Last night I caught up on the first three episodes of American Horror Story: Asylum. This season takes us far from last season's ghost-crowded “Murder House” in present day Los Angeles to an aging asylum run by the Catholic Church in 1964 Massachusetts. The first season was a lurid (at times almost to the point of parody) romp through just about every modern horror trope the creators could pack in--and was utterly entertaining for it. The second season seems to be shaping up in exactly the same way.
Let’s check the list so far: alien abduction, snake-pit asylum, sadistic nun into corporal punishment, even more sadistic mad doctor with a deformed monster, masked serial killer on the loose,and oh yeah, demonic possession. That’s just the first three episodes; hell, that’s actually just the first two.
It occurs to me that this might be a great set-up for a horror rpg campaign. In the Call of Cthulhu mode, a lot of horror rpgs center on going places and investigating things. What if all the mysteries were in one edifice? One pretty large place could be the nexus for a whole lot of weirdness. It could be the horror rpg version of the dungeoncrawl. Maybe it would need to be relatively short in the grand scheme of campaigns, but I think it’s an idea worth exploring. Do you dare enter?
I enjoy how ridiculous and over-the-top that show gets. Actually, the over-the-top-ness might be part of the commentary on what constitutes an "American" horror.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. That portion of the title is not accidental, I think. Re: Over the topness, in the first season it was almost like they were daring you to go "oh, c'mon!" they just keep pushing thing--but keep it interesting enough to keep you watching.
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying the show a lot!
ReplyDeleteI miss the red-headed maid though from the first season though. A lot.
ReplyDeleteYou and me both.
ReplyDeleteNice premise. Don't watch much cable, so I've missed out on the 'American Horror Story' series. Might pick it up in dvd though, from the sounds of things. Your asylum mentioned above could be mixed with a bit of Winchester Mystery House to give it even more of a disturbing vibe, with staircases that don't so much go nowhere as only operate under certain conditions or for certain people...
ReplyDeleteThis could be a lot of fun...and frightening.