Thursday, August 26, 2021

American Horror Story Double Feature Episode One and Two Thoughts

Oh, Ryan Murphy must be in my head! Maybe not!

But wow, a horror story with my favourite AHS cast member, Finn Wittrock, playing a WRITER!

A crazy writer, perhaps like Jack Torrance, or perhaps not, you’ll have to watch to find out!

And yes, Finn-Harry, writing is hard. But the lure of fame and fortune at any cost is harder, isn’t it?

I’m loving this story so far.

There’s also a violinist!

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

 


SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

I’ll try not to be too spoilery and since it’s just the beginning episodes, anything can happen as this is Ryan Murphy after all!

 

Harry (Finn Wittrock) and his pregnant wife (Lily Rabe) and their pre-teen daughter, Alma (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), a virtuoso violinist move into a creepy house in Massachusetts so Harry can find his muse for a TV pilot his agent needs him to write as Hollywood is calling.

(Way to go, Harry. I’ve been working on TV pilots myself…oh, can't wait for Hollywood to call!)





This is the first time for me that I’ve seen Finn cast as a grown-up. Of course, I’ve not yet had a chance to see all his work as I’m still waiting for some to be released here in Canada. I saw him in Judy and he played the husband of Judy Garland but he wasn’t a family man. In this show, Finn is a dad! No more pretty boy young angry monster roles, I guess…our Finn has grown up.

Well, we know he’ll likely be back to naked push-ups in Season Two of Ratched so don’t despair!

I love seeing Finn as a husband to a pregnant wife and with a daughter. It’s fun and he does it well.

(He's married with a child in real life so he knows what to do!)

Some weirdness happens.

Harry has huge writer’s block as all of us writers who face daunting deadlines get. 





SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

Harry is excited to meet a couple of rich and famous writers who live in town. They want to share their secrets of success with him. Of course, these authors with their temptations are played by Evan Peters and Frances Conroy who look like they are having the time of their lives vamping it up as they lure in reluctant Harry.


Harry is faced with the choice of taking a little pill to enhance his writing abilities.

His daughter also learns about the pills when she spies on him. She’s been frustrated with her violin practicing. She’s a virtuoso but stumbles on a passage in the music. 

Mom is a home decorator who seems to be lost in the shuffle of family talent. No one really takes her seriously, not her writer-husband and not her violinist-daughter.

The drug brings fame and fortune to those who have real talent. As well as blood lust. To those who don’t, they turn into despicable insane vampire creatures.  

 



SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

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Harry takes the drug and writes up a storm.

His daughter sneaks the drug and plays up a storm, no more stumbles!

Mom doesn’t know why her husband and daughter are obsessive assholes.

In the meantime, we meet Sarah Paulson, Macaulay Culkin, and Billie Lourd as well as some other franchise favourites.

Billie, (who is one of my lady AHS favourites along with Emma Roberts who I hope is in this but not sure, they did both just have babies in real life) plays a tattoo artist dentist! 

Sarah plays an addict called Karen which I’m sure is a hilarious nod to the current state of Karen in our modern times. Sarah is so far doing her usual great job of stranger in a strange land. 

Macaulay plays a writer who flirts with the idea of taking the drug. We’ll find out later if he has talent or not. I'm loving watching him as an adult. 




I’m sure that eventually Lily Rabe will discover the drug and we’ll find out whether she has talent or not. Right now, they are playing like she doesn’t really, her decorating abilities are rather stale but they may be tricking us for a twist ending where she’ll survive and everyone dies. Or maybe the baby has talent and she doesn’t. Or who knows what kind of crazy Murphy has in mind for that pregnancy!

We have The Shining, Cape Fear, Salem's Lot, vampires, drugs, temptation, monsters, New England...

Anyway, so far so good.

I’m hooked in as always.

Can’t wait for next week!

 Oh, and as a little side note, Finn was born in Massachusetts so there's that little homage as well!


Thursday, August 19, 2021

Phantasmagoria Magazine Interview and Killercon Schedule!





The new issue of Phantasmagoria Magazine is just hitting the stands and there's an interview avec moi inside! I've not seen it yet so don't know what it looks like. Go grab yourself a copy and read all the cool stuff inside!





Killercon has snuck up on us this year! There's still time to grab a ticket as it's online again this year because you know why!

FRIDAY AUGUST 20 - SUNDAY AUGUST 22, 2021

It's only TEN BUCKS to attend ALL WEEKEND. This includes the zoom panels, the Splatterpunk Awards, the Gross-Out Contest, and access to the Discord party rooms!


Check it out here: Killercon




Sarah Langan
John Skipp
Jeff Strand
Sèphera Girón
Michael Knost


Sèphera Girón  Friday Opening Ceremonies 10 a.m. Texas Time

                                                         Friday Hero Panel  5:15 p.m. Texas Time
                                                            
                                                         Saturday Reading and Q and A  3:45 p.m. Texas Time




Pop in and out all weekend. Check out the awards! Listen to some awesome panels! Come meet and greet other horror fanatics in the Discord 24/7!
 
Lots of fun and only ten bucks!

I will add that I've been to Killercon a couple of times in real life when it was in Las Vegas. 
It was a lot of fun and there's always something to do. The virtual experience is that as well. You can talk to writers, artists, filmmakers, and musicians who work in or just plain love horror, splatterpunk, and other weird fiction in media of all forms. 

Hope to see some of you there!