Ahhhhhhhhhhh, “American Horror Story,” the show that I hate to love, or love to hate. I haven’t really figured it out yet. Some seasons are riveting, horrifying, and nail-biting good. They keep you on the edge of your seat, and you feel transported into this fictional world. Others just really freaking suck and leaving you wondering, “why, just why?”
So after some re-watching of the seasons, digesting the information, and asking my fellow HerCampus loves, I ranked every season of “American Horror Story” (AHS).
1. Season 2 “Asylum”
The number one spot was a tough choice to make. Ultimately, I had to go with my gut and choose “Asylum.” I hear from a lot of people that this is actually not their top choice at all. To the haters, I challenge you to watch it again. The great thing about this season is most of the horror is psychological, which to me is much more chilling than a bloody massacre. When you think about some of the messed up things that happened during this season, it’ll give you chills. What really made me rank this as number one is the characters. “Asylum” had some of the best character development out of the entire show. So congrats, “Asylum.” You’ll probably creep me out until the day I die.
2. Season 1 “Murder House”
“Murder House” was actually almost number one due to its popularity. Every other person I know loves this season, and I can’t lie, I do, too. There’s something about it being the first of its kind that makes it so good. AHS was so new and fresh that the first time I watched this season, I clutched a pillow the entire time. This season is definitely a suspenseful kind of scary. There is some gore, but it relies mostly on the watcher not knowing what’s going to happen next. This is a great season to start with because it’s just the right amount of suspense mixed with gore that’s scary, but not overdone.
3. Season 3 “Coven”
My favorite thing about “Coven” is that it’s all about witches. In one of the very first episodes, a girl flips an entire bus over with her mind. Really messed up, but also pretty cool. Coven was much gorier compared to the first two seasons. It got pretty hard to watch sometimes. When it was really bloody, I had to close my eyes because it was slightly over the top. The ending to “Coven” was also a little unsatisfying. After I watched it both times, I felt like there was something missing. Overall, it’s a fun season if you can get past the gore, because it also can be funny at times. Also, the soundtrack is great – lots of Fleetwood Mac, which is amazing.
4. Season 5 “Hotel”
The fact that season five had Lady Gaga boosts its rating up by one spot. “Hotel” was just so overdone to me. The opening episode is filled with so much blood and guts, I found it hard to continue watching. If you do hold out, “Hotel” does get better. I did find myself getting more sucked in by episode six or seven, but that is quite a few episodes in for the storyline to begin heating up. The characters in this are frustrating to watch, and the plot is also very stale. This whole season is rather predictable, and that is not a good quality in a horror show. At the end of the season, I was pretty disappointed in what they did with the plot. This season wasn’t the worst, but it was pretty stale and unoriginal.
5. Season 6 “Roanoke”
The entire time I watched this season, I just kept asking myself, “but why?” Off the bat, I hated the fact that the season was told from an interview kind of perspective. It makes it really hard to transport yourself into the show when it’s told in this style. The whole season just felt fake to me. I didn’t connect with any of the characters, the storyline was confusing, and it just was a mess. The gore in this was also just way too much. We get it, AHS! You have the money to produce good special effects. That’s great, but a show needs more than just smoke and mirrors. This season really just lacked substance.
6. Season 4 “Freak Show”
I was really scared to watch “Freak Show” because I don’t mess with clowns. I had super high hopes for this season, because having it set in the 1950s at a freak show gave them so much to work with. I honestly could not tell you the plot of this season – it was that confusing. The worst part was, I was scared for like 10 minutes during the first episode and then I felt nothing the rest of the time. This was also Jessica Lange’s last season, and I absolutely love her. AHS really did her dirty, because her character was just awful. She legitimately sang a Lana Del Rey song when this was set in the 1950s. “Freak Show” was a wreck, and I know lots of people who won’t watch AHS anymore because this season really ruined it for them.
I feel like I can’t justly rank Season 7, “Cult,” yet. We’re only a few episodes in, and with it being a mini-series, you really have to watch the whole thing to get a feel for the season. I hope for good things in AHS’s future and that “Cult” does not disappoint.