S05.E01: Checking In

[Valny]

I am not sure if anyone caught it... But in the credits after each name it showed one of the 10 commaments. I think they are going to take their time to tie things together.

Ooh that's interesting, I am going to have to check that out now. I noticed  the commandments but I'd want to see if each are connected with the person.

[peacheslatour]

I didn't realize how much I missed being totally confused.

 

/Killed him?  Hell, it rectum!

[amkiss]

Found something posted elsewhere....

 

This LAPD detective moves into the Cortez in order to investigate a series  of murders perpetrated by the Ten Commandments Killer, who arranges  vicitms
according to the biblical dictates.

[Brattinella]

I didn't realize how much I missed being totally confused.

 

/Killed him?  Hell, it rectum!

 

Generally, I detest those kinds of puns (especially in TPC) but today, you SLAY ME!  Thanks!

[peacheslatour]

De nada!  What is TPC, please?

[Brattinella]

The People's Court, the smarmy hallway guy is always saying stuff like that (about women).

[Bruinsfan]

They should have stuck it in Hollywood or Sunset Blvd., like the old Roosevelt Hotel.  It needed to be in a funky retro kind of neighborhood.

Coincidentally the Roosevelt is the one place I've ever had a genuine paranormal experience. Alas, it did not involve Matt Bomer inviting me to an orgy.

 

OMG, they only dream of being as cool as Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie.  Dream on, ya amateurs, Gaga and Bomer.  Not even in the same league.

Well, no, but then again there are more than seven billion other people one could say the same about.

[Petunia13]

Found something posted elsewhere....

This LAPD detective moves into the Cortez in order to investigate a series of murders perpetrated by the Ten Commandments Killer, who arranges vicitms

according to the biblical dictates.

Yes. This was established in the episode that has already aired and is being discussed in this thread.

I wonder how The Countess affords her lifestyle?

[Brattinella]

Probably with music videos.  Or porn.

[DollEyes]

My verdict: grotesque, disturbing and downright disgusting, even by RM's ambivalent standards, but since it stars people I actually like, I'm in. Since past seasons of AHS have featured ghosts, witches, aliens and freaks, RM's featuring in Buffy speak, "undead Americans," was the next step. As much as RM gets on my nerves  most times-and he does, to put it mildly-this time I don't mind his not calling this season's lead monsters vampires because IMO while they may have some vamp-like traits ( the sex, violence, the ability to heal/regenerate, immortality and bloodlust, especially the last 2), they don't have others, such as an extreme aversion to sunlight,, the power of flight and of course, fangs. When The Countess and Donovan seduced/slaughtered their victims from the park, I thought that just cutting their throats and letting them bleed to death wasn't "just" cruel, it was impractical and sloppy. Murders like those are when old-school fangs would have come in handy because fangs help vamps control and usually end the victims' movements and blood flow, so good food doesn't go to waste. On the bright side, at least they don't sparkle.

 

 Acting-wise, I didn't know what to expect from Lady Gaga, but I was pleasantly surprised. She's no Jessica Lange, but I've seen way worse. The fashions were pure Gaga, which worked for the most part, except for when she killed one of the so-called "Swedish meatballs" while wearing a turban, looking like, to quote Sally Field in Soapdish (who suffered the same fate) "Gloria fucking Swanson." Much of the heavy lifting acting-wise went to regulars Kathy Bates, Sarah Paulson, Denis O'Hare, Chloe Sevigny and Wes Bentley and newcomers Max Greenfield, Cheyenne Jackson and last, but not least, Matt Bomer, who can not only act as good as he looks, he's one of the best things to happen to guyliner since Ewen McGregor in Velvet Goldmine and he's arguably the most fuckable on-screen junkie since Jared Leto in Requiem For A Dream.

 

  While The Countess and Donovan are the flashier characters, I think that this is the story of Det. John Lowe, Bentley's character, and how he at least tries to save his family, including his missing son Holden, from the Countess. Since Holden's a baby vamp now, I think that the only way to save him & the other baby vamps is to destroy The Countess, but chances are she'll probably try to use Holden to lure his mother Alex & his sister Scarlett into a trap in order to stop Lowe.

