By Sydney York
As many people know, I love American Horror Story. What started as something I wanted to enjoy from a horror-seeking aspect, quickly translated to something I watch for comfort. The characters, story layouts, surrealness, and occasional scares all tie in together to make one incredible Netflix show. As you may presume, I have watched each season of AHS…maybe more than once. So today I decided to rate them from my least enjoyable to my all-time favorites. I judged each season based off of production, characters, storylines, and horror quality.
- Freak Show 2/10
Honestly, Freak Show was a hard season to get through. This was the only season I did not watch more than once, and I was asleep for more than half of it. No hate to the actors, I actually favored a bunch of actors and actresses in this season. Sarah Paulson, Jessica Lange, Evan Peters, Frances Conory, Kathy Bates, Finn Wittrock, and Emma Roberts to name a few. Other than that, I didn’t find this season to even be slightly scary whatsoever. That is basically all I have to say for this particular season.
- Hotel 4/10
Before I start this rating: no hate to Lady Gaga. Hotel was another slow-season for me. Although I enjoyed seeing some of my favorite cast members (including Lady Gaga!), the fright factor of this season was missing. I recommend reading up about the Cecil Hotel before you go into this season so you at least have a general idea of what this season was inspired from. Other than that, I personally found it odd to mix factual-based murders and serial killers with…vampires. The Countess, Lady Gaga, played a big role throughout this season, but honestly this season could’ve been better without her character. I also disliked the fact that some of my other favorite characters (like Sarah Paulson), did not play a bigger role. It seemed like Gaga’s odd vampire countess role took up the majority of our attention.
- Coven 4/10
I personally want to say sorry to every single AHS fan before this rating. I am completely aware Coven seems to be everyone’s favorite season, following Murder House. The characters were well played, and the general idea of witchcraft did draw you in. Despite that, this season lacked all fear-inducing aspects of this show. Warring witches and an immortal racist lady with a blood fetish…what else? Honestly, this season seemed more like a pity party than anything. Thankfully Taissa Farminga, Sarah Paulson, and Jessica Lange make up for the prominent void. I do admit this season took a while to get through. I was anticipating more, but it was honestly over-hyped. Not to mention the completely false, Hollywood intoxicated, ideologies of witchcraft and voodoo.
- 1984 4/10
Being the newest AHS season to-date, I was expecting a lot more than what this season had to offer. There were too many storylines going at once. Juggling the night stalker, Mr. Jingles, and the rest of the teens at camp was definitely an overload. While the addition of the night stalker did play into the era-aspect of the season, his character was completely irrelevant to the actual story line. I only really enjoyed the end of the season, where all things came to a conclusion.
- Apocalypse 6/10
This is where we start getting to the good stuff. Although I already mentioned how I disliked Coven, I don’t mind the season crossovers between Apocalypse and Coven. Apocalypse also incorporated scenes from Hotel, which I thought was neat. The characters in this season were some of my all-time favorites, and I also enjoyed how the cast members played multiple different characters, each with a new set of personalities. The fright-factor in this season was alright. Honestly the whole ‘Satan is scary aaaahh’ part is cheesy. Like Coven, the show completely misinterpreted Satanism and what it’s about. Besides that, the storyline always kept me on my feet. Apocalypse was extremely interesting.
- Cult 8/10
Cult was genuinely an incredible season. The acting was so spot on, especially Evan Peters’ role as the cult mastermind. This season was more suspenseful than scary, but overall pretty thrilling. I enjoyed how this season was more modernized instead of including paranormal activity. Revolving around Trump and American politics really puts the ‘American’ in American Horror Story. Super engaging and surreal. Loved this season.
- Roanoke 9/10
Roanoke had one of the best storylines within this whole show. The different approach to filming this season really made it stand out. Including the reality TV aspects made it seem so real and upfront. This season was probably the scariest out of the entire show. The only reason it is not my favorite, is due to the stupidity of some of the characters. Y’know when a character hears something scary but still walks closer to it out of sheer curiosity? Yeah. Other than that, this season was impeccable.
- Murder House 9/10
Murder House is always up there on everyone’s rating lists. Being the first and most memorable season, it is expected to be rated high. The relationship between Tate and Violet appeals to most viewers, and the relatable content for most teens. Murder House (like any season) started out in a modern setting but slowly things become more paranormal. The story line for this season was very intriguing, but the cast members and characters make this season special. I wouldn’t call Murder House too scary (if anything the intro was the scariest part) but I still enjoyed this season very much.
- Asylum 10/10
Last but not least is Asylum. I genuinely don’t think I’ve ever seen a better performance by the cast members in any season except this one. Two words for Asylum: dark and surreal. The story line was perfect and never left you bored. I was always at the edge of my seat, waiting for the next twist. The setting of this season only added to the dark and ancient theme. Not only was this season incredibly thrilling, it incorporated factual situations for asylum patients back in the 50’s/60’s. This was really an eye-opener and added to the shock of this season. I really enjoyed how you never knew what to expect, and some of the most innocent or trustworthy characters could be the problem in the next scene. What a ride. Best season, I definitely recommend.