Created by: Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk
Actors: Connie Britton, Dylan McDermott, Taissa Farmiga, Jessica Lange, Evan Peters, Frances Conroy, Kate Mara.
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox
Rated TV-MA
Release Date: Sep 25, 2012
Running Time: 534 minutes
Season: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3.5 out of 5 stars
When I first saw a promo for “American Horror Story”, I thought to myself that it was going to be absolutely amazing but not going to last. Before shows like “The Walking Dead”, horror does not have a good track record. To my surprise this show became one of the best shows of last year. It was nominated for 17 Emmy’s and brought Jessica Lange home a Golden Globe. Well it really did deserve it…every bit of it. This show is really sharp writing, fantastic acting and really sticks with you after watching each episode. It there is a definition of must-see TV, this is it.
Official Premise: Brace yourself for an addictive thrill ride! American Horror Story is TV’s most original new drama, a deeply stylish psychosexual haunt devised to keep you on the edge of your seat. The Harmon’s (Dylan McDermott, Connie Britton) fresh start in a new home deviously twists to reveal discoveries of love, sex and murderous revenge. Featuring a Golden Globe-winning performance by Jessica Lange, Season 1 scares up a host of engrossing extras.
The Blu-ray presentation of the the show delivers, thanks to 20th Century Fox. The three-disc set presents the show in 1080p transfers with its 1.78:1 broadcast aspect ratio, as well as it’s very effective DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks. The music and score in the film is just as haunting as the show itself and it plays well on this release. The show was in HD on TV but only 1080i (and if you ever DVRed the show, it would be lower), so this is a nice upgrade from broadcast to high-def TV.
The special features are great but could have used just a little more umph. They add up to over sixty minutes of additional content, but luckily all of it is actually impressive. ?There is a commentary track on the pilot episode by Ryan Murphy, must listen for fans. There is a tour of the “The Murder House” presented by Eternal Darkness Tours of Hollywood, good for a laugh. Then there are four very in-depth behind-the-scenes featurettes including “Behind the Fright: The Making of American Horror Story”, “On the Set of American Horror Story Season One”, “Overture to Horror: Creating the Title Sequence” and “Out of the Shadows: Meet the House Ghosts”. I liked learning about the ideas that went into the show’s creation and hearing from all the cast/crew about their experiences. I think if you are a fan of this show this release is going to leave you very satisfied and at least hold you off until season two begins this Fall.