[IvySpice]

What a waste of a great cast. I cared about the characters in Freak Show from the word go. Not so much here. I don't see any reason to endure the gratuitous grossness when there's no up side besides sets and costumes. 90 minutes is plenty of time to start a STORY, but since we just got American Horror with no story, screw it. 

[Mattipoo]

Like many others have said, I enjoyed this episode for the beautiful set design, costumes, Matt Bomer's nakedness, and the fierceness of Liz Taylor. I thought they could have developed the story a little more, as the episode felt almost like a Lady Gaga music video with lots of style but ultimately zero substance.

Was the pale mummy who crawled out of the mattress in the Swedish girls' room also the same "person" who sodomized Max Greenfield with the drill dildo? He is scary and definitely this year's Twisty the clown/rubber man/Minotaur/bloody face. Chances are he will be killed off a few episodes in.

[rubinia]

 

When The Countess and Donovan seduced/slaughtered their victims from the park, I thought that just cutting their throats and letting them bleed to death wasn't "just" cruel, it was impractical and sloppy.

But if we're going with the theory that the Countess Elizabeth is based on Countess Elizabeth Bathory, the point may have been to get drenched/"bathe" in the blood, rather than actually drink most of it.

 

 

Was the pale mummy who crawled out of the mattress in the Swedish girls' room also the same "person" who sodomized Max Greenfield with the drill dildo?

Maybe, but I'm pretty sure the drilldo man was even paler and didn't have a face.

Edited October 13, 2015 by rubinia

[Petunia13]

I find Detective Lowe intriguing I like his directness and reserved demeanor and he's obviously tortured.

The characters of the Countess and Dinovan are compelling. I wanna know what drive them and how they became the way they are.

I realized who Chloe Sevegny reminds me of! She looks and acts and speaks a LOT like Tea Leoni now as she's aged.

[Mattipoo]

Chloe Sevigny looks frumpy and old this season. Maybe it's just the character she is playing but It seems like she aged 20 years since Asylum.

The Lady Gaga scenes remind me of one of my favorite 80s horror films "Fright Night" specifically the sequel where the main vampire is this glamorous femme fatale who proceeds to seduce the main character, a nerdy college student. There is also a "True Blood" vibe to the episode, back when it was actually entertaining.

I am kinda disappointed by this premiere especially because there has been so much hype about how it would be different than Freak Show but I actually find Hotel to be awfully similar in style and tone to Freak Show other than the contemporary setting. I wish they will go back to doing a really dark season like Asylum but it looks like we are stuck with campy cheesy glamor.

Edited October 14, 2015 by Mattipoo

[Captanne]

Based on the look -- teal blue on Liz Taylor, the sort of Bohemian European tourist on the Stick Twins, the Evil Children in the Hallway like the kids in The Shining (1980), and the "homage" to The Hunger (1983) between Gaga and Bomer, I feel like we're stuck in the 80s.

[Kat From Jersey]

...and we've still got Finn Whitrock and Evan Peters somewhere in the pipeline, so I'll probably just keep watching for the actors who seem to be having a ball. 

 

If you sort of give up any expectation of a cohesive story and just watch for the sheer fun of seeing great actors chew the scenery to their heart's content, it's a lot easier to enjoy.

 

I'm really just waiting around for Finn Wittrock to show up.  He was amazing as Dandy last season, and I'm bummed he lost the Emmy to Bill Murray (I know, it's Bill Murray, but still...).

[DollEyes]

More thoughts:

 

Love Liz Taylor. Once again, Denis O'Hare has not only created another unforgettable AHS character, Liz Taylor is my favorite. Liz's taking Det. Lowe to search Room 64 while gliding down the hall in a turquoise robe and platforms was so fierce, she gave Gaga a run for her money. Gabriel, the bleached-blonde junkie being raped was brutal, to say the least. Rape may not be technically as bad as murder, but it's close. Too close.  

 

 

But if we're going with the theory that the Countess Elizabeth is based on Countess Elizabeth Bathory, the point  may have been to get drenched/"bathe" in the blood, rather than drink most of it.

 

  Good point, but we also have the baby vamps, who were much better with their feeding skills than the Countess and Donovan are, plus they might also be used for food themselves, giving new meaning to "between-meal snacks."

