American Horror Story: Asylum (Review)

American Horror Story returns with its second season titled "Asylum" which can only be described as a tour de force of horror. The only way to describe Asylum in my opinion is a masterpiece. This is the season that elevated American Horror Story to be one of my all time favourite shows. With Asylum we get a slew of very memorable characters such as Lana Winters (Sarah Paulson), an ambitious reporter determined to uncover the atrocities being committed at Briarcliff Mental Institution, Sister Jude (Jessica Lange), the nun in charge of Briarcliff with her own ambitions, Kit Walker (Evan Peters), a young man accused of multiple murders, and a stand out performance by Lily Rabe as Sister Mary Eunice, a demon possessed nun.

If you ask most AHS fans they say that Asylum is clearly a stand out season with classic plots such as the Bloody Face murders, Lana's imprisonment, and the patient claiming to be Anne Frank just to name a few, but what makes Asylum such a great season is its characters. As an audience we easily identify with Lana Winters and Kit Walker as two seemingly innocent people trapped against their will in a 1960's asylum. They endure all forms of torture throughout the season and we just can't wait for them to hopefully escape and bring the place down. Even the often times cruel Sister Jude manages to win us over on occasion as we watch her try to navigate through the tough political climate of the catholic church while struggling to keep her faith and do what she believes to be right.

Asylum treated us with some of the best twists in American Horror Story history and quite possibly television history, which I will refrain from spoiling here for those of you who have not yet seen the season. Everything about this season feels like a punch to the gut from the gritty visuals to the visceral sound design and shining performances by the entire cast.

This is AHS at its best and it shows. One of the stand out aspects of this season is Director of Photography Michael Goi's use of shot design. This is the season that gave the show its signature look. Every frame and camera movement is designed to illicit a specific response from the audience and in my opinion Goi hits the mark consistently throughout the season. Whether it be a scene where Sister Jude meets with a nazi hunter shot entirely in one single take utilizing mirrors for reaction shots or the fast paced modern feel of the opening Bloody Face attacks on the unsuspecting honeymooners the cinematography shines in its own right and adds to the visual language of the show.

Asylum takes many themes and horror subjects and combines them all into one complex story that somehow ties up all its loose ends by the end of the season. The way these plots are intertwined can sometimes make you seem that you yourself are in the asylum creating a unique experience I'd continually recommend to those who can stomach the dark themes and often times graphic violence.

I give American Horror Story: Asylum 4.5 out of 5 cauldrons!