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Over the years American Horror Story has provided us with several nightmare-fuel moments. There was Kathy Bates’ torture chamber for slaves in Coven. Then there was that time the Addiction Demon brutally raped Max Greenfield with a drill bit dildo in Hotel. Also, the entire existence of Twisty the clown will always be deeply disturbing. However, this past week American Horror Story: Cult gave the show one of its most terrifying episodes to date, and it’s all thanks to Evan Peters. Spoilers ahead.
The perversely great thing about American Horror Story is that it’s a series that doesn’t deal with subtlety. If something bad is going to happen to one of its season leads, you can almost bet that thing will be bloody and instantly traumatic. Sure, the show’s main shocks may be a bit difficult to watch from a pure jump scare perspective, but much like most horror from the 2000s, there’s a lot of gore and not much of a psychological bite. That’s why “11/9” stands as such an unsettling episode. I wasn’t prepared for how invasive and psychologically draining this new season could be.
Looking back, Cult’s first three episodes are all about building an unstable world. There are obvious elements to this, such as showing Donald Trump’s victory and portraying the aggressive joy and intense fear this election has caused. However, from Ally’s (Sarah Paulson) clown-filled delusions to her never-ending fight with Ivy (Alison Pill) over Jill Stein, Cult has established that this is a universe where predictability no longer exists. Absolutely anything can happen, and there is little to no repercussions for the evil that abounds. So when Kai Anderson (Evan Peters) extends his helping hand to the panicking souls of Cult, it’s tempting to believe him.
“11/9” and this season of American Horror Story as a whole work because there’s so much chaos. Whereas the anthology series typically waits until its final episodes before descending into complete discord, Season 7 starts from a place of panic, and it never lets up. Amidst this flaming world, Kai presents himself as the only voice of reason, and though we’ve seen why we shouldn’t believe him, it’s hard not to fall for his false promises. In this way, Season 7 isn’t just an examination of cults. It mimics how so many people become indoctrinated into these clearly dark organizations. For the first time this season, “11/9” explains cult-like followings through experience rather than through examples, and the result is unsettling.
This shift is most clearly seen in the ways Kai recruits Harrison (Billy Eichner) and Beverly (Adina Porter). In both cases, he targets their insecurities, self-hatred, and unbridled anger with surgical precision. When it comes to Harrison, that means showing him just how dehumanizing his job really is and pressuring him to commit a murder. Once Harrison has killed his boss, his only hope of escaping jail time or death is to continue following the devil on his shoulder. Beverley’s recruitment takes a more interesting form. Throughout the episode, Kai and Beverly somewhat dance around each other, extolling about privilege, the power of anger, and the lack of fairness in the world. So when Beverly’s stuck-up TV rival Serena (Emma Roberts) is brutally slaughtered by clowns while filming a segment, Beverly immediately sees the murder for what it is — an invitation into Kai’s world and a promise of power.
Even Gary’s (Chaz Bono) graphic hand sawing scene or Ivy and Winter’s (Billie Lourd) kidnapping presents the same pinpointing of weaknesses but on a smaller scale. In every case, you somewhat understand why these characters have chosen to follow Kai though you immediately know it’s a terrible idea.
As a result, “11/9” is perhaps one of the most subtle and unsettling episodes in American Horror Story history. The horror of this season as a whole doesn’t stem from the traumas we’re seeing on screen. Instead, it takes the form of the focused mind games the ever-intense Kai is playing. The first appearance of Bloody Face in Asylum may have made me cover my eyes, but Kai’s disturbing charisma is the element of American Horror Story that will keep me up at night.
New episodes of American Horror Story: Cult air on Tuesdays at 10pm ET/PT on FX.
Stream American Horror Story: Cult's "11/9" on FXNOW and FX+
