S05.E04: Devil's Night

[Tara Ariano]

John gets invited to a Devil's Night Soiree and Alex tries to diagnose Holden's odd condition.

[mustbekarma]

For a dead serial killer convention, this was incredibly boring.

[JAYJAY1979]

Maybe everything horror trope had been done so nothing on this show shocks me..or maybe it's the fact that nothing is subtle..it's all flash and nothing more then that.

I'd hate for ryan murphy to try to rip off one particular horror movie from the 70s..or he could have already...

http://www.chicagonow.com/confessions-coffeeholic/2015/10/the-baby-horror-movie-plays-on-fears-of-men/

[Chaos Theory]

WTF did I just watch? I mean that as a compliment by the way. Lily Rabe you are back were you belong playing a crazy murderous hooker. That was one hell of a fucked up dinner party.

Sooo...Holden has two mommies? Ha! I see now where this Dr. Alex plot may be heading. Not curing vamps but turning sick kids by neglectful parents into them. I did like the scene with Alex getting Holden juice. The lighting was well done and the acting was fabulous.

I also really like the Sally/John pairing and am wondering where it is heading.

[ShadowHunter]

It was so nice to see Lily Rabe again. I liked the serial killer dinner it was messed up but fun. When James was talking you could feel his pride at all his murder babies lol.

 

Poor Miss Evers I can see why she went crazy. I still don't understand why she is so loyal to Mr. March though? Is it just because she is insane?

 

Evan is still doing a great job. He really shines when he is a bad guy.

 

Did anyone notice the actor playing Richard Ramirez was in AHS S1. He played the dad who moved his family into the Murder House in the finale. The Harmon's saved them though.

[tennisgurl]

Serial killers over for dinner! Of course!

 

Evan Peters is just having a blast this season. He is just prime cooked ham, with just enough actually scariness mixed in. 

 

Man, stranger danger is just not a thing at all in this universe. 

 

This season is really weird, but I like it. We actually seem to be moving closer to an actual plot, and its actually scary, unlike the last couple seasons, which were more gross and "what the fuck am I watching?" than actually scary. 

[Whitley Trillbert]

I want Suck my left tit, Clark Gable! on a shirt immediately. 

 

This was the best Halloween episode they have ever had. Hands down. Superb acting by everyone playing the serial killers. I truly enjoyed this!

 

And my theory about John was pretty much all but confirmed tonight. 

Edited October 29, 2015 by Whitley Trillbert

[ddawn23]

Absinthe isn't a drug and it isn't hallucinogenic. It's. just. alcohol.

[Straycat80]

I loved this episode! A fancy dinner party for famous dead serial killers, of course, why not?

The acting was great, nice to see Lily Rabe back. Lily does her best acting as a crazy, outrageous character, so much better than the part she played on this past summers 'The Whispers'.

I knew Alex would come back so she can be with Holden. But who's watching Scarlett?

[Starchild]

Huh. I think I expected a dinner party of serial killers to be more interesting.

 

Lily Rabe was fantastic, though.

 

Edited to ask: IMDB says Darren Criss was in this episode. Who'd he play?

Edited October 29, 2015 by Starchild

[SzmuttyPratfall]

Absinthe isn't a drug and it isn't hallucinogenic. It's. just. alcohol.

It was pretty obvious to me it wasn't a hallucination, and the myth of hallucinations with Absinthe are common enough that I thought Sally was just using it to convince him he never saw it.

[ddawn23]

Sally wasn't the only one to talk about it having drug-like properties, and the way the scene of them drinking it was filmed made it clear it had dazed John. I didn't mean that the whole thing was in John's head-- just that the absinthe was shown to have a stronger effect than mere alcohol.

ETA: Starchild, I think Darren Criss is in part two of this episode. IMDb says he plays "Hipster Justin."

Edited October 29, 2015 by ddawn23

[Starchild]

Ah, OK, because I certainly don't recall seeing him tonight. Thanks.

[Bruinsfan]

The wormwood in absinthe doesn't actually cause hallucinations (though the high proofage might be to blame for a lot of the acting out people did while drinking it), but then again John was only drinking it after he already showed up at the ghostly serial killer party.

[Zanne]

But who's watching Scarlett?

 

Frankly, both her parents don't give a damn about Scarlett.

[Bama]

So Lilly Rabe and Seth Gabel both looked so much like Aileen Wuornos and Jeffrey Dahmer that it was jarring.

