bloodlust. It's that constant, cruel subversion that makes . His Liz Taylor commands everyone's attention with her confidence and acidity, but it's her vulnerability and transition into life as a woman that makes her unforgettable. FXEmma Roberts as Madison Montgomery, . A mean girl with telekinesis, she was once described by Queenie as a . Her fun spirit and tragic arc made her a fan favorite, as did her transformation into a genius in . He is simultaneously dignified and chilling, and we could gaze at those wild muttonchops for days. FXGabourey Sidibe as Queenie, . Imagine her surprise when she finds out who Barack Obama is. FXJamie Brewer as Adelaide Langdon, . She became a dark horse favorite for early adopters of the show as her gentle nature contrasted with her twisted mother and brother. She also was notable for being a character with Down syndrome played by an actress who also had the genetic disorder. FXJohn Carroll Lynch as Twisty, . His introduction in broad daylight is an unnerving, masterful scene thanks in large part to Lynch's ability to creep people out with just his eyes and physicality. FXJessica Lange as Constance Langdon, . It is incredibly hard to pick which of Lange's four . We almost went with Fiona Goode, but ultimately settled on Constance. It was this performance that set the standard for all future . That got us to thinking.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
September 2017
Categories |