 

 

I'm not a BIG Bomer fan? He's okay. He was an absolute dishrag in that television series he had about art theft, IMO.

 

  I respectfully disagree. White Collar wasn't a "perfect" show, but MB & his co-star Tim DeKay were perfect in it. The best show case of MB's acting that I've seen so far is in RM's adaptation of The Normal Heart, Larry Kramer's controversial play about a group of gay men dealing with the AIDS crisis in the 1980s. MB's performance was Emmy-nominated, but unfortunately so were several of his co-stars, which split the vote, so Sherlock's Martin Freeman ended up winning. Freeman was good, but IMO he wasn't better than Bomer and Bomer's co-stars were great, but Bomer was a revelation.

Edited October 16, 2015 by DollEyes

[RedheadZombie]

Anyone in town, I could happily do an hour to three hour tour of these locations and more any sun through Tues. :) I'll even take you to where Elissa Lam went missing. Spoooooooky

 

And off I went brushing up on the Elissa Lam case, then researching The Elevator Game.  Creepy!

[uoflfan]

There were so many pretty boys and we haven't even seen Finn or Evan. I'm in for the male eye candy.

[locomoco]

Gaga is tremendously talented (apparently, 'cause I know little about her other than the "meat dress") but is not anything like Grace Kelly.

Apparently you never saw Grace Kelly in the 1951 classic, "Gentlemen Prefer Ribeye"

[Captanne]

I don't understand that comment.

[Avaleigh]

Apparently you never saw Grace Kelly in the 1951 classic, "Gentlemen Prefer Ribeye"

Or "Dial M for Meat".

[Petunia13]

And off I went brushing up on the Elissa Lam case, then researching The Elevator Game. Creepy!

That's an understatement. I remember when the video was posted online in a LA talk community with some true crime aficionados commenting. Nothing about that case added up. I think its a clear cut case of murder. Because how the hell would a woman get up a locked staircase to the roof and trap herself in that cistern? Around that time there was a murder in LA the community was commenting on and the killer himself commented in the forum which lead to his capture.

It's been over a week and people are still talking about the premiere and the drilldo rape scene in casual conversation today. I was in a group setting and people were discussing it. If RM intended to shock he succeeded.

[candall]

I was lucky when I woke up just in time to catch the final ten minutes--tight, intriguing little story nugget.  Now that I've finally watched the entire episode, it really seems like nothing much more than a gorefest dressed up with fabulous sets and style.  I hate it when I'm all set up for a spooky movie and it turns out to be a slasher flick.

 

But the recap was so droll and amusing, it soothed me back down off the "Delete" ledge.

 

And I like the idea of the Ten Commandments story many of you see coming.

 

But I'm going to be extremely pissed if it turns out this whole thing is just Ryan Murphy fucking with us to see how much torture porn viewers (and censors) will absorb, accept, acclaim.

*********************

 

Color me conventional, but Gaga's much more attractive in the scenes where she has eyebrows.

Edited October 17, 2015 by candall

[candall]

Coincidentally the Roosevelt is the one place I've ever had a genuine paranormal experience.

 

Alas, it did not involve Matt Bomer inviting me to an orgy.

 

Well, no, but then again there are more than seven billion other people one could say the same about.

1.  Love to hear more about that.

 

2.  Alas?  Did you drift off before the climax? 

 

3.  Absolument

[hatchetgirl]

Flipping brilliant and classic, Catherine Deneuve, Bowie and Bauhaus. Very few songs that hit you within the first 2 bars like Bauhaus, Janes, Bowie... thanks for that Captanne!

Yeah, I did an October tour of the Cecil, realized at one point I was on the elevator and freaked myself out, which is hard to do. I'm pretty calculated, but this day was just something all together different. The Cecil is its own entity, that's for sure. I was surprised by the mosaic embedded in the floors of the halls and I'd not toured it before si I think I was on heightened weirdo watch that day or something, so it was quite cool to be frightened.

[goodbyeglittergirl]

I would prefer more storyline and less shock value. Gaga and Co. like to have sex and slit throats. We get it. We don't need to see it every episode. 

[shoetingstar]

 

I would prefer more storyline and less shock value. Gaga and Co. like to have sex and slit throats. We get it. We don't need to see it every episode.

