American Horror Story Season 7’s Clown Storyline Was The Best Part
Ryan Murphy’s long-running anthology horror collection, American Horror Story, has seen its ups and downs, notably with Cult, the seventh season that attempted to tackle politics, but included killer clowns as – arguably – its strongest storyline.
One of many extra polarizing and divisive seasons of the collection, Murphy’s resolution to sort out societal fallout after the US Presidential election in 2016 was a daring alternative. Given the character of an anthology, Murphy has by no means been afraid to take dangers together with his content material, as even a poorly-received season may be washed away with a brand new one. Some have criticized that Cult was too on the nostril given the political local weather that got here after the election of President Donald Trump, who was usually referenced within the season alongside together with his opponent, Hillary Clinton, and handled as a background character. Murphy’s intention for the season was to indicate how a tradition of concern, which is a sociological time period popularized by Barry Glassner, may cause folks to make place their help behind folks and make selections they often would not in the event that they really feel they – or their lifestyle – is being attacked by some insidious, outdoors pressure.
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Together with bringing again Freak Present‘s killer clown, Twisty, as a comic book guide character, clowns had been additionally featured closely in Cult as an integral a part of the present. Nevertheless, the diversion of focus from their antics to a give attention to realism – particularly drawing from actual fears that surfaced from US residents after the election – was a disservice to followers who wished to lose themselves in fictional scares, and would have been higher with out the social commentary.
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American Horror Story Cult: Why The Clowns Have Been The Greatest Half
Kai Anderson (Evan Peters) was the principle antagonist of the season. He was a Trump supporter who determined to run for political workplace, and ended up because the Divine Chief of a murderous cult often known as Worry Is Reality (FIT). Kai’s cult was shaped after his therapist inspired him to discover a larger function for himself, his anger, and his concepts. Evan Peters ended up enjoying a number of infamous cult members all through the season to mirror how Kai’s stance and management differed or bore similarities to folks like Charles Manson and Jim Jones. The FIT members donned clown costumes with varied sexual and phobia-based design construction, enjoying off fears past coulrophobia that included trypophobia (concern of small, closely-packed holes) and different erotophobias comparable to phallophobia.
Coulrophobia (the concern of clowns) is comparatively frequent in society, popularized by villains comparable to Pennywise the Dancing Clown in Stephen King’s basic novel, IT. John Wayne Gacy, a serial killer, used to decorate like a clown to ensnare his victims. Extra not too long ago, indie horror hit, Terrifier, created Artwork the Clown as its vicious, mime-like killer. On their very own, the members of the FIT cult would have been terrifying, however as they had been lumped into the bigger agenda of the season – the sensationalization of political violence and concern mongering – it wasn’t as efficient. Kai’s cult members performed into probably the most terrifying of dwelling invasion tropes, in addition to the kind of mob mentality laden gang violence that has been portrayed earlier than with the Droogs in Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange.
The premise of clowns additionally enjoying into the fears of Ally Mayfair-Richards (Sarah Paulson), who was crippled by her varied phobias, was additionally fascinating as a result of it pitted two actors who’re arguably a few of Murphy’s best towards one another in an enormous manner. Nevertheless, Cult‘s launch got here at a time the place many longed to lose themselves to fictional violence as a substitute of being overloaded by very actual and genuine feeling occasions, comparable to the selection to incorporate a mass taking pictures, which underwent vital edits after the Las Vegas taking pictures in 2017. If these killer clowns had been concerned as messengers in a fictional election, or if the season had revolved round Kai’s cult, particularly, it could made a a lot stronger season of American Horror Story.
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About The Writer
Jack Wilhelmi is the horror options editor at Display screen Rant, and has been with the positioning since 2019. He’s a lifelong fan of the horror style, and loves any excuse to debate genre-related matters, since none of his pals dare problem him in horror trivia. He has been printed on the unbiased horror weblog Morbidly Lovely, and has coated main style movie festivals comparable to Cinepocalypse in Chicago. He has additionally served as a choose for the Ax Wound Movie Competition.In his free time, he’s a loyal canine dad to a high-spirited rescue pup named Peter Quill and enjoys volunteering with varied animal rescue organizations. Jack likes to journey and discover darkish tourism-related and different varied haunted areas. He enjoys learning psychology, the paranormal, and can watch actually any schlocky B-movie on the planet for amusing. Observe him on Twitter @JackMacabre or his canine on Instagram @quillthethrill.
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