 

When John first met Aileen at the bar, I knew immediately that the character was Aileen Wuornos but it took me a minute to realize she was being played by Lilly Rabe.

 

She had not only the look perfect - the dead, empty brown almost black eyes, the feathered hair, the haggard face - but the mannerisms!  The snarls, the head bobs, the hair flipping and combing the hair - it was uncanny.

 

I really enjoyed the episode - this is the first episode of AHS that felt like a season one "Murder House" episode.

[Cigale]

I knew Alex would come back so she can be with Holden. But who's watching Scarlett?

  

Frankly, both her parents don't give a damn about Scarlett.

Her dad called her and she wisely chose to stay a little while longer with her grand parents.

[Rina99]

Wes Bentley in that tux was everything. However, I hope he isn't secretly evil, I really want John to survive and get away with Scarlett.

I was delighted to see Seth Gabel as Dahmer, he did a great job. Evan Peters continues to kill it as March.

[Petunia13]

Wes Bentley looked really hot this entire episode.

Lily Rabe, Even Peters, and Seth Gabel did great jobs. I love EP/March's old timey voice it reminds me of Katherine Hepburns trilling lock jaw accent. Why did so many old movie actors speak in that peculiar way?

The Countess's vintage suit with the big (tortoise shell) buckles and her black veil hat were beautiful.

Edited October 29, 2015 by Petunia13

[Hollysdower]

Wes Bentley in that tux was everything. However, I hope he isn't secretly evil, I really want John to survive and get away with Scarlett.

 

I think the fact that John was invited to the serial killer dinner means that he will one day BE a serial killer. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the killer John's been hunting with the police all season is, indeed, John himself.

Edited October 29, 2015 by Hollyhox

[whyjen8]

So Lilly Rabe and Seth Gabel both looked so much like Aileen Wuornos and Jeffrey Dahmer that it was jarring.

 

When John first met Aileen at the bar, I knew immediately that the character was Aileen Wuornos but it took me a minute to realize she was being played by Lilly Rabe.

 

She had not only the look perfect - the dead, empty brown almost black eyes, the feathered hair, the haggard face - but the mannerisms!  The snarls, the head bobs, the hair flipping and combing the hair - it was uncanny.

 

 

 

Yeah, she was dead on Wuornos and without an Oscar and it took a few to realize who the actress was for me too..  All the serial killers were accurate and I laughed at The Zodiac Killer being masked.

 

I think the fact that John was invited to the serial killer dinner means that he will one day BE a serial killer. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the killer John's been hunting with the police all season is, indeed, John himself.

I agree with this, if he isn't the commandment killer that will be the twist for me.

 

 

I assumed John's drink was drugged, serial killers aren't above that sort of thing.

Edited October 29, 2015 by whyjen8

[marsha]

I had mixed reactions to this episode and hope part two will fill in some gaps/holes in the storyline. Peformance-wise I think this is Evan Peter's best in the series so far. Really, really good and I wouldn't have expected this level of work from him (and I thought he was great in Season 2, especially).

 

Mare Winningham just gets better every week and it truly feels she is really from that era. I think she'll be a shoo-in for an Emmy next year (be it regular or guest appearance). Still loving "Liz" but am getting impatient to hear her story. Maybe she was someone that GaGa met at Studio 54 who had a Liz/Cleopatra fetish.

 

There was nothing I particularly hated but did miss seeing Kathy Bates. Oh, and Lily Rabe was, of course, suburb and Gaga looked divine.

Edited October 29, 2015 by marsha

[JakeyJokes]

Mare Winningham was heartbreaking in that scene. Were the Wineville Murders the ones that were connected to the Changeling boys or not at all?

 

I remember reading about Ramirez during a late-night Wikipedia rabbit hole. NEVER AGAIN. At first I was skeeved out by Aileen insisting that Dahmer liked John, and then I felt even skeevier by how I found it redeeming when she cracked the "dark meat" joke (Dahmer notoriously targeted poor racial minorities -- that way, no one paid much attention when they went missing).

 

I know Chloe wasn't crazy about her Season Two role, so I love that they're giving her something to do. I'd rather see her going against The Countess than team up with her, but I can still understand her character's motivations, and for this show, that's surprising. I really am enjoying this season much more than I thought I would, especially after the first episode. It almost has a feel of a surreal video game, especially in the scenes with John as the protagonist. As we talked about in the first episode, his storyline is reminscent of the video game "Heavy Rain", and I can't help but wonder TM (Carrie Bradshaw) if the producers were influenced by it at all.

 

While I'm enjoying the season and this episode, the narrative arcs of this show still bothers me. I get you can only squeeze so much in 60 minutes, but to have an episode end with a cliffhanger about Donovan and Iris and then not even MENTION them in the next episode just seems really clumsy to me. In a binge-watch this is less noticable, but watching it live week-by-week makes stuff like that really annoying. YMMV.

[Hollysdower]

Mare Winningham was heartbreaking in that scene. Were the Wineville Murders the ones that were connected to the Changeling boys or not at all?

 

Yep.

[Bruinsfan]

I don't think Lily Rabe actually looked much like Wuornos tonight, but her performance was amazing. Gabel as Dahmer was the chill-inducing doppelganger to me, and I laughed at John Carroll Lynch playing another murderous clown.

 

My working theory is that all the murders so enthusiastically performed at the Cortez in the 20s worked as sacrifices and have essentially made the world of the living and Hell coterminous within its walls, hence how monstrous serial killers who didn't die within it can show up and interact with living people.

[Aging Goth]

My take on this episode is that John is mentally broken due to losing his son and had a personality split that has him killing in the worse way but not realizing that it is he who is doing the killing.  That is why he hasn't been harmed by any of the beings in the hotel and also why March stated that he was "not ready" for the SKiller group as yet. 

 

Saw it coming when Alex took the Countess up on her offer to be turned.  It was also touching that Donovan actually did care for his mother enough to turn her so she wouldn't die.

 

I too, want to hear Liz's back story. 

I also saw that Alexander Skaarsgard may be in this too.  Wonder as what?

[jcin617]

hence how monstrous serial killers who didn't die within it can show up and interact with living people

Wasn't it Halloween?   Didn't Murder House establish that ghosts could "get out" on Halloween?

[Aging Goth]

yup

[ClareWalks]

Lily Rabe just put on a master class. Holy shit. She blew Charlize Theron's Aileen out of the water. 

 

I am really intrigued by this whole thing. Yes, it's all over the place, but there are so many stories and I want to hear more.

[Febgirl]

 

I also saw that Alexander Skaarsgard may be in this too.  Wonder as what?

As for Alexander Skaarsgard and a potential role, there are two Swedish tourists who have gone missing....

I want to know what  Liz's back story is, too!

Edited October 29, 2015 by Febgirl

[toodywoody]

I'm morbid and read about serial killers. Richard Ramirez was one that I have read about. He is the whole reason I cannot and will not sleep with my windows open.

Loved Lily as Aileen. Spot on and amazing performance. Loved Mare's performance and love how Evan is acting as March. Can't wait for next week. AHS, I lost interest in last year and Coven I watched, this addition has me back anticipating. When it said it was preview time I looked at my phone and said damn, I didn't want it to be over.

[Captanne]

Our local news station (WTOP) just panned AHS: Hotel in their online reportage yesterday and I don't understand that.  I've really enjoyed this version of AHS so far.  Much more so than Coven which I found "supremely" boring except for the red headed witch who was simply fabulous.

[dolphincorn]

 

Why did so many old movie actors speak in that peculiar way?

 

Maybe this can help explain it.

[dolphincorn]

 

While I'm enjoying the season and this episode, the narrative arcs of this show still bothers me. I get you can only squeeze so much in 60 minutes, but to have an episode end with a cliffhanger about Donovan and Iris and then not even MENTION them in the next episode just seems really clumsy to me. In a binge-watch this is less noticable, but watching it live week-by-week makes stuff like that really annoying. YMMV.

 

This is such a normal convention of daytime soaps that I didn't even consider that it might bother people who aren't familiar with it.

 

Years ago, I worked in a restaurant where my coworkers had pinned a newspaper photo of Richard Ramirez up on a cork board because of its uncanny resemblance to me. True story!

Edited October 29, 2015 by dolphincorn

[Captain Asshat]

I think the fact that John was invited to the serial killer dinner means that he will one day BE a serial killer. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the killer John's been hunting with the police all season is, indeed, John himself.

I was actually thinking this. I read a book called "Strange But True Stories" waaaay back in the 70s when I was a kid. One of the stories was about a brilliant French(?) detective investigating a series of murders. Everyone was stumped. Finally, the detective found one clue that pointed to himself as being the murderer. He turned himself in. He was...I can't remember...sleep killing? So for the rest of his life he was imprisoned only at night. Or something. It's been a long time. But the whole "The cop was the killer and never realized it" thing pinged this memory.

[Bruinsfan]

Dang, I didn't realize how good a job the actor did impersonating him.

[Captanne]

No spoilers but Agatha Christie did this sort of thing decades ago in "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd".

[Captain Asshat]

No spoilers but Agatha Christie did this sort of thing decades ago in "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd".

True, but in that case, the murderer was fully aware of the actions being taken. I believe (and I think Hollyhox believes) that John is the killer and for whatever reason, does not know he's the killer he is after.

[Captanne]

Yep, that's why I said "this sort of thing" -- while the comparison is not entirely apt, it is in theory.

[ClareWalks]

Interesting that some are theorizing that John is "the killer" when there are about 342 killers at this hotel ;) Although the killer he is chasing, that is actually interesting. I just figured it would turn out to be someone at the hotel, too. Does crime happen anywhere ELSE in Los Angeles?!

Edited October 29, 2015 by ClareWalks

[Petunia13]

Why the HELL would Miss Evers, after suffering a heartbreaking loss due to a deranged maniac killer, collide with another serial killer in his crimes?

[JenE4]

Why the HELL would Miss Evers, after suffering a heartbreaking loss due to a deranged maniac killer, collide with another serial killer in his crimes?

And also the way she gets so excited about gloriously blood-stained sheets when the only answer she got about her son was his blood-stained sheet costume!

The one thing that doesn't make sense if John is the latest serial killer is that he actually spoke with the killer on the phone that one night when he was leaving work late. But otherwise it would be a good twist.

I kept dozing off during this show and am not sure whether it's worth rewatching. Anything noteworthy at the dinner party? I seemed to miss most of that. (Kept trying to wake up but just so much talking and not much action kept zonking me out.) As for the B plot, I saw Holden's mom refusing to be turned--throwing the drink--and then the next thing I know she was drinking the countess's blood, so I guess I missed whatever changed her mind. But basically she just went to this hotel with Holden and she's never coming back for Scarlett?! Good thing Scarlett was having a good time at Grandma's house! Although Scarlett knows how to take the bus to the hotel, so she'll probably show up and save the day.

Edited October 29, 2015 by JenE4

[TattleTeeny]

Gabel as Dahmer was the chill-inducing doppelganger to me

 

It's so funny; I think the opposite here--dressed like Dahmer enough to pass but no resemblance in the face. 

 

Years ago, I worked in a restaurant where my coworkers had pinned a newspaper photo of Richard Ramirez up on a cork board because of its uncanny resemblance to me. True story!

 

Take it as a compliment; people swooned over that dude. I think it was his cheekbones...or perhaps his ninja-like capabilities.

Edited October 29, 2015 by TattleTeeny

[Primetimer]

Most of the cast forgot to RSVP to March's annual Devil's Night Party. Luckily, every serial killer with a Wikipedia page is in town to fill their seats.

Read the story

[Mistletoe]

In a hair flip battle who wins? Lily Rabe/Aileen Wuornos or Anthony Ruivivar/Richard Ramirez? My money is on Rabe. Regardless, she wins this episode, for being freaking fantastic.

Also, I still can't figure out if Gaga can act or not. She can wear the sh*t out of some clothes though. Gaga for the fashion win.

[RedheadZombie]

For me, Gaga has reached the point where she's in over her head.  I did not buy her character in this episode, and her speaking style really grated.  She's done a pretty good job thus far, but she just can't keep up with the superior actors.

 

I'm over Liz Taylor.  Feeding innocent people to serial killers is far more than I can tolerate in a character I root for.  Hope she dies (or died) a rather torturous death herself.

 

I remember reading about Ramirez during a late-night Wikipedia rabbit hole. NEVER AGAIN. At first I was skeeved out by Aileen insisting that Dahmer liked John, and then I felt even skeevier by how I found it redeeming when she cracked the "dark meat" joke (Dahmer notoriously targeted poor racial minorities -- that way, no one paid much attention when they went missing).

 

You're not kidding.  One black teen escaped Dahmer.  He was naked and screaming for help when he encountered a cop.  Dahmer actually told the cop that the boy was his lover, and the cop supposedly turned the kid back over and he was killed.

 

My take on this episode is that John is mentally broken due to losing his son and had a personality split that has him killing in the worse way but not realizing that it is he who is doing the killing.  That is why he hasn't been harmed by any of the beings in the hotel and also why March stated that he was "not ready" for the SKiller group as yet. 

 

I think they're setting up the story to support this assumption, but I hope it's a mislead.  I don't watch horror to root for the killers.  Every season has given us someone to root for.  Murder House - the Harmons, Asylum - Kit and Lana, Coven - Cordelia, Zoe, Misty, Freak Show - The twins, Jimmy, Desiree.  They may not have survived in the end, but they were at least at peace.  If John is a serial killer, who's left in the end, Scarlett?  In my mind, John is going to solve the crime, somehow kill Gaga, and that will free Alex and Holden.  Or, they're at peace and dead at the end. 

 

I'm morbid and read about serial killers. Richard Ramirez was one that I have read about. He is the whole reason I cannot and will not sleep with my windows open.

 

I don't blame you.  It's said that he picked his victims at random.  He went out looking for open windows.

 

Why the HELL would Miss Evers, after suffering a heartbreaking loss due to a deranged maniac killer, collide with another serial killer in his crimes?

 

If you meant collude, that's a good question.  I'm finding I have no sympathy for her.  They need to give me more than a three minute sob story to make me sympathize with these monsters.

 

I loved this episode! A fancy dinner party for famous dead serial killers, of course, why not?
The acting was great, nice to see Lily Rabe back. Lily does her best acting as a crazy, outrageous character, so much better than the part she played on this past summers 'The Whispers'.

 

And how the posters in The Whispers threads hated her.  They said she was a one note actor, with a constant blank expression.

[coppersin]

The one thing that doesn't make sense if John is the latest serial killer is that he actually spoke with the killer on the phone that one night when he was leaving work late. But otherwise it would be a good twist.

If John's so far gone/dissociated that he's the killer and doesn't know it, I can see him hallucinating a phone call. It may even be his way of trying to get caught, by leaving a trail of breadcrumbs that leads right back to him. The detail I'm having trouble with is John being led to the same hotel where his undead son is residing. Unless he solved the kidnapping while he was in his serial killer state of mind, I'm guessing there's a reason that John and Holden were reunited - I doubt that's just fate.

 

 

 

Also, I still can't figure out if Gaga can act or not. She can wear the sh*t out of some clothes though. Gaga for the fashion win.

I'm in the same boat - I can't tell if she's brilliant as a detached, inhuman being, or if she's inexperienced. Whatever she's doing is working for me for now though - I expect the real test will be when we flashback to her "great lost love." For now, yeah, the outfits are really setting the scene and mood - and her hair! Even if it turns out she can't act, her hair sure knows how to put on a show - it's shown some serious diversity over the decades.

 

Liz: still awesome, still leaving me wanting more.

 

And I'll close with what has become a weekly tradition this season: "Poor Scarlet." But at least this week she got pie!

Edited October 29, 2015 by coppersin

[ddawn23]

Interesting that some are theorizing that John is "the killer" when there are about 342 killers at this hotel ;) Although the killer he is chasing, that is actually interesting. I just figured it would turn out to be someone at the hotel, too. Does crime happen anywhere ELSE in Los Angeles?!

And does the LAPD not have a missing persons division? Not all of the victims are junkies. Like the ostensibly normal tourist couple Ghost!Richard Ramerez killed last night. Someone would come looking for them.

The retconning of actual killers' lives to give them each an early-career stay at a niceish hotel in California was a bit much. Also the claim that this group of nothing but American murderers was the best serial killers in the world. Come on-- not even Jack the Ripper?

[iMonrey]

 

The one thing that doesn't make sense if John is the latest serial killer is that he actually spoke with the killer on the phone that one night when he was leaving work late. But otherwise it would be a good twist.

 

Also he was at a Sushi bar with Scarlet when he got a text from the killer on his cell phone (the one that seemed to come from his wife's cell phone). I don't know how he could have programmed something to send himself a text.

[caracas1914]

That dinner was so " dark".

Would have loved to have seen a Boy Scout all American preppy Ted Bundy in that dinner for some contrasting levity.