 

Very well put. I just watched the first episode, mostly in anticipation of seeing Angela Bassett in episode 3.

 

What a mess. I'm seriously mad at myself because I have to keep watching to see what happens with the cops son. I thought Gaga did a good job - she's definitely not Madonna (who can't act for some reason). What things I did enjoy were overwhelmed by all the TRY HARD. Shock just because you can shock is not effective. For example, that moment when Donovan's Mom pushed Sarah Paulsen out the window and the sound of her jaw breaking, oh man - that was shocking becuase it was unexpected and therefore, effective. 

 

I'm pretty sure the notes on Wes Bentley's script said "We can't afford Jake Gyllenhaal so compy his role from Prisoners" - if you have seen that movie you know what I mean. Similar type of character minus the family.

[Bec]

The first scene with the detective - he was totally channeling David Caruso. I expected him to make a cheesy pun as he took his sunglasses off, but alas no...

 

And there was one more J. Walter Weatherman lesson during that carousel scene:

 

I also don't get the fuss that is made about rape. There are much worse things than being raped and we have seen much worse fates befall characters in past seasons than being raped to death. What do you guys find so horrible about it?

That blasé attitude about rape is exactly what overexposure to rape as entertainment does to us. I’m not blaming you for being blasé about it. It’s getting to the point that where I see yet another rape scene on this show, and instead of horror, my reaction is just “Again? Will this take long?”

 

I don’t think that reaction is a good thing whichever way you slice it.

 

I still like that the show is so stylish and the actors seem to have a ball. But it has always fallen short for me in the horror department. It relies far too much on gross-out. Disgust is not the same as fear. When I watch something in the horror genre, I want to be scared, is that too much to ask? Merely being sickened and annoyed is not doing it for me. Ah, but it’s not just this show, a lot of so-called “horror” leaves me dissatisfied in the same way.

 

I mean, when that mattress monster emerged, I was like “okay, that’s revolting, but is this poor creature you can probably take out with a blunt object supposed to terrify me?” It didn’t even manage to deliver a jump-scare, since everyone and their dog expected something to jump out of that mattress.

 

At this point I don’t expect this show to do any better - to learn less is more and what you make viewers imagine lurking in the dark corners is far more terrifying than in-your-face FX. I expect it’ll never learn. I’m just here for the style, the weirdness, the pretty. Though the wasted potential does make me a little wistful every season.

 

I don't get why the cop went to stay at the hotel in the end though, couldn't he have stayed somewhere else?

At first I was like “come on, is this the only hotel in LA?” too. But it does make some kind of sense that he feels compelled to stay at the Cortez in the hopes of seeing his son again. I’m calling it now - he’s gonna go slowly crazy like the dad in The Shining. And speaking of movies based on stories by Stephen King, the radio always going off by itself at a certain time reminds me of 1408.

 

when she killed one of the so-called "Swedish meatballs" while wearing a turban, looking like, to quote Sally Field in Soapdish (who suffered the same fate) "Gloria fucking Swanson.”

Ha! Add Sunset Boulevard to the list of influences. It’s fun to spot all these other works in this thing. It’s like a game!

[Peanut6711]

On 10/8/2015 at 11:03 AM, skotnikov said:

It borrows heavy from hundreds of other movies (The Shining, se7en, Inferno, Suspiria, The Hostel, The Hunger, Vacancy, Flesh, the references list can go on and  on and on) without any purpose and sense whatsoever just to show how clever Murphy and Falchuk are. Only the first episode in and it's already a huge mess.     

Also I thought the sex crime scene with the police detectives ogling and commenting on the victims was a throw back to Basic Instinct where Michael Douglas and police crew arrive after the rock star ice pick murder. 

And I agree, they were too blatant with all the references right off the bat including the use of music. Instead of playing "Hotel California" paint the picture everyone sees in their head when they hear the song.   And the "subtlety" with playing "Bella Lugosi's Dead" very faintly in the background wasn't really subtle at all.  They'd already referenced The Hunger in the scenes. It would have been better to leave viewers expecting to hear the song but hold off for many episodes and then deliver. 

Edited November 30, 2016 by Peanut6711