American Horror Story (S01)

So, what's there to say about the first season of American Horror Story ? Without achieving greatness, this TV show was definitely full of surprises - especially the anthology format was quite an interesting option. Acting was pretty lame, the soundtrack was a total cliché (so as most of the story). What's with this TV show that makes it so ridiculously addictive ? Let's see. 

First things first, it's an AMERICAN Horror Story. Which means it involves some kind of paranormal activity. And people usually love paranormal stuff. Anyway, the story is quite simple: it all starts in this "murder house", which is supposed to be haunted. A quite dysfunctional family moves in to the so-called "murder house" and some strange events start taking place. There's a maid (not a butler, thank god), who's supposed to be a total slut but in the end turns out she might be the only one with a bit of wisdom in the middle of all the crazies - and yes, she's dead. Almost everyone the family meets in that house or near it is dead: there's the gay couple with sadistic tendencies, the maid, the mistress... Everyone who died in the house, haunts it. Makes sense ? I thought the same. At first, none of it makes sense (at least for the first three episodes), then the story basically unravels itself and the last two episodes made me wonder if there is going to be a second season of this, because almost no mystery is left undiscovered. 

About the acting, i thought it was quite lame. The wife is weird, the doctor as well.. My favorite characters were definitely Constance (Jessica Lange, proud owner of a Golden Globe thanks to her role in the show) and Moira, the maid. The rest was just so-so. Liked Tate too, the eternal Romeo. His story with Violet was pretty cool, added a different flavor to the show. 

The soundtrack was... strange. There were a lot of sounds and noises similar to some scores from Saw and... Kill Bill ? I don't know, there was something fishy about that score. Anyway, i thought the overall soundtrack was pretty cool, and it helped creating that dark atmosphere. 

Overall, i didn't think American Horror Story was like the 8th wonder of the world, and now that i think about it, it isn't that good. It's a worth-watch because of the atmosphere and some surprises one can fine in the episodes. NOTHING ELSE. 

Hellraiser (1987)

This was quite and enjoyable and pleasant experience. I had been eager for a good movie, so i chose a classic, old one by the so-called master Clive Barker. Expectations weren't high, but the movie was good enough - acting is quite good, special effects were awesome (for 1987) and the story itself is quite creative and original.

But what in the world has Hellraiser to make it such an awesome story ? Let's face it, nowadays we watch a bit of everything in a movie: there's always some guts that await you. And i suppose the question lies exactly there - it's hard to find a good horror flick. Hellraiser has guts, torn out bodies, body parts all over it - but its story is way too intelligent, like some sort of mix between sci-fi and horror. Everything starts with this puzzle box that unleashes evil. Julia and Larry Cotton, man and wife, are moving to this old house where the wifey had a love affair with her husband's brother. Seems like the brother, Frank, had been taken by the Cenobites (the otherworld creatures, whose names are Butterball, Pinhead, the Female, and Chatterer), for a world of hell that brought him pleasure and then killed him. Thing is, some drops of Larry's blood brought Frank half back to life - and of course, the wife found Frank in the attic and started killing people to raise the dude from hell. But it gets more complicated - the Cenobites are unleashed by Kirsty, the daughter, and they are eager for Frank's blood. There's a bit of a twist in the end, and it builds up a bridge for the second film (and, eventually, the eight others that follow).

About the acting, i especially liked Frank and i was the entire movie waiting for Pinhead to appear (when he did, i really liked the character). The daughter and the wife were kinda strange and Larry was too absent from the story. The music is quite freaky and scary, which is a huge contribute for the general atmosphere of the movie.

Overall, Hellraiser is sort of Clive Barker's first born son, and i must admit that the formula was freakin' successful. The way i see it, it is definitely a top 10 movie - totally worth watching.