REVIEW: American Horror Story “Halloween Part 1″

I guess someone at FX heard my cries last week because “Halloween Part 1″ was the best episode of American Horror Story yet. I still think the show has a bit of a focus problem but it seems to finding a groove. Figures it would get really good a week before DirecTV is threatening to drop FX completely due to some asshat money dispute but I have my fingers crossed all will be resolved.

This week gave us the juicy backstory of Chad (Zachary Quinto) and Patrick (Teddy Sears), the fabulously gay and bitter previous owners of this little slice of suburban paradise who according to the realtor died in a gruesome murder/suicide in the basement. Turns out she lied, or was misinformed, or was just trying to get the damn house sold because the truth was the gimp in the vinyl suit killed them both, probably in order to get them to stop bickering about pumpkins carved with the faces of dead French aristocrats. Chad got his neck broken while involuntarily bobbing for apples and Patrick died in a way yet to be revealed. I’m sure we’ll get back to that eventually.

Back in present day the Harmons are still trying to sell the place and having no luck. This seems to be a theme with owners of this house. The realtor suggest they bring in someone to help them stage the place and she has just the pair of gays to do it; Patrick and Chad! So what if they are dead. Real style cannot be contained by planes of existence or afterlives and Vivien (Connie Britton) is all to happy to let them loose. Shame that our undead design team has other motives involving oral sex and subliminally planted seeds of doubt. While Patrick is distracted trying to get into Ben’s (Dylan McDermott) pants upstairs Chad waxes poetic about creative ways to catch someone cheating. You could see the gears in Viv’s brain just clicking away since she hasn’t trusted Ben at all since his little incident back in Boston. And to add to Ben’s problems Larry the Burn guy (Denis O’Hare) is hanging around wanting payment for “services provided” in the form of dead Hayden, and Larry is not someone you want to ignore for very long.

Next door Addy (Jamie Brewer) is very excited about Halloween and wants Violet (Taissa Farmiga) to help her dress up as a pretty girl for trick or treating. Violet obliges by painting the poor girl up like a two-dollar whore. When Constance (Jessica Lange) gets a look at her she nixes the idea immediately since Addy isn’t and never will be pretty and comments that Violet “has another cupcake coming” if she doesn’t keep her nose out of their business. Violet is too distracted by Tate (Evan Peters) to care though, and who wouldn’t be? He’s cute, troubled and dangerous…just what every teen girl dreams of. He shows up in the basement in the gimp outfit (I’m still confused about this but I’ll keep quiet for now) and talks Violet into a session with the Ouija board. While they play he tells her more about Dr. Montgomery and his little abortion business.

We learned a little about Dr. Montgomery and his peach of a wife last week but Tate revealed the rest of the story including the origins of the “Infantata” that roams the basement murdering people. Naturally Violet doesn’t believe him but I think she will soon enough. Before she sends Tate on his way she asks if they can have a real date and he agrees. Ah young love.

Upstairs the Harmons are still preparing for Halloween with Chad and Patrick and Viv is pissed off, and not just because she’s stuck wearing a tacky Rite-Aid witch outfit. She has acted on Chad’s subtle suggestion that she check the phone bill and has discovered that Hayden has called her husband numerous times. She confronts Ben who of course can explain it away and assures her that “Hayden won’t be calling again” because you know, she’s dead and buried under the new gazebo thanks to Larry the Burn guy. Viv isn’t having any of it and wants Ben to move out. So naturally Hayden calls and eventually shows up at the door because she died on the property and if you die on the property you are forever doomed to haunt the place. Just ask Moira who spends most of her time bemoaning her fate but managed to find the will to visit her dying mother and release her from her pain, only to be faced with telling her she can’t cross over with her. Frances Conroy continues to act circles around everyone, but this is not news. She is a goddess.

As the trick or treating gets underway Constance has a change of heart and decides Addy can go dressed as a pretty girl after all, but only if she wears the creepiest and most hideous pretty girl mask anyone has ever worn ever. I don’t think Connie meant any harm by it though and it was nice to see that she does truly love the girl despite how she treats her. All this love and family bonding was wasted though because Addy is barely out the door before she gets run over in the street and killed. Constance tries to get her dead little girl back onto the Harmon’s property before she dies but it was too late and Addy has passed on for good.

Eventually Chad’s impeccable party planning skills are his undoing and he gets himself and his orally fixated boyfriend thrown out when he freaks out about some apples. I hated to see them go because I really enjoy Zachary Quinto so here is hoping he stops by for another visit since he is doomed to an afterlife of torture and regret. All the excitement caused by the gays sent poor Vivien to the ER with baby pains and the nurse on duty ends up fainting when she sees the baby’s image on the sonogram. What did she see exactly? We don’t know yet. We do know that while Ben and Viv were at the hospital the Gimp shows up and disappears with Violet. Was it Tate?

It was nice to get some explanation for some of the lingering questions I’ve had about the world Ryan and Brad have created here. I was very close to bailing on this show and I’m happy to say I’m back on board again, which means that if the Fx/DirecTV deal falls through I’m going to be a very sad panda next Wednesday. If you can, tune into FX Wednesday at 10pm to check out “Halloween Part 2″. I’m sure it will be a scream. Oh, and yes that was two skeletons having engaged in some surprise buttsex on the Harmon’s front lawn.

Similar Posts:

• American Horror Story: Halloween Part 2
• REVIEW: American Horror Story “Piggy Piggy”
• REVIEW: American Horror Story “Home Invasion”
• REVIEW: American Horror Story “Open House”
• REVIEW: American Horror Story “Murder House